Into Fall

No words need be spoken here. ENJOY!

Fall Color Preview

Fall is my all time favorite season of the year, devoid of all the holiday hustle and bustle. Yet, it brings pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins. Apple cider and hayrides, and pumpkin patches and corn mazes, and haunted houses too. We decorate our humble abodes with pumpkins and squash, hay bales and corn stalks, and pine cones and acorns. Right in the midst of the fever pitch, comes Halloween with ghosts and goblins and hooligans too. That one special night brings us ugly witches with scary spells, hairy pirates with long black swords, and fire breathing dragons and demons and more. 

Just when you think the season is nie, Thanksgiving arrives. The leaves have fallen, heaped high on the curb. The air has turned to a crispier chill. It's Thanksgiving Day with a feast to thrill. Turkey and dressing and casseroles galore. Pumpkin pie just so sweet and hot mugs of cider, what a treat. Fall, how I love thee. 

These images are from Fall's past taken throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. From along the scenic byways, deep within the wildlife refuge and forest, and high up on the mountains. Fall will soon be upon us. ENJOY! 

The Butterfly Effect

I have never met a Butterfly I didn't like! Over the decades of photographing nature, I have captured quite a variety of species of Butterflies in their natural habitat. I never tire of watching them flittering around the flower gardens and wildflower fields in Summer. I personally consider them one of God's blessed creatures. They bring no harm to anyone and provide only joy and beauty to everyone. Hang on, we're going Buttering!

THE MONARCHS

Monarch Butterfly, Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, Kentucky

Monarch Butterfly, Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, Kentucky

These images of the Monarch I captured five years ago at Bernheim Arboretum in the flower gardens near the Pavilion. The Monarch Butterfly numbers have drastically declined over the course of the last decade. Now there is a new project called The Monarch Butterfly Research Project. Milkweed fields and gardens are being planted around the country to aid in bringing the numbers back up for the beautiful Monarch Butterfly. Let's hope we can save them from extinction by restoring their main food group.

THE SWALLOWTAILS

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, Kentucky

Our next Butterfly is the Swallowtail and I'm betting everyone viewing this post has seen one in their lifetime. And if not, I'm so sorry. This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is partaking of the nectar at the Butterfly bushes in Bernheim Arboretum some five years ago. You can count on Swallowtails to frequent their favorite bushes, the Butterfly bush.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, Kentucky

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, Kentucky

These Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterflies are cousins to the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.. I captured these images first at the flower gardens at Bernheim Arboretum in Clermont, Kentucky and the second at Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood, Kentucky several years ago. The first image shows an Eastern Black Swallowtail stopping at a Button bush at Bernheim while the second shows the bright Dallas Red Lantana at Yew Dell Gardens. Butterflies are attracted to bright orange, yellow, purple and red flowers? It's true.

THE CLOUDEDS

Yellow Clouded Butterfly, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, Kentucky

Cabbage White Clouded Butterfly, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, Kentucky

The Clouded Butterfly family are a much smaller species of Butterfly. Notice the single spot on their wings. Also, did you notice the clouded edge of the Yellow Clouded. Clouded Butterflies love the Butterfly Bush, Milkweed, Coneflowers, Alfalfa, Dandelions, Clover and Tall Verbena. I suppose you could call them the 'not so particular Butterfly'. It's very difficult to get really good images of these little Butterflies. They don't stay still long.

Before I leave you today, I wanted you to know I will have a second post on Butterflies to share soon. Have a fantastic weekend all. We are getting the remnants of Tropical Depression Cindy this weekend here in the mid state of Tennessee. Back soon. ENJOY!

Barns of Kentucky

It is the perfect day to share some of the many beautiful barns I have photographed throughout the Bluegrass State of Kentucky. Kentucky has my heart, as it is my home state. I have wandered many a back road and scenic byway in Kentucky stopping along the side of the road or at times even pulled into the edge of a driveway to snap photos of a barn on my journeys. I hope you enjoy this look back as much as I enjoyed creating it. Off we go!

Historic Manchester Farms, Summer, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Lexington, Kentucky

Barn, Horse Farm, Late Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Barn, Horse Farm, Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Vintage Barn Adorned with Rock City Logo, Maker's Mark Distillery, Summer, Loretto, Kentucky

 Barn for Curing Bourbon, Summer, Maker's Mark Distillery, Loretto, Kentucky

Tobacco Barn, Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Vintage Barn turned Antiques Shop, Fall, Historic Glendale, Kentucky

White Barn Adorned with Quilt Logo, Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Red Barn, Visitor Center, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, Kentucky

Barn, Amish Farm, Summer, Scottsville, Kentucky

Vintage Barn Adorned with Rock City Logo, Summer, Bardstown, Kentucky

There you have it. Some of the barns I have photographed over the years while traveling the back roads and the scenic byways of the great state of Kentucky. I have to say I am very partial to the Bluegrass Region for obvious reasons. I especially love it in Fall, but Summer is nice too.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look back over the years at the beautiful barns throughout Kentucky. My favorite photo is the first one of Manchester Farms in Lexington taken some 15 years ago. At that time I used a Pentax K1000 manual camera with Fuji Velvia slide film. It was difficult learning 'to shoot the light' using that seemingly antiquated camera. Interestingly enough, that is the camera they still use in photography classes throughout colleges everywhere. I can see why. Many a roll of slide film was used to create that beautiful photo. I hope you will share with me your favorite image(s) on this journey of old historic and vintage barns. ENJOY!

