Week 11 Meeting the Queen

Setting out in search of royalty is not easy task and not for the easily discouraged.  The goal of the weekend was to find the pink lady slipper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium_acaule.   This magnificent flower is highly sought after with photographers and wildflower enthusiast. The Lady Slipper is elusive, shy and not easily visible and the find will require a little hunting in the woods.  This flower is worth the trip though the mud and waiting out the rain.  As soon as we spotted the flower I knew we were in the presence of royalty.  For a brief moment, I couldn't move and I was just mesmerized by the beauty of this flower.  After a few minutes. I noticed the flower was moving with no wind and realized the plant was putting all its energy into opening.  I knew it was a moment I could never forget and overwhelmed at how God could put it into the flower to bloom an object without a brain could somehow know when to grow, bloom and die and yet come back next year a just the right time and do the process all again.

 

Week 10 - Big Game Hunter

Are you talking to me?  Are you talking to me?? Yep, Shot all three of them and they did not seem to mind!

This Is How I Roll - Week 9

The bottom photo was a volunteer request, one of the saddest so far, I hate broken stones especially for our veterans.  The top photo is fun with my new software. 

Shirley Miller - Week 8

Our annual trip to the Shirley Miller Wildflower trail was great as usual.  The timing was a little off their was plenty of flowers but only a few varieties.  I thought since it was further south it would be a little further along in the season.  I guess not. 

 

I was trying to fake a fall!  He did not go for it.  LOL 

 

 

Gibbs Garden Week 7

Gibbs Garden in the middle of no where 2 hours and 10 minutes from the house located in Ball Ground, GA.  They have over 16 million daffodils and a spectacular place to visit!  It was 80 degrees, direct light without a cloud in the sky and 16 mph wind! 

Volunteer Week 6

I have found it more and more difficult to do nice things for people.  It is not because I don't want to but it seem my generosity seems to miss it mark and a waste of my effort.  Why do things people do not want?  I volunteer to take cemetery photos for people.  The way it works people put in a request and a volunteer in that geographic location will get a notice and you can choose whether or not they can fulfill their request.  The volunteering satisfies my need for adventure, my need to help, keeps up my photo skills and I get great exercise!  Plus there is always the unexpected.  I saw a girl walking with another lady around this cemetery and they were watching me.  This is not unusual people are away nosy.  The little girl approaches me to buy a card for her school.  She was such a great sales lady I spent $10 in the cemetery to help the girl and her school! 

 

This was a recent request.  People are so appreciative because the information on the stone is so helpful usually for their genealogy and most of the time these requests are from people that are not located near their research.  Win win!  

 

Grave Houses Week 5

Graves houses were quiet popular in the old days.  They had many purposes but in the south they mainly kept cattle from stomping the graves.  However, the sad thing is their are very few left standing and those that remain will not last much longer.  They are rapidly decaying, being vandalized and cemetery maintenance people rarely care and bang into the fragile markers. 

 

On this day, I was being watch by the park police.  It happens all the time.  Anyway, this guy was super nice came to speak with me and happen to be the chapel that worked the train wreck that killed my grandfather.  It's a small world and we spoke for probably an hour.