Happy Sunday!

This beautiful iron pot sits in the gardens at Cheekwood. As I visited last Summer, the Sweet Potato Vine caught my eye. Isn't it fabulous. Have a wonderful Sunday everyone. ENJOY!

Happy Independence Day America!

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!

I captured this image last evening during Hendersonville's Freedom Festival Fireworks Show. I love the reflection on the water. Thank you to all the men and women who died so that we could live in this great country free. God Bless America. Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July! ENJOY!

The Barn Series - Day 6 - See Rock City

Today I am sharing a vintage barn featuring the SEE ROCK CITY logos. You can find these logo barns all over the South. You can find this barn outside the gate entrance to Maker's Mark. While we are in Kentucky, I wanted to share a little bit about Rock City which is situated atop Lookout Mountain, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and features massive ancient rock formations, beautiful gardens, a waterfall and caverns. You can walk on the Swing Along Bridge or hike the Enchanted Trail, or if you fancy it, visit Mother Goose Village to shop and dine. It's an experience to see the least!

If you take the state road from Loretto to Louisville, in Kentucky, just pat Bardstown sits another Rock City logo barn. I admit I have never been to Rock City. It is on my list of places to visit in Tennessee, I would love to photograph the waterfall and take a few snaps of the overlook on top of Lookout Mountain where you can see 7 states in that one spot. Impressive!

Stop back by tomorrow for another barn in our Barn Series. You never know where we might end up. And I love having you along for the ride, as much as I love reminiscing about these old barns I photographed over the years. Have a wonderful evening. ENJOY!

The Barn Series, Day 5 - Jim Beam

We have Jim Beam Distillery as our barn showcase today. Remember yesterday we were in Loretto, Kentucky, at Maker's Mark Distillery. Today we are about 40 miles north in Clermont, Kentucky, outside Bardstown, at Jim Beam Distillery, another best selling bourbon globally.

Jim Beam hails back to 1795 (excluding the prohibition) and still reigns supreme as a top selling bourbon whiskey brand globally. Johannes Beam distilled the first bottle of Jim Beam. The original name was Bohm, but after immigrating to Kentucky from Germany, the family changed it to Beam. Johannes distilled the first bottle before prohibition and after probibition Jacob Beam started the company in 1935. The name was changed later to Jim Beam honoring James Beam, the Master Distiller for 40 years. A beautiful gray barn was built to accommodate a stillhouse where visitors can taste and purchase the Jim Beam brand.

The actual tasting done by master distillers is actually done in this barn, if my information serves me correctly. The ricking barn you see in the background is where the whiskey ages in rack after rack of barrels. A rickhouse is also called a rackhouse.

I love what the brand did to one of the silos at the distillery painting it stark white and giving it all the trappings of the brand. I love the images of the ancestors of the brand on the side.

The old barn that you can see as you drive down the highway got a new coat of white paint and many a Jim Beam logo. I love the face lift they did at Jim Beam recently. Did you know the Jim Beam Distillery is right across the street from Bernheim Arboreteum, one of my old favorite stomping grounds when I lived in Louisville.

I know what you're thinking. We are on Day 5 of The Barn Series and we haven't even gotten out of Kentucky. Amazing! That's my great home state for you. Now as I write this post I am not positive where I am taking you tomorrow or even if we will get out of the state of Kentucky, but if you come along with me, I promise another good time. See you then. ENJOY!

Linking to Metamorphosis Monday

The Barn Series- Day 4 - Maker's Mark

Every barn tells a story. This story began as Burks Distillery way back in 1953, in the tiny town of Loretto, Kentucky. However, in 1953 the story changed when a Kentucky gentleman, Bill Samuels, bought the distillery.

Five years and much ado later in 1958, the first run of bourbon was bottled at Maker's Mark Distillery, complete with the dipped red wax seal, and a star was born. Maker's Mark is a global brand renowned as one of the best bourbons bottled. Having visited Maker's Mark multiple times, I have to say the one thing I love, almost as much as the barrel laden vintage wagon that sits in the yard, has to be this stark black barn with its distinctive red shutters that lends a hand to the Maker's Mark brand.

The story doesn't end there though. My father, Joseph Mattingly, was born right up the road from Maker's Mark, before it even became the renowned distillery it is today. Furthermore, if you were to travel the back roads surrounding Loretto, Springfield or Bardstown, Kentucky, you couldn't throw a stone without hitting one of my ancestors.