Linking to Barn Collective

Blue Aster Dreams

At Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood, Kentucky, many seasons back, I walked among the gardens and captured images of brightly colored flowers blooming throughout the flower beds. These Blue Asters were blooming in abundance as I stopped to captured a couple of images. Butterflies were flitting all around the blooms while a cool breeze blew. It was the perfect Fall day in Kentucky with plenty of sunshine and blue skies.

Here in Tennessee, there are signs of Fall's approach slowly creeping into my daily life. As I shop online I see new Fall decor showing up in the web stores. As I travel around the city, I see 'Help Wanted' signs perched on lawns and hanging on drive thru windows everywhere, as teenagers have returned to their books, leaving shops and restaurants in need of help.

Browsing local boutiques and shops, I discover new displays set out for Halloween with wreaths and garland and witches on brooms adorning tables and mantels alike. Soon there will be pumpkins and hay bales and dried corn stalks lining doorways, walkways and driveways. Temps will wane to chilly and the nights will turn crisp. Talk of witch's brews and cauldrons, of scarecrows coming to life in the night, will bring fright to the faces of youngsters. Falling leaves and painted pumpkins, candy corn and trick or treats. Fall is making it's way in as the dusty, heat saturated days of Summer bid us a fond farewell. I hope you have enjoyed this post as I bring you beautiful flowers and my fond memories of Fall's past. Wherever you may be on today, I wish you a wonderful weekend. ENJOY!

Autumn Color

As I venture outdoors to take in the foliage of early Autumn, the beautiful ornamental colors of the season greet me. The familiar reds and oranges and yellows surround me with every twist and turn in my day. Everywhere we are inundated with orange pumpkins, bright yellow mums and maple trees laden with scarlet red leaves. Yet, every once in a while our travels find us face to face with a much warmer, cooler hue of soft purple, almost lavender.



While visiting the artists' shops in Nashville, Indiana, a few weeks ago, I happened upon these beautiful ornamental cabbages growing near a walkway, virtually hidden by the side of a shop. The large leaves, one overlapping the next, was the perfect setting.



The cabbage's soft green and the faintest purple hues spoke to me as I captured their mere existence, while most people passed by not noticing the beauty that lay there. Did you notice the speckles of cream sprayed across each leaf as though an artist had painted a texture on a canvas.



Last Autumn while walking among the gardens at Yew Dell, I captured several images of this feathery bush with its branches moving softly in the cool breeze. The slightest hint of lavender seemed to come forth from the bright sunshine, yet in the shade fluffy branches waif with the palest blush pink, bringing the bush to life and lending it an almost heavenly feel.



Before I left the gardens at Yew Dell, I spotted a cacti growing near a small sculpture. What I really love about this setting wasn't the cacti, but the beautiful deep purple buds. With Autumn winding down, dried leaves had come to rest in the cacti intermingling between the bulbs and the cacti leaves, adding another dimension to the setting.



Finally, before leaving Yew Dell's gardens, I took a stroll near the Arboretum with its many variety of trees. I looked up to see bright purple berries hanging off the branch of a tree, each berry glistening in the bright sun. My Autumn was complete.

Every season I travel to Nashville's artist community in Indiana, and to Yew Dell Gardens in Kentucky, and more frequently, to Bernheim Arboretum near my home. Visiting these gorgeous settings throughout this particular season, I seek to find Autumn's most unusual displays of color in an effort to capture each one and bring it to you in my images for you to lavish in. This weekend is the annual St. James Court Art Fair, one of the largest in the United States. I hope I can get by there and bring back some images to share with you if time allows and the weather cooperates. I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Autumn Changes

As the weather cools and nights grow longer, 

the flowers and plants at Yew Dell Gardens will wither and die,

Fall sets in bringing with it a chill and then a frost,

One final hoorah brings leaves of bright reds and yellows, 

And finally, as though in protest, they fall away to the earth.

The sunflowers have wilted and hang dead from their stalks.

The last remains of the pumpkins and ghourds in the garden lay as though forgotten.

The Black Eyed Susans bright yellow pedals are dried and crusty.

