Sprinkled

May 8, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 22 Comments

Double inspiration this week…

Lens-Artists Challenge #95: All Wet

I hope you’ve enjoyed my departure from the everyday challenges of our COVID-19 world, and that you too have some archived wet images to share.

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #95: What a Child Knows

This week, let’s tune into the wisdom of children, or look inside to reconnect with our inner child and innate wisdom.

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If you own a home…with a yard…you often end up with a lawn that gets a bit finicky every now and then, especially in the summer.

In other words it gets crunchy in places.

Back in the days of such situations…when rain became elusive, we dragged out the green 25 foot garden hose and attached our sturdy “oscillating” lawn sprinkler. It needed to be positioned just right – in order to direct the much needed drink of water to the thirsty spots on our lawn. This took patience.

You also had to calculate exactly when to dash out of the way to re-position the sprinkler when necessary.

No sense in soaking yourself, the driveway or creating a river into the street.

Just the grass needed to get…All Wet…

With special attention paid to the Brown Spots.

sprinkler

Children meet up with a lawn sprinkler…and it’s a whole different story.

Never mind the grass. Or crunchiness. Who cares about brown spots? They sure don’t.

Water shooting high into the air out of a rotating metal bar with holes in it…is not about soaking the grass. Not at all.

It is really just a mechanism designed to get them all wet and cooled off in the hot summer sun.

Including a variety of delightful shenanigans…

Enjoying every sunlit moment.

They know.

backyard001

Lens-Artists Challenge: At Home

April 30, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 24 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #94: At Home

Due to the lockdown, we are spending more time at home. But, hopefully this isn’t limiting our interest in photographing. This week, we invite you to share photos taken at home.

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I am still getting used to “home” as it exists today. Although…after 3 years, I should be well on my way.

But when you’ve lived in one house for over 36 years – the greater part of your adult life – I’ve discovered it’s an ongoing adjustment after you pack up and downsize to a condo.

These long stretched out days…sitting at the kitchen table with my humongous mug of coffee every morning…I am comforted to notice bits from my old life still close by…

The vinyl records from way back (and that’s just half of the collection). The lamp that was a wedding present from dear family friends. The 42 year old philodendron – originally a wedding gift from my college roommate…a botany major.

Family pictures. Always family pictures. Oh…and a Lego character saved and resurrected from my son’s collection. Our grandson fell in love with “Astronaut” during his last visit, so we leave it on display for FaceTime. Ready and waiting to see him again.

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Glancing behind me, the door to my “office” is open – my late mother-in-law’s antique chair tucked in the corner.

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At the far end of the table… my mind clearing puzzle remains stretched out waiting to be finished.

partial puzzle

All here at home.

Waiting

April 9, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 30 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #91: Simplicity

Show us what simplicity means to you.

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #91: transported

In the midst of chaos, what transports you to simpler times?

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I was struck by the synchronicity of my two favorite blog challenges this week. Both numbering 91. It seemed quite natural to combine them together.

To be honest, the current – as V.J. so aptly describes it – chaos has made me want to crawl into a corner and wait for “this” to be over. However, that only momentarily happens in my imagination – and as tempting as it sounds, I realize it is not a tenable solution.

Being trapped. Isolated. Cut off from what I love to do and who I love to be with will never be a “new normal” no matter how long “this” lasts. I know the confusing uneasiness hovering everywhere isn’t unique to me. So there is solace in knowing…as is written with colored chalk on town sidewalks and on “Closed for Now” signs taped to store windows…We’re All In This Together.

Yes, we’re all in this together…at least six feet apart.

It’s far from simple or easy to understand. Too much change too fast. Too much horror for too many around the world.

So I try to remember nature’s simple pleasures.

My favorite spots…unchanged by the invisible invader lurking in all of our lives.

Where I am transported to “before.”

Whether it be the familiar soothing sound of the surf.

simple beach

Or a calm quiet place to rest.

simple bench

It’s worth holding on to the simple things.

rising bud

As we wait…each in our own way…

Together.

Lens-Artists Challenge: A River Runs Through It

March 26, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 17 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #89: A River Runs Through It

…photos of rivers running down mountains, through valleys, along plains where you are or you have traveled, and we also love to read your stories…

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A river runs through the small town of Exeter, NH.

Known commonly as The Exeter River, it is technically a tidal river originating in the town of Chester – located west of Exeter.

The Exeter River begins in the town of Chester and flows east and north to Exeter where it becomes tidal and changes name to the Squamscott River, before emptying into Great Bay. (DES.NH)

As it enters Exeter, it flows under a bridge behind the main street, lined with local businesses.

Winding its way past downtown, the river picks up a bit of speed.

Next it flows by a public park where visitors walk or jog along the perimeter.

And often pause to rest…on one of the numerous memorial benches donated by local citizens.

A peaceful place of refuge.

Lens-Artists Challenge #87: Reflections

March 10, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 44 Comments

Inspired by Lens-Artists Challenge #87: Reflections

…we invite you to be creative to find any reflective surfaces to show us your reflection photographs.

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My most recent favorite reflection happened in January during a walk on the beach. The tide was lower than I’d ever seen before. The afternoon light caught the clouds above while the beach transformed into a mirror.

Magical.

I had driven to this beach with an overwhelming need to clear my head. Walking along the ocean…listening to the waves hit the shore…the blue sky meeting the water in a far off horizon.

It never fails me.

A few years ago I caught this moment during a walk close to sunset.

Last summer, reflections appeared on a pond at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

This past week has been quite difficult on a personal level…which drove me to the beach again yesterday. No reflections this time…but these photos brought it all back.

The peace. The calm. The comfort.