As vintage barns go, the barn at Maker's Mark is definitely one of my favorites for obvious reasons. Seriously, one minute we were in the heart of the Bluegrass State and the 'Horse Capital of the World' and nary a minute later we are in the 'Bourbon Capital of the World' and we didn't leave the state of Kentucky. Amazing!

It's Day 4 of The Barn Series and we are still traveling in Kentucky. If thoroughbreds and horse barns didn't peak your interest, I hope this little splash of spirits from Maker's Mark did. Let's get back in the car and head on down the road. Hey, you suppose we'll make it out of Kentucky? ENJOY!

Linking to Metamorphosis Monday

The Barn Series - Day 2 - Stonewall Farm

I am thrilled you made the decision to come along with me on this trip back in time, as I reminisce about the many barns I have had the pleasure of capturing photographs of over the past decade. If I had to rate some of the barns I have seen along the Bluegrass Scenic Byway, the famed road that runs between Midway and Lexington, in central Kentucky, this barn would be in the top five on that list. Yesterday, we visited Manchester Farms, one of the most iconic horse farms in Lexington, second to Calumet Farms. Today's barn heralds from this same gorgeous region of Kentucky, and I can say, has been home to many a stallion and mare as this thoroughbred franchise is famous for.

This is famed Stonewall Farm, situated smack dab in the center of the 'Horse Capital of the World.' It is truly the perfect setting with its beautiful lake and fountain and, of course, always present historic limestone wall that runs the length of the farm along the byway. Every time I see the limestone wall that separates the road from the pastures, an emotion like known other wells up in me. That wall says it all. You are in the 'Horse Capital of the World.' Stonewall has bred many champions over the years, but I believe what they are as famous for is the beautiful fields and barns that make up the property. I often wonder what this barn would look like a hundred years from now as a new photographer stops to capture its beauty. Every barn began its story brand spanking new before it became weathered and worn. I try to keep this in mind every time I stop to photograph a barn.

Our first two posts on this journey back in time have found us at two stunning horse farms in the famed Bluegrass Region. No matter where we venture to, I know you will enjoy the ride. I miss photographing the Bluegrass Region, but I know some day I will be back in Kentucky and will call it home again. Once it is in your blood you cannot get it out. While I love the great state of Tennessee and it's rugged beauty, Kentucky is in my bones. I am so glad you came along today on this journey. I hope to see you again tomorrow. ENJOY!

Linking to The Barn Collective

The Barn Series- Day 1 - Manchester Farms

In the beginning, when I started this blog, this was the very first image I posted. An image captured with my old manual Pentax camera, which has long since been retired, using old school Fuji slide film. The camera where I taught myself to shoot the light and how to capture the best perspective and most of all, how to enjoy photographing nature.

The day I photographed this image I hadn't spent much time in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. But in the beginning days as a nature photographer, this was high on my bucket list, the beautiful fields and fence line and horse barns at Manchester Farms in Lexington, Kentucky. I drove the back roads of the Bluegrass Scenic Byway from Midway to Lexington to Manchester Farms. I meandered up and down the road traveling back and forth and stopping at many places to check the perspective I was looking for. I found it and here's the proof. To this day this image is still one of my all time favorite images, if for no other reason, than because it was one of the first ones I truly longed to captured. Lucky me, the thoroughbreds were grazing aimlessly in the fields on this sunny, Summer's day.

If only I had known then just where my travels would take me on this photographic journey, I am sure I would have thought, "no way." Yet, I have traveled thousands of miles all other the north and south and eastern United States capturing scene after scene in all types of weather and in every setting. From fields to forest, from lake shore to sea shore, from quaint Amish farms to gorgeous Bluegrass horse farms, from mountains to valleys. I have traveled in earnest seeking that image. That image that tells the story of why I was there.

I have traveled to Cape Cod and Nantucket Island in Massachusetts, to Mid Coast and Down East in Maine, to the Great Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee, to the tiny shore towns along Michigan's lake shore, to Assateague National Seashore in Maryland to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, to Gibbs Gardens in Georgia and to Hocking Hills State Park in south central Ohio. Finally, least we forget, I have traveled countless times to visit Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky, to Mustatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in south central Indiana. Both places only a stone's throw away from home. And yes, I have traveled many times along the Bluegrass Scenic Byway, which often referred to as 'my back yard.'