Fear not dear friends,
for as Autumn passes through to Winter,
children wonder the lanes gathering candies to eat on All Hallowed's Eve,

tables will be set in earnest with Thanksgiving meals,

Christmas parties will take place throughout the community,

New Year's Eve brings champagne flowing and crystal balls to drop,

the frivolity of the holiday season will prevail. ENJOY!

Yew Dell Gardens

All of the images from this week were taken at Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood, Kentucky. Here's a simple collage of some of the images I captured last Sunday at Yew Dell.

Everyone have a fantastic weekend. The weather here in the Bluegrass State has been gorgeous all week with 'no' humidity and cool temps at night with beautiful blue sky days. Oh how blessed. Are you enjoying your first week of Fall? ENJOY!

Pale Clouded Butterfly

Poetry takes me back to my teen years when after school I would disappear into my room and read Rod McKuen's poetic phrases and envision that I could write such melodic thoughts. As a young girl, he was a God send taking me to far away places through his simplistic phrases allowing me to escape to a world I could never know. Today, occasionally I write my own poetic phrases. The words serve to give life to my photographs that I have captured among the settings I escape to today in a world I know very well. ENJOY!

Sunflower's Bounty

Summer's end brings many changes as Autumn takes hold.

As I walked among the trees, the shrubs, the plants, the flowers and the gardens of Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood on Sunday, I was reminded of Summer, but also of what is to come with this new season. The plants and flowers were beginning to show signs of want. I lingered among the tall stalks seeking to capture the moment. ENJOY!

SUNFLOWERS . . .

Sunflowers stood tall in a small garden patch.

Flowers hung heavy on lanky stalks.

Leaves dried and brittle.

Blooms devoid of color.

Seeds the only proof of life.

Yew Dell Gardens, A Fall Walk

My good intentions were dashed. I tried so hard to get back to Yew Dell Gardens during the Summer to take some photos of the beautiful flower garden in full bloom, but sadly I missed it. That's quite alright, because Fall is a beautiful time to visit Yew Dell, as is any time.

Last week we took a walk around the wildflower meadow at Bernheim. Now come join me as we take a walk around the beautifully landscaped grounds at Yew Dell. Almost immediately we arrive at the Castle which stands just off the main entrance and gift shop. Here the Castle's wall is being overtaken by long strands of green ivy trailing up the side of the old stone walls. The huge Elephant Ears are so large its as though they are greeting each visitor who enters.

Walking past the Castle, I stepped down into one of the gardens and turned to snap an image of the Castle as I stood behind some tall grasses.

Then I made my way around the gardens where Fall is obviously taken hold and all of the beautiful blooms are mostly gone. But I still love the colors that Fall leaves behind.

A White Sulphur Butterfly was busily feeding on what was left of Summer's blooms.

As I walked back toward the north end of the grounds, I turned to snap this image showing a portion of the gardens that lay just beneath the courtyard and the Castle itself. It's a beautiful place and so serene.

Then I decided to take a walk over toward the other gardens on the grounds and while doing so walked down a path where I turned to find this view looking by at me. More tall grasses glowing in Fall's light. If you ever get to Louisville, Yew Dell is a fifteen minute drive northeast in Crestwood. There's a minimal charge that is well worth every dime. Oh, did I mention they have hiking trails. They do and one day I've got to give them a test drive. I hope you're enjoying our walks. I know I am. Have a wonderful evening all. ENJOY!

Fall Splendor

Into every Fall a little beauty comes. It's many forms and fashions are displayed in earnest across America paying homage to a season where 'harvest' is the time and 'color' is the landscape. From piles of wind strewn leaves, to pumpkins ready to carve, to porches decked in orange and reds, to apples ripe and ready picked, to hiking leaf strewn paths, to Fall's bonfire flicker, to wagon wheels bulged from riders, to Harvest moons shining a bright. Every Fall each and every one of us are touched in many ways by the season. No matter where you turn or who you speak with there is chatter, as much as there is colorful evidence that it is Fall.

Just a few of the many places I have traveled during this season of color . . . Mustatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in south central Indiana, the quaint Arts and Crafts Village of Nashville, Indiana, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee, Blackacre Nature Preserve and Yew Dell Gardens near Louisville, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in central Kentucky. No matter where my travels have taken me, Fall beckons us outdoors with its rusty reds, bold oranges and bright yellows. It's Fall. ENJOY!

Cabbage White Sulphur Butterfly

And you thought all I photographed were birds. I do still vary things up a little. As is told in my last post featuring one of the globe's best known bourbon brands, Maker's Mark. And yesterday after almost a year, I finally paid a second visit to Yew Dell Gardens. Albeit, I was a little late for all of the Summer blooms. I did, however, catch this beautiful Cabbage White Sulphur flittering about the remaining blooms in the flower beds there.

I promise to share a few more of the images I captured yesterday at Yew Dell soon. Hope your weekend is a great one. And least anyone reading this post thinks that I'm not on top of things . . . HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL! ENJOY!