Fotografaire - Blog and Photography

Out, About, Hardly Home

I have been out, about, and hardly home the past month. I love WordPress, because one can write a post and delay the date of posting until whenever they wish, and nobody is the wiser, other than family members.

Days and weeks seem to run into each other, but it is a positive thing. My weekends have been busy, I have hardly been home. From Washington D.C., to Virginia, from Missouri to Arkansas, I’ve been on the road most of the time.

I hope you are all having a good weekend.

Springs, Flocks, Chrysanthemums

I took a trip this past weekend…a ten hour drive to visit my son and my two graddaughters who live in Missouri (I have to go through AR before getting to MO). I made several stops along the way. One stop was at Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, just before the Missouri border.

Mammoth Springs State Park is a nice place to stop, rest, walk along the paths and see scenic beauty. There is a large lake, and a small spring, which looks a bit like a small waterfall or cascade.

The spring has a man-made bridge above it that leads to an old building.

I walked along one of the paths and saw a flock of birds flying, doing loops and zooms over the lake. It looked quite idyllic within the scenic setting.

They flew up, turned and swirled down, and kept up their formation and their flying “stunts”. They were quite the sight to see and hear (they made a loud racket, as some tried to vie to be the leader of the flock).

The lake looked as if it was low to me, not as high as I have seen it in the past.

I asked about that inside the tourist center, and was told that it was at full capacity. The reason it looked low was because there was an abundance of vegetation growing up through the lake.

I got back into my car and continued to drive towards my destination. Hints of autumn color appeared here and there, including across the street from my son’s house.

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Meanwhile…before I left…I took a few photos of my chrysanthemums which are still blooming. All of my mum plants are thriving

~~Notes From the Garden

Busy Days

I’ve had a few busy days since last Thursday, and returned home a little while ago. It was nice to see family members, and be a part of my granddaughter’s 13th birthday celebration. I also was able to attend my 9-year old granddaughter’s gymnastics meet. She places third all around!

It was a wonderful few days away!
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The garden colors are looking more like autumn, now. In another week or two the yard and the surrounding forest will be ablaze with color!
~~Notes From the Garden

Off of the Beaten Path

Sometimes it is nice to go off of the beaten path, take a little side trip, on your way home from traveling. It can often lead to a lovely experience. I had such an experience going off of the beaten, last week while driving home from Washington DC. I saw a sign on the interstate in Virginia (about three - four hours outside of Washington DC) that said ‘National D-Day Memorial Next Exit” I talked with my trip friend, and we decided to take the exit and see what it was about.

When we got off the interstate, we saw a sign stating the National D-Day Memorial was 27 miles away. We decided to drive the distance to see it, not knowing what to expect.

We drove through small cities on the way, to the Memorial. The Memorial is located in Bedford, VA. After we arrived, paid our entrance fees ($2 U.S. per person), and parked, and looked ahead, this is what we saw.

The two columns don’t do the initial view justice, as they are part of a huge monolith style of architecture.

We walked to towards the columns, and looked out at the rest of the Memorial. It was quite the overwhelming sight, and my words can’t articulate how I felt, or describe the entire scene before me.

There is an architectural replica of Omaha Beach, in which the military stormed during the Battle of Normandy. The replica has an ocean and sandy beach, and service men wading through water, trying to get to the beach. You also see other statues of men dying, and trying to climb over the hills.

Further out you can see a circular sidewalk area, lined with benches for resting and reflecting, lined with gardens, and lined with dozens and dozens of large plaques.

The plaques have the names of the U.S. deceased on them (those that stormed Omaha Beach), and also names of the English deceased who stormed the beach.

Beyond the walls of plaques, is a rotunda, with a statue inside of it. The statue is that of then, General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

He would later go on to become our country’s president.

We spent about 90 minutes there, walking throughout the acres and acres of gardens, architecture, statues, etc., that are part of the Memorial.

When we returned to the car, we had to drive around the perimeter in order to leave. We passed several gardens.

We had to drive behind the Eisenhower rotunda, and I got out of the car to take this photo. It is a view of the entrance, the architectural monolith, from the opposite side of the landscape. In between the gardens, and the wall, is where the replica of Omaha Beach is (you can’t see it in the photo). The landscape consists of acres upon acres of land encompassing the Memorial, and it is extremely long and wide.

If you are ever in the area, it is a must see.

It was quite the incredible experience, and I’m glad we chose to go off of the beaten path.

Blog Action Day

“In nature, there is a moment of perfection when every hope is realised, when the luscious fruits finally fall, a crowning moment towards the end of summer. But it quickly passes and the autumn rains begin. It’s the same for people.” Irene Nemirovsky…murdered at Auschwitz in 1942…39 years old…

Today is “blog action day“, and writing about the care and concern of the environment is the issue. I found out about this through visiting my friend, RubyShooZ earlier this morning.

The environment is of great concern to me, and I do all I can, in my way, to care for and preserve it. I recycle, have a compost heap, conserve electricity and water, buy clothes made from natural fibers, and so much more.

Why not visit The World Directory of Environmental Organizations Online, and check out some of the environmental resources they link to.