Throughout so many of these journeys there was one image I always stopped and took the time to photograph. Barns. Whether the barn was an old or vintage or dilapidated or, even, brand new. It mattered not to me. I stopped and walk back and forth and looked through my viewfinder for that perspective I so wanted to take away with me before I left that barn to live on in history.

From barns with logos painted on them to barns with quilt placards to barns nearly falling down to barns famous and steeped in history. I captured images of barns. And now I am leaving to take you on an adventure for the next few weeks as I captured barn image after barn image. I'll tell a story and weave a web about history. The only question now is, 'are you coming with me?" ENJOY!

Linking to The Barn Collective and Metamorphosis Monday

Luck 'o the Irish to You!

Burnt Cove, Deer Isle, A Decade Ago

When is the last time you took a trip down memory lane? I have embarked on that trip again today. Taking a decade's old journey back in time, I find myself on a remote island off the coast of Down East Maine. On the western edge of Deer Isle I find Burnt Cove. Carved into the landscape surrounded by quaint, clapboard houses and large, granite boulders, this tiny cove is the consummate Maine setting. Heavy clouds hang low in the sky, on this warm Summer's day, giving every element a larger than life feel. I snap images moving my viewfinder a tad left, then a tad right.

After photographing Burnt Cove, I drive the narrow, winding back roads further south on Deer Isle. Using a map, I hug the coastline taking in the scenery. An hour passes and I make my way back to Burnt Cove with anticipation. Just as I had suspected, the low cloud base had lifted giving way to blue skies. Have you ever seen such a beautiful Maine setting as this. Needless to say, the red clapboard house is a priceless find.

The granite boulders that hug the coast, as they do in most Down East shorelines, coupled with the dense Fir trees that grow right up to the water's edge, sets the perfect scene. My love affair with coastal Maine, and an equally passionate love affair with sailboats, brought me to the farthest northeastern state of the U.S. I can only hope if I journeyed to this remote area today that I would find a similar landscape. However, I know there is nowhere, in this our United States, that is safe from urban sprawl. So lucky to have captured these images at a time when coastal Maine was still rugged and unspoiled. Time really can stand still. All you need do is press your shutter release button. Click, and the scene is yours forever.

I have a very lazy weekend ahead with only a few chores. Perhaps the out of doors, which constantly beckons to me, will take over and I'll find myself by the lake shore today. Who knows. ENJOY!

Stonington, Through My Lens

If I could go back to Maine, I would go in a heart beat, but I have other fish to fry. So I scan my image library and sigh. There is no place quite like Maine. It's beautiful. It's rugged. It's unique in so many ways. I drove into Stonington, Maine, on Deer Isle, on a very foggy, Summer's mourn and headed straight for the waterfront. I reached the dock just in time to see this beautiful tall ship making its way across the harbor.

As the fog began to lift, I drove from one side of town to the other, creeping slowly through a busy, tiny town to find the opposite side of the harbor. As I approached the waterfront, camera in hand, this beautiful tall ship was sailing by. I absolutely love the old dock in the foreground with the sea gulls perched on top.

With the fog fully lifted now, I turned and made my way to the car, having driven way out on the main dock. Before I got in the car, I looked up and saw this scene. The quintessential Maine clapboard houses sitting next to the the water's edge, while a wharf side restaurant complete with log stilts jutted out in the harbor itself. What a perfect setting. Stonington is such a quaint, albeit teeny tiny town, situated on the southern most edge of Deer Isle. If you have never visited, you've missed out.

Before getting back in my car, I also noticed these small boats tied up to a smaller dock. The sun was bright and the water was a gorgeous blue. I couldn't not snap a few photos. This tiny town is so remote and isolated, and to think of the harsh Winters, and to see that tourism was, and still is, thriving here was such a comfort. I am amazed to think about the fishermen making a living out on the open ocean working their lobster traps, but that is exactly what they do.

Before leaving Stonington, I stopped at a small shop in town. Curiosity took over as I walked to the back of the shop next to the waterfront. A small sailboat was floating aimlessly through the harbor. At the water's edge lay a tangled mess of rope and bright pink buoys. Oh, how perfect. Throw in a bit of rocky coastline that Maine is so famous for and you have the perfect seaside image.

