Roadside Gold

These jewels are almost gone now, but they have the ability to make me want to stop my car when they are in bloom.

Road Shot

Another shot from the side of the road in Southern Utah. The colors changed constantly with the play of sunshine and shadow.

Hoo Doos

The scale of this park, the sheer amount of these geological statuary is staggering. We also saw one of the most bizarre animal behaviors ever while there. Cliff swallows, who were engaged in a most delightful display of flight held on to each others legs (at least I guess that is what they were doing) and started spinning. The first two were joined by a third and just as another joined on they broke apart before hitting the earth. If I hadn't seen it, I would not have believed it.

Roadside Shot

This was taken from the side of the road (I am the queen of the shoulder shot), technically not the million dollar highway, but just west of there near Bryce.

Million Dollar View



This is another view from the million dollar highway in southern Utah. I think it is undervalued...

Head of the Charles

In honor of the Head of the Charles this weekend, this is a shot taken last June when my daughter was at the Charles River Rowing Camp. It had been cloudy most of the day, but the clouds began breaking up and I was able to take some shots with nice light. My daughter is back on the Charles, this time racing for her junior team. Go OKC Riversport!!!

Million Dollar Highway

A view from the million dollar highway in southern Utah. You drive along this highway and you think, okay, well it's nice, but the vistas are just as good along any other stretch...and then you see it. The road takes a hairpin curve and you look out onto a scene which somehow combines Zion and Bryce and even the Grand Canyon. The winding road continues for another 20 miles or so with small towns dotting the way. It is off the beaten path, but well worth the effort.

The Canyon

Looking at my Grand Canyon photos, it is hard to decide which ones to include. Each vista is unique and each beautiful. I do think that there is more variation to the terrain on the North Rim. It is by far my favorite, and not just because it is less crowded. There is definitely more vegetation on the Northern side.

Grandest of Canyons

I have not been adding to my blog and I miss it, so I am going to begin again and try to get caught up. It is the case that I can probably put on a photo a day for the rest of my life and still not have all my photos up,  ...but I'll give it a try.

Portrait of the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is so imposing a place that I have trouble taking it all in. I prefer to photograph it in smaller "chunks". This was a beautiful clear day, but very cold and very windy (even for Oklahoma standards).

Southern Utah

I recently returned from a trip to Southern Utah with my mom. I love that area of the country. You could visit there for a month and still not see everything the area has to offer. We started off in Zion, so that is where I will begin my photos. This is the canyon with the Virgin River in the foreground.

Pretty in Pink

My carpet roses are just beginning to open. These are from last year's bounty.

Local Color

Butterflies were out in abundance this weekend following the storms last week. We are due for more storms today, so I may not see them for a couple of days. These wildflowers were on the side of the road about a half mile from the house.

Oklahoma Weather

The sky has been pretty gray lately, but yesterday there was a break between storms with glorious skies and lush greens. There really is nothing like the Oklahoma sky.

Reaching for the Sun II

Since Monday's tornadoes, we've had a week of storms and rain. I need a dose of sunshine, so it's time to break out another wildflower shot. I know all this rain will make the flowers bloom. I just need a day of sun (is it too much to ask for no wind as well) to shoot the new blooms.

Chesapeake Rowing

One of the images from this weekend's regatta. Saturday was sunny and I finally found a couple of spots close to the water to shoot. Now if I could just get on one of the launches...

Reaching for the Sun

This just makes me happy. The coreopsis are blooming near my house, so I think they must be blooming at Mt. Scott where these were taken last season. I may have to make the drive next week to get my dose of happiness.

Bleeding Hearts

I grew bleeding hearts in Maryland and loved their delicate blooms; they remind me of pantaloons hung out to dry.

This is an image I took in Colorado last year. If you love flowers you should definitely visit Colorado in the summer. I don't know how they do it, but the flowers are especially beautifl there. Maybe because their growing season is shortened, everything blooms near the same time?

May Day

My computer was out on May Day, but I didn't want that stop my posting of this floral from the preserve.

Paintbrush

The flowers were just beginnning to bloom at Mt. Scott last weekend. They will start to open in abundance in the coming weeks. I could see coreopsis stalks throughout the fields. After this rainy weekend, the flowers should be in full show.

It was a good time for the Indian Paintbrush last weekend. I am planning on printing a series of blooms from the wildlife preserve. I will just have to find a place to show them.

Poet's Shooting Star

My daughter and I were hiking up a bit of marshy hillside in the wildlife reserve in southwestern Oklahoma yesterday when we came upon these gems. They are little jewels tucked away like hidden treasure.

Spring Laden

I seem to have a theme going here. I am drawn to pink blooms; give me a pink branch over a dozen long stem roses...although pink shrub roses are another story...

Pink Tipped

Another shot from my yard. Dogwood blooms have always been one of my favorites. I nursed this small pink dogwood the last couple of years and was rewarded this year with a lovely show.

Sweet Blooms

Despite the challenge of the wind, I took this shot in my garden this week. The flowers are stunning right now. This time of year always makes me yearn to create.

Redbud Blue

Nothing like redbuds in Oklahoma in the spring. It almost matches dogwoods in April in Tennessee. The blue skies and greens of every value make for a stunning contrast.

Easter Eggs

These were the most beautiful light naturally pastel eggs; I couldn't resist taking photos of them before I made them into omelets. Hope everyone has a Happy Easter weekend.

California Greenin'

Last week I traveled to San Diego with my daughter's crew. California is lovely this time of year; everything was still green and even the weeds are beautiful.

Spring Colors

I thought it was nice for the bridge to be awash in spring colors for the girls' dawn spring break practice.

Think Green

Wearin' of the green in honor of the day!

Great Basin

Nevada has many unexpected landscapes and this is loosely based on a photograph I took when we lived there. It was good to get the oils out again.

Portrait of Spring

I am definitely ready for spring. I love spring bulbs and daffodils are my favorites. As a child I remember seeing an old deserted farmhouse where someone in the past planted a few daffodils. It became an island home surrounded by a sea of daffodils. It is one of my favorite visual memories. I wish I had a photo, but I am sure it would not do it justice.

Early Spring

The fields are just beginning to turn the most vibrant green and the earth is a stark red. It is especially noticeable this time of year with the farmers beginning to work their wet fields; it's a beautiful study in contrasts.

March Sentinels

I wish I could say that I took these today, but that's just wishful thinking! I know they will be here before you know it. Right, right...

Be my Valentine

A message for Valentine's Day. The hardest part is to photograph and not eat the candies!

Snow Farm

It has been a peaceful snowy day today, with snow falling and little wind. I will take snow over ice any day, although we do have a coating of ice over everything. The woods are beautiful a confectionary dream.

Frisco Trail

My daughter and I hiked one of the paths in Frisco, Colorado a couple of days after Christmas. I love trail photos and paintings and I also love these lowcountry shrubs. They are such a wide variety of colors and really "pop" against the white backdrop.

Poppy Fields

Since we have had a series of gray days recently, I thought a reminder of the spring was in order. My neighbor has a beautiful garden along the edge of his property which he constantly tends. I stopped by the side of the road and took this photo on a warm sunny day last year.