Mulberry Street

Good things about our field trip today include: stopping to buy rain boots from the thrift store, bringing enough umbrellas and zero crowds.  Also, there was a day camp there with low attendance so they shared their pizza and juice boxes with my kids.  Super generous leaders and I am grateful for their kindness. Some not so good things about our field trip today include: the rain, leaky umbrellas, and falling in the mud.  I also learned how difficult it is to hold an umbrella with one hand and shoot photographs with the other hand. It was raining hard enough that I didn't ever put the umbrella down, just attempted to pin it between my head and shoulder if I needed to use my other hand to get a shot. C'est la vie they say. The kids earned Junior Ranger badges and I managed to get a few good shots which almost makes all the whining worth it.  Next time, I wouldn't mind visiting the aquatic gardens on a sunny day, alone.  

I have a fascination with decaying trees.  Until the layers are peeled back, you wouldn't know that insects had left their mark, chewing through the outer layers and boring holes into the inner layers. ISO 200, f /3.2 at 1/5000, 50mm So much texture and depth is revealed when bark separates from trunks or limbs.  Bark has a tremendous responsibility to protect the tree and I am amazed at its thin, papery feel in my fingers. ISO 200, f/3.5 at 1/500, partial metering, 16-35mm at 16mm It was fascinating to come across an old beaver lodge and examine the felled trees from long ago.  They say a beaver's work is never done and we found evidence that they were still hard at work before they disappeared. ISO 200, f/3.5 at 1/500, partial metering, 16-35mm at 23mm I love watching Benjamin discover nature, wander around, and let his imagination work in this element.  I hope he leaves a positive mark on nature, as it appears to be doing on him.  ISO 200,...

I hiked "Old Rag" the highest peak in Shenandoah National Park with three friends.  While I hiked I found myself wondering why, having lived in VA for so many years, I haven't hiked this mountain before.  It was fantastic.  The drive to the trail head was stunning and full of picturesque farms lining the base of the mountains.  Heidi, Shelly, Brooke and myself put on our support braces, taped up problem areas on our legs and took some pain relief before setting out on foot.  Hiking in our thirties and forties is very different from hiking in our twenties! The ascent was steep, rocky and full of roots.  We were so focused on the trail that we had to remind ourselves to glance around once in awhile.  The beauty surrounding us was spectacular.  There is about a mile section of the trail called the "rock scramble" which literally means tossing up your pack and scrambling on all fours up and down and around the boulders. ...