If I visited Stonington today, I would stay a while and snap more images and immerse myself in this quaint, tiny seaside town. I had dreamed of this trip for years and to live it was absolutely surreal. I'll be back with my next stop at Burnt Cove on Deer Isle. And yes, I've shared this trip before, but I just couldn't not share again. Can you see why. I hope you are staying warm in the throws of this Polar Vortex with negative degree days and even colder nights, not to mention snow squalls in the north every other minute. And before I leave, goodbye January. You seemed so short and sweet. Oh, and least I forget, these beauties (photos) were all taken with slide film on a manual Pentax camera. Take that you DSLRs! ENJOY!

A Beautiful Reflection

Captured in the Waterlily Gardens at Gibbs Gardens, located in Ball Ground, Georgia, two years ago in Summer. It was a hot August day, but I persevered to capture just a tidbit of the beautiful reflections from the pond. I hope you are having a fantastic weekend and Labor Day holiday. ENJOY!

Sunflower Field

Helianthus or Sunflower is a genus of plants comprising about 70 species. There are only three species in South America. All of the remaining species of the Helianthus species are native to North America.

The Sunflower, whose round flower heads, in combination with the ligules, look like the sun. This and other species are cultivated in temperate regions, and some tropical regions, as food crops for humans, cattle, and poultry, and as ornamental plants.

Sunflowers are tall annual or perennial plants that can grow to a height of 120 inches or more. They bear one or more wide flower heads with bright yellow ray florets at the outside and yellow or maroon disc florets inside.

During growth, Sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun, but stop once they begin blooming. This tracking of the sun in young Sunflower heads is called heliotropism. By the time they are mature, Sunflowers generally face east. The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in wild plants, but is usually unbranched in domesticated cultivars. The leaves are surrated and and often sticky. The lower leaves are typically heart-shaped.

Eastern European countries, such as the Ukraine and Russia, are the top Sunflower producers in the world. They contribute half of the Sunflower seed production globally.

In 2016, Batey Farms had planted an entire field of Sunflowers, which brought throngs of visitors to their farm for photo ops. It was a hugely popular spot that year.

In 2017, I captured these images at Batey Farms in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Batey only planted about 12-15 short rows of Sunflowers last year, and didn't plant any this year, due to over saturated conditions.

Being a huge Sunflower fan, I wanted to put up a post showing all of the best images I could ream from my archives. Last year's Sunflower shoot came up in spades, as all of my favorites came from last year. What is your favorite Sunflower image? Mine is the second image. I love how perfectly the Sun illuminated the Sunflower. I hope you enjoyed this look back. I haven't been able to find any Sunflowers to photograph this Summer. Perhaps Batey will plant another crop next year. Have a wonderful weekend all. Relax, be safe and stay cool as Summer's heat is still upon us. ENJOY!

Linking to Home Link Party

A Wattle and A Snood

As I drove around the Elk and Bison Prairie recently, there were flocks of wild Turkeys foraging in the meadows. Most were off in the distance, but several were close enough to photograph. I cropped one image that caught my eye. I don't know why but a Turkey's brightly colored head has always been fascinating to me. His wattle, the fleshy skin that grows under his throat, is pink and bright red at the end. I read blood pools in the wattle when a Tom wants to attract a hen.

I read that Turkeys are a form of pheasant. I also read that the Tom's gobble while the females make a clicking sound. Also, that fleshy skin that grows above their forehead is a snood and also pools with blood when Tom is on the hunt. It appears from my photo, that Tom is definitely on the hunt for a lady. A new week is upon us, and need I say it, a new season is around the corner. Oh, Fall where art thou. Please bring us cooler temps soon. ENJOY!

A Photographer's Favorite

A large Bison stood motionless taking in the heat of the day at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes earlier this week. The hustle and bustle of small calves, nary a few months old, rustling around him didn't make for even a stir. As I snapped images with my long lens, I noticed him standing quietly in the fray. It was obvious he knew the daily routine of the Bison herd. Of all the images I captured on that day this one stood out. The sun gives his dark black and brown fur a warm, rich sheen. A tiny weed grows in front of this huge beast. The most delicate and the most beastly exist in harmony. What a contrast. To read more about the Elk and Bison Prairie, click here. Have a great weekend all. ENJOY! 

