random reflections

Five in Five: Sunken Garden & Photowalk #17

On Sunday afternoon, I served as a "House Host" for the local Landmark Society's House and Garden tour. The morning was rainy and dark, but by the middle of the afternoon it cleared up, and we were really busy. Over 200 people went through the small, but charming, house where I was working. Before my shift, I made sure to leave home early enough so I would have time to visit the sunken garden that was on the tour. The quite expansive home on the same property was not on the tour. This is very unusual, but when you see the photos, you'll know the garden was exceptional. The rest of the street is a very ordinary residential street in a northern suburb of Rochester. Most of the homes were built in the early 20th century,

According to the Landmark Tour guide, the garden had been covered with leaves and debris for many years until the late 1990's. As the current owners began to remove the accumulated debris and underbrush, the  "elaborate terraced gardens" were revealed that "had been largely lost to time." I was totally unprepared for the magnitude of this garden set on this quite unremarkable residential street.

I didn't have long to spend, and all the photos were taken with my iPhone. But it was the perfect opportunity to take photos to join in with Eileen's Five in Five monthly meme.

This is the first view you get as you approach the garden from street level.

A more intimate view of the stone bridge. (SPSH #9 Bridge and #10 Made of Stone) Note another stone staircase going up the opposite side of the garden. 

The south end of the garden.

A detail at the north end of the garden; the rest of this side of the garden is a wooded area.

I took several other photos, including one of some statuary, the wooded area at the north end of the garden, and some beautiful flowering bushes, including a lovely wisteria. I'm glad I didn't miss this stop on the tour.

 

 

Photowalk #16: Lake Michigan Pathway

The weather was basically dismal when we were in Wisconsin---lots of rain and very cool temperatures. The high one day was 48°. On the one bright, sunny day with warmer temps, Tracy and I decided to take a walk along part of the Lake Michigan Pathway. We started just north of the Racine Zoo and walked to the marina downtown. It ended up being a little over three miles. Aside from the very brisk wind, it was a perfect day for a walk.

Another entry for the SPSH: #7-A Curving Path

There were lots of red-winged blackbirds along the path. This was one of the better shots. I had my small mirrorless camera with me with doesn't have much of a zoom lens.

And there were hundreds of sea gulls on the beach.

More seagulls, but a better look at the beautiful blue colors of the lake.

A view of the marina. You can see that the leaves still haven't appeared on the trees, despite the fact that it was the middle of May.

Another photo for my shadow collection.

You can see the Wind Point Lighthouse in the distance. Sarah and Adam live just a mile or so from the lighthouse, and I have another series of photos from there coming soon.

We're hoping to walk more of this pathway in our future trips to Racine.

Photowalk #15: Tulips in Holland, Michigan

On our way to Wisconsin this month, we made a side trip to Holland, MI to see the tulips. They've hosted an annual tulip festival since 1929 after purchasing 100,000 bulbs the previous year. Now each September close to 1,000,000 tulip bulbs arrive in Holland. Planting begins in October and runs through mid-November with over 120 varieties being planted. 200,000 of those bulbs are planted by hand in a variety of locations. (Although they talk about sorting through the 1,000,000 bulbs they never say what happens to the other 800,00!)

We visited two of the major plantings: The Window on the Waterfront Park which is any easy walk from delightful downtown Holland, and Windmill Island Gardens. In addition, there are tulips in window boxes in pots, and along green spaces in the downtown area. The annual festival ended on May 12th this year, and we arrived on the 15th. It was perfect timing: the crowds were gone, and the tulips were still at their peak. We talked to one local photographer who was out with his very big lens and tripod who told us he believed the tulips were the best they'd been in quite a few years. Without a tripod, or a big lens here are some of the photos I took that morning.

A closer view shows the beautiful color variation in the tulip.

Although I'm holding back on a few photos for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt, but this is a good one for #3 Repetition.

And now onto Windmill Island Gardens:

I love this display of wooden shoes and this is another one for the scavenger hunt: #18 Something Found in Pairs.

More repetition!

