Category: Photographs

Photo a Week: Signs

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Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge: Signs

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO (OR TWO OR THREE) THAT FEATURES SIGNS OF ANY KIND.

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Joan Baez and her band rocking it out in Newport – August 2, 2009


Surprise!
Happy Birthday!
We are going to the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival!
Pete will be there! Arlo! Joan! Judy! Gillian! Guy!
…and a bunch of other people I haven’t heard of but you love them!!!

That was basically the presentation of my best-wife-ever birthday present to my folk singer husband, who is also a guitarist…a teacher…a songwriter.

He practically worships at the feet of – and knows the music and life stories of – many “old” & legendary folk singers. An opportunity to see some of his idols perform live…a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So off we went to the festival for both days – August 1 & 2, 2009 – located at picturesque Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island.

I am happy to report he was in folk singer heaven the entire weekend. I enjoyed myself as well, but also included strolls around the park taking photos as part of my experience.

 

 

My highlights?
Watching Joan Baez and Judy Collins on stage…just as professional and enthusiastic and at ease as their younger counterparts. If not more so.

Perhaps their voices had changed over the years, but their music was still transportive. Entertaining. Beautiful.

It made me smile and sing along.
A very good sign.

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Judy Collins at Newport August 2, 2009

 

Puzzle lines

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Puzzle lines

 

Who ever heard of puzzle piece stairs?

I never did…until I toured the Ticonderoga steamship at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont this past summer. The stairway between the upper and lower decks is covered with rubber tiles…each stair its own puzzle.

A remarkable sight.

 

BeckyB: lines&squares

Corner Forsythia

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Inspired by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo: Back Catalogue

My challenge to you is to find an image in your back catalog that still grabs your attention and share it…if you want to re-interpret the image with what you have gained over the years, feel free to do so.

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corner forsythia 2010

There is just something about this bright yellow flowering bush that I am drawn to.

Is it because one flourished in the corner of the front yard where I grew up? Or, more specifically, where I lived when I was 4 to 11 years old. Where the vast majority of my happy moments were spent outdoors. That particular forsythia was actually situated in the next door neighbor’s yard…right on the lot line. I always thought it was ours.

Is it because the happiest of my childhood family photos were taken in front of it? On special days when I wore a dress-up dress with my stick straight hair fancied up and curled for the occasion. Which was usually Mother’s Day or Easter or my birthday. My grandparents were often there. Or dear family friends. Gathered around. Smiling.

 

1960-4
corner forsythia 1960

Whatever the reason…

When I was all grown up, a homeowner and married with 2 children of my own, I mentioned how much I’d like to have a forsythia in the front corner of the front yard.

So on Mother’s Day 1990, I got one. And then another one for the other front corner a year later.

There were many places where happy family photos were taken while my children were growing up. Both indoors and outdoors.

 

forsythia 1991
corner forsythia 1991

But there was always something extra special about the front corner of the front yard and that bright yellow flowering forsythia…

For a brief few weeks every Spring.

 

 

Rib lines

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BeckyB: lines&squares

pumpkin lines

Pumpkins are everywhere this month…so I am including a few in BeckyB’s October lines & squares challenge. It seems appropriate.

Of course I could also include pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies and so on and so forth. But instead, I decided on the natural route. The “pumpkin/pumpkin spice” flavor popping up on store shelves has very little to do with an actual pumpkin anyway…and is more about cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. A delicious combination no matter what you call it.

As a retired dietitian, I must add…a pumpkin (technically a fruit, but masquerading as a vegetable) is quite nutritious – full of Vitamin A, fiber and other fun micronutrients.

Last but not least…

Let’s not forget: pumpkins are multi-purpose.

If not cooked into various yummy treats, there is always the carving-into-scary-faces route.

halloween pumpkin064
It is October after all.

Let’s play

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Inspired by:

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #67: Candid

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #68: Play

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Let’s see what happens when you pick up a small stone – the flatter the better – hold it just right between your thumb and first finger. Flick your hand back and then forward real quick – releasing it across the lake’s surface…

So it skips.

At 6 years old, you already play with rocks that you collect and line up in long rows on the deck railing at home. Separating them by size and shape. Carefully. Methodically. Counting them is also part of the fun.

But here it is different.

You and your family are at the lake.

You watch your daddy and see how he gets those stones to bounce across the water.

It is summer vacation after all.

No phones. No TV. No work. No school.

Hours upon hours to play.

gpc skipping stones 1994

Or maybe you’re only 3 years old. Your grampa is visiting to celebrate his 70th birthday and you want to try out your new doctor kit. He is your Patient of the Day.

First you listen to his heart. He is very quiet while you check it out.

Then he rolls up his sleeve so you can give him a shot. Because after all he might need one. Ooooh.

Ouch!

But you know he is just kidding.

This is just playtime pretend.

 

 

Photo a Week: Sun and Water

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Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge: Sun and Water

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO (OR TWO OR THREE) THAT FEATURES THE SUN AND WATER TOGETHER.

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Bring me the sunset in a cup.

Emily Dickinson

 

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Sun plus Water = Sunset

This photo was taken from the deck of a cruise ship off the coast of Bermuda, where my husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary a while back.

It was unbelievably breathtaking to be surrounded by ocean water as the sun went down.

A complete immersion experience.

 

Tuneful Tourism

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Inspired by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo Challenge: Tourism

So share some of your favorite spots from among your travels and tell us a bit about why you enjoyed it!

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I decided to take a break from posting photos from my favorite destination in California, and go with a tourist spot more local for this challenge. Perhaps others have the same experience in that we take for granted what is practically in our backyard.

Although I don’t live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, it is within driving distance from my home. Despite the eclectic restaurants and shops lining the streets, I tend to avoid it because of the parking hassles. And seemingly supersonic growth of hotels and high end condos.

What happened to what was once a quaint little city?

Tourism.

Vacationers travel from all over the world to visit Portsmouth – especially in the summer.  And for good reason. It’s also the time of year when I may brave the crowds…and the parking challenges. To pull up my lawn chair at the Prescott Park Arts Festival. This festival began on a much smaller scale in 1974…and is still going strong. A beautiful spot of land right next to the harbor.

I keep an eye on the schedule when it comes out each June. If I’m lucky, I can sit under the stars and watch a favorite musician or two perform. Many attendees bring a picnic dinner. Since the stage is also used for the summer musical, you never know what decorative sets will serve as the backdrop for that evening’s concert.

Two memorable nights:

Remember Peter, Paul and Mary?
Peter Yarrow gave a magical performance one night in 2012 – charming everyone there when he invited children up on stage at the end of the concert.

Prescott park 2012
Prescott Park 2012
pete yarrow
Prescott Park 2012

 

One of my all time favorite Prescott Park concerts was in 2013.

Mary Chapin Carpenter and Marc Cohn shared the stage for another amazing night in the park.

prescott park 2013
Prescott Park 2013

Perhaps I’m a tourist after all.

Grateful for the opportunity right down the highway!