Bison Loom Large

After you enter the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky, you travel on a three and a half mile loop, in a 700 acre enclosure, where the Elk and Bison roam free. The prairie is a natural grassland with ponds, woods and creeks scattered throughout.

I found the Bison herd crowded together near the end of the loop road. Some were rubbing large boulders while others were headed to a large dust pad nearby. The first image is the matriarch, the very largest Bison in the herd. He was huge. 

There are about 60 Bison in this herd including the calves which are born in May. Breeding season is July to September as was evidenced by the males stalking the females throughout the herd. I even witnessed the matriarch as he attempted to mount a female unsuccessfully. She moved off and he fell off.

These are American Bison or Buffalo. The Bison is the largest land mammal in the United States and the national mammal. Bison graze, rest and chew their cud in two hour intervals and then move to another location to graze again. Perhaps that explains why the Bison always seem to be roaming.

Just before I left the prairie, I saw this little fella nudging his Mother who finally complied. So adorable now, but imagine his size all grown up. The heat and humidity made for heavy breathing for some of the larger Bison. I enjoyed this visit more than my last, as I planned my arrival a tad later in the day, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Elk grazing in the meadow. ENJOY!

Linking to Scoop 339

Elk Watch

At the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes, if you plan a trip very early in the morning or late in the day, you can view the Elk as they munch on grasses in the meadow. They stay hidden in the tree line in Summer during the hotter climes of the day, so plan accordingly if you want to see them.

The Elk and Bison Prairie is almost dead center in Land Between the Lakes in Golden Pond, in the very remote southwest corner of Kentucky. It's a pleasant drive from Nashville on a major highway. The countryside you see in Kentucky along the drive is really beautiful with lots of gorgeous farmland. On this visit, I waited patiently for the Elk, and finally was rewarded as this guy ventured out of the woods. He was munching on the grass and eventually tugging at the leaves of a low hanging branch. Then he noticed his gal was missing and slowly made his way across the meadow in hot pursuit.

This gal surely is the apple of his eye. She came out of the woods and began to graze, slowly making her way across the meadow, and finally disappearing into a thicket. The bull wasn't far behind following her in hot pursuit.

Such beautiful, amazing creatures. The huge rack on the bull, covered with its new layer of velvet, was gorgeous. It's extremely hot here in Tennessee. We're in the Dog Days of Summer, although it feels as if we have been there all Summer. There's high heat and humidity daily with afternoon thunderstorms. I am waiting for Fall to bring cooler temps. ENJOY!

Linking to The Scoop 339

'Cracking Art' at Cheekwood

A visit to Cheekwood's Cracking Art exhibit has been on my schedule for some time. Cracking Art is an art and nature exhibit by a Milan-based artist collective. The large scale art installation features animals in striking colors displayed throughout the gardens. The installations are synthetic and made from 100% recycled plastic materials.

The Robert Ellis Color Garden featured a stunning display of Caterpillars in bright colors with each  surrounded by a bed of flowers and plants.

Surrounding the blue Caterpillar were gorgeous Agaves. They were stunning. What a terrific way to accent the Cracking Art.

The giant pink Caterpillar has to be one of my favorite in the exhibit.

On my walk to the Willis Perennial Garden, I looked back at the Robert Ellis Color Garden. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn the gardens were being taken over by giant Caterpillars.

The canopy off the Robert Ellis Color Garden was filled with Summer plants in pinks and maroons and purples. But what I really loved was the Cracking Art Birds dangling from the canopy in bright colors.

Lions and tigers and bears! No, just Bears were featured in the Japanese Garden. I loved the huge red Bears that dotted the landscape.

Large green Wolves greeted me near the Carell Dogwood Garden. It was as though they were standing at attention next to tall green shrubs. While I didn't get to see all of the Crackin Art exhibit, as the weather was very, very hot, I hope to get back to Cheekwood before the end of the exhibit to see the rest of the animals. What I did see was incredible.

This particular Cracking Art exhibit was curated by Stefano Papetti Elisa Mori and Giorgia Berardinelli. There are six artists that originally founded the Cracking Art movement in 1993 in Italy, with the sole purpose of changing the history of contemporary art. The term 'cracking' comes from the process used to create the materials that form the synthetic installations that make up the animals in the exhibit. You can read more about Cracking Art here, Cracking Art.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. ENJOY!

Linking to The Scoop