And one final photo for my "Shadows" collection:

We spent some time at the visitor's center where a lovely woman shared lots of the history, and told us of the year when all the tulips bloomed in March, and there were none left by the time of the May festival. After our tours of the park and the island, we spent some time looking through the lovely shops in downtown, and having lunch on the patio of an Irish pub. All in all, a very satisfying morning. We both agreed it was worth a return trip.

Photowalk#15: Highland Park & May Five in Five

It's not often that I take the 5 in 5 minute photos for Sandi's Five in Five Meme on the fifth and post them on the fifth. Today the weather cooperated, and we got back to the park for another look at the magnolias. When we went last week, we hoped to go every day to watch the progression of the magnolias, as well as the other flowering trees and plants. A combination of busy schedules and rainy weather kept us away. Today's weather was perfect, and because it was a Sunday it was busier than usual at the park. This is also the fifth month in a row that I've combined a photowalk with the Five in Five meme. The first five photos are for the meme, although I had enough tulip photos that would have qualified as well. Here's a look at the magnolias as we walked down the hill.

I've long been a huge fan of the yellow magnolias. There are only two or three of them in the park.

Of course, there are the lovely pinks as well.

And daffodils:

And the tulip beds:

And gorgeous flowering trees:

I'll leave you with this charming photo of a group of Amish girls having a group portrait taken.

 

Photowalk #13: Washington, D.C.

On Monday morning, after attending workshops and plenary sessions on advocacy for three days, we were assigned times to meet with legislative aides for our senators and Congressmen. The New York delegation met with Kirsten Gillibrand's aide after a prayer meeting at the Methodist House near the Capitol. Then we met with Joe Morrelle's aide. Our meetings were timed too closely for us to join the NY delegation at Chuck Shumer's office. We had met and planned our visits on Sunday afternoon, so were well-prepared to talk on two issues: voting rights and the Global Fragility Act. Both the conference and the advocacy meetings on Monday were fascinating and very informative. I have pages of notes to transcribe and digest!

As we walked from Union Station where we parked to our various meetings, I had time to get some photos of some of the landmarks as well as the beautiful spring flowers and trees.

The Capitol

Two views of the Supreme Court

          Thanks to Krista's comment, I now know this is the Columbus Fountain in front of Union Station. 

Two takes on the beautiful magnolias.

And the happy daffodils!

The next two photos were not part of the photowalk, but taken at the New York Ave. Presbyterian Church on Friday during the Compassion, Peace, and Justice Day conference. I thought you might be interested in them as well. Abraham Lincoln worshiped at this church, and when they replaced the pews, they saved and installed the pew where he sat. The rest of the pews are white, but this one is dark brown.

Upstairs there is the Abraham Lincoln stained glass window.

It's taken me the better part of the week since we arrived home, to get well rested and back in a good routine, but I would definitely go to both the Compassion, Peace, and Justice Day as well as Ecumenical Advocacy Days again if I had the opportunity.

 

Photowalk #12

Although I never saw the abundance of cherry trees that line the Basin in Washington, on our 30 minute walk on Saturday, I did discover a few along a walking path. The path ran beside the Potomac River.

The Potomac was sparkling in the sunshine. The rest of the photos are all of the cherry trees and blossoms. There was a tiny park along side the walking path that appeared to be maintained by a nearby business, but perhaps was a public space. 

This was definitely a public park just across the street from our hotel.

Just so lovely . . . 

 

Five in Five: April & Photowalk #11

It will be a photo-heavy week or so on the blog. I just returned from Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. and although we had very little free time, I did get out to walk twice during the conference, and an opportunity to take photos on Monday when we were on the Hill. There'll be more about Advocacy Days once I have time to process it all. 

Friday was rainy, and we were at the Presbyterian Compassion, Peace, and Justice Day at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. This was pre-EAD which was truly ecumenical. I was hoping to get to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry trees, but my only glimpse was through the window of our van as we drove from our hotel in Virginia to the church. Even in the rain, it was beautiful, and returning to see the cherry trees in bloom is now on my bucket list. It wasn't until Saturday, however, that I had a chance to go for a walk. A friend and I took to the street for our 30 minute break in the morning, and walked down Eads Street. 