Gotta love the power of the images we capture – as they transport us back to a healing moment in time.

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(I resisted inserting the Supremes rendition of Reflections, as it kept going through my mind while writing this post…it’s funny how songs just pop up at the most unexpected times)

Lens-Artists Challenge: Change Your Perspective

March 3, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 19 Comments

Inspired by Lens-Artists Challenge #86: Change Your Perspective

…we invite you to break the habit of shooting photos at eye-level and change your perspective. Instead, show us your photographs taken from a variety of perspectives–by getting down low, by looking up at the subject or looking down, or walking around the subject.

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This past Sunday – sunny but cold – seemed a perfect opportunity for a walk on the beach. The bright afternoon sun enhanced the perspective potential for this challenge…and I am always chasing the light.

It didn’t disappoint.

Along the walkway bordering the beach is a shelter that covers several lines of benches. The sun lit it up with lines as well.

Catching my eye from one side…

A bit less eye-catching from the other side…

Venturing underneath and looking up…

…revealed an entirely different display.

I continued walking down the boulevard…but before turning around to head back to my car, I glanced up.

Apparently two seagulls took it upon themselves to be on the lookout atop a light pole.

They sat at attention long enough for a photo.

Lens-Artists Challenge: Treasure Hunt

February 25, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 27 Comments

Inspired by Lens-Artists Challenge #85: Treasure Hunt

This week we’re going on a Treasure Hunt! The challenge is to search for specific items – either from your archives or newly captured – from the list below. Extra credit items are a bit more challenging. Focus on quality over quantity and hit us with your best shot(s)!

- Challenge Items: Sunrise and/or sunset, Something cold and/or hot, a bird, a dog, a funny sign, a bicycle, a seascape and/or mountain landscape, a rainbow, a church, a musical instrument, a boat, a plane, a waterfall.
- Extra Credit Items: An expressive portrait of one or more people, a very unusual place, knitting or sewing, a fish, an animal you don’t normally see, a bucket, a hammer, a street performer, a double rainbow, multiple challenge items in a single image.

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A photo scavenger hunt!

This reminds me of party activities when I was a kid – going house to house asking for odd items. Like a feather or a paper clip. We also searched for items in the yard. The object of the game was to complete your collection before anyone else did.

For this challenge, I scavenged through my archives and found these photos.

A bird…painted on the side of a building in Burlington, Vermont.

bird on wall

A dog…missing his humans on Christmas Day in Washington, DC. (also substituting for a person in the “expressive portrait” category).

dog

A waterfall…flowing in a park in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Guitars in the making at the Martin Guitar Factory…in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

A fish at the entrance to a seascape…in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.

seascape fish

A sunset behind a mountain landscape. Boats settled in for the night…in North Ferrisburgh, Vermont.

vermontbay

The End

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Future

February 11, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 18 Comments

Inspired by Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #83: Future

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Today was all about the future.

It was voting day in New Hampshire.

I live in the state which holds the first Primary in the race for President of the United States. Hordes of candidates have been campaigning here during the last year. Speeches. Rallies. Town Halls. Visits to local diners. Television and radio ads. Much shaking of hands and thousands of selfies.

I won’t go into all the drama and teeth gnashing that defines today’s politics. Much of it polarizing and potentially toxic within families and friendships – where differences of opinion exist.

This is not about a particular candidate.

What I want to focus on here is the wonder of living in a country where we actually have the right to vote. A chance to shape our future.

Express our opinions, as diverse as they are. Hopefully with respect.

Sometimes that goes well and sometimes it doesn’t.

Today it went well. I was more than happy to wait for a parking place at the packed voting site. It signaled a large voter turnout. People taking this responsibility seriously. Perhaps it meant less voter apathy. I hope I’m right.

To vote is to put your voice to work for everyone’s future. All the candidates promise – in one way or another – a better future. Whether that be health care, tackling climate change, jobs…and my favorite since my teenage years: promoting peace. World peace. How we all need to get along…better.

I was greeted by campaign reps standing outside with their signs. Media personnel conducting random interviews.

No shouting. Just friendly hellos and smiles.

primary walk

As a two party system, you must choose a Democratic or Republican ballot for a primary election.

So many choices.
[As far as I know, a $1,000.00 filing fee is all that’s needed to get your name on the ballot]

Last but not least…leave the pen!

pen

Let’s hope we vote for a bright and prosperous future for us all.

Time will tell.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Capitals

February 6, 2020September 7, 2020 ~ oneletterup ~ 19 Comments

Inspired by Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #82: Capitals

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I have visited Washington DC, the capital of the United States, many times.

My first trip to DC was with my Cadette Girl Scout troop when I was 13. A very long time ago…but I do remember a few highlights of that long weekend: staying in an old brick hotel, getting in trouble for using the room phone to call boys across the alley at a different hotel and visiting a science museum where an “elephantiasis leg” was on display in a tall glass case. Yup, some poor departed soul’s diseased leg floating in murky fluid proved both fascinating and mesmerizing to my young scientist mind. I have no photos of that trip. Which is probably just as well.

However, as luck would have it, my adult children now live in DC. As well as my grandson. Excellent reasons to visit!

In 2012, we made the rounds of a few tourist destinations.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pond.

A visit to the National Portrait Gallery.

gallery
The year before – in June, 2011 – we spent Father’s Day weekend with our son – including taking in a baseball game at Washington Nationals Park.

baseball

Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered this between innings. A Gluten Free food booth!

GF food
And last – but not least – we returned to further explore the Smithsonian National Museum of American History…which always includes a pilgrimage to the display case featuring Elizabeth Cotten’s Guitar.