I've seen a lot of construction walls in my day, but none as wonderful as the first five photos here for Sandie's monthly meme "Five in Five," taking as many photos as you can in five minutes, and choosing five to share. I loved this display.

 

 

 

 

We actually had snow showers here this morning, so you know how much I appreciated the beauty and warmth of Spring in Washington.

I also love the fact that riding a bike or renting a scooter was a viable option!

If I had to guess, I'd say we have another 3-4 weeks before Spring will erupt here in Western New York. But I'm so very ready when it does!

Photowalk #10: April Snow

We woke up yesterday to Nature's idea of an April Fool's joke---two fresh inches of snow. I took a few photos in our yard in the morning. As I was driving home from volunteering later in the afternoon, I decided to stop and take a walk down Mt. Hope Ave. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and there was some potential for a few good shots. First, three from our front yard.

Looking to the West

Looking to the East

And my usual favorite, a snow covered hydrangea.

About four hours later walking down Mt. Hope Avenue:

From a distance

Closer

View #1

View #2: probably my favorite of the walk; I love the white branches against the bright blue sky

And two photos of Mt. Hope Cemetery. Founded in 1838, it was the first municipal cemetery in the United States. It covers 196 acres and has over 350,000 graves. It's famous as the resting place of Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, known for her work in the women's suffrage movement.

My understanding is that our free time is very limited while I'm in Washington, D.C. but I'm hoping to find enough time to add one or two more photowalks to my collection while I'm there.

 

Photowalk #09: The Orchid Show at the Chicago Botanic Garden

The weather forecasts are getting more encouraging which should mean that I can soon catch up with my photowalks. We chose the only warmer and sunny day while we were in Wisconsin to drive down to the North Shore and view the Orchid Show at the Botanic Garden--surely one of our favorite spots in that area.

The orchids were displayed in a variety of ways:

And, individually, they were beautiful:

I love the buds for these that look like ripe berries:

And the backlight on these:

Of course, we needed to take a walk around the gardens themselves which, although pretty barren, provided a few photo ops. I love the shadows cast by the tree, which gave me an idea for a photo project for the year, looking at shadows. I'm almost always drawn to them, so I've started a collection.

Loved the contrast of the dried hydrangea which had blown off the plant onto the brick sidewalk.

And, finally, a black and white photo of a favorite view of the bell tower across the frozen pond.

I have a few more photos from this walk for the Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt, which I managed to finish while we were away thinking today (the official start of Spring) was the last day. However, I've discovered that the last day is March 31st, so I'll wait to post them when Eileen's link goes up. 

 

 

Five in Five on the 5th & Photowalk #08

Saturday we took a day trip to the Finger Lakes. Our first stop was Sauder's Market, a Mennonite grocery store in Seneca Falls. They produce many of their own labels---jams, jellies, sauces, and my favorite: sauerkraut. From there we drove to Auroa on Cayuga Lake. We were given a gift certificate to the Auroa Inn and had a lovely (and delicious lunch) there. Our table overlooked the lake, and afterwards we walked down to the lake to take some photos for Sandie's Five in Five meme. The challenge is to take as many photos as you can in five minutes. I only had my iPhone with me (what was I thinking?) but I did end up with five photos I was satisfied with. (A zoom lens would have been very helpful.)

Processed this one as a black and white photo; interestingly there wasn't a lot of difference from the original. A sign of how gray the weather is! The birds are a flock of Canadian geese.  As we loaded our groceries into the car at Sauders, flock after flock in large V-formations flew overhead. I don't think I'd ever seen quite so many geese at once. The Montezuma Wild Life Refuge isn't too far away which may explain the high numbers.

I was attracted to the colors and patterns of the bark on this tree.

The back of the Auroa Inn. The dining room is at the top of the stairs with the long windows; a great view of the lake.

Cold and snowy, but still beautiful.

After we left Auroa, we drove to Seneca Lake to visit one of our favorite wineries, Silver Thread. We had a lovely time chatting with two groups of people who had driven up from Pennsylvania for the day. A quick stop at the Waterloo Outlets and we headed home. By then it was snowing . . . again.