January through March 8, 2019

I'm going to start with shots from this past week and move backwards to January 2019. 



It isn't unusual in the North Carolina Piedmont for early spring flowers to begin in late February and get hit by a cold snap in March.

 

What made this year unusual was that we had some warm days in early February and by the second week in February there were already quite a few early spring flowers.



The first 3 shots show what happened to those flowers that jumped the gun after we had some very cold nights.



I made a point of photographing as many flowers as possible as they began to bloom knowing they were unlikely to last very long.



It doesn't bother me how brief some of the spring blooms will be because it was actually nice to have a lot of February blooms no matter how brief.



I find expectations have a lot to do with how I feel in general.



It's not that I'm suggesting low expectations as a positive in all situations but as regards to the aspects outside my control like how long early flowers last, I don't have any expectations.



In general the older I get the less I let expectations cause me to be disappointed.



Of course that's easier when the majority of your life is over so no matter what happens it won't be interminable. 



I'll admit that I have to remind myself of that when I watch the news and even comedy about the current political situation.



Also, since I have an adult child who will hopefully have close to 5 more decades ahead, or maybe more, I don't want their life to be filled too long with the toxic politics we have in the United States.



I remember thinking there would never be anyone worse than Richard Nixon in the White House.



I think never is a good word to avoid.



That said, I don't want to contemplate a worse political situation than what we have now where I live.



I've almost reached the earliest shots I took between January and March.



There is something very beautiful to me about a still winter day.



I admire the patience of the fishers.



It's certainly seems like the life of a water bird is difficult.



There's something I like about the mass of gulls that look like tiny jewels from a distance.



When they start to fly they almost look like white moths from far away.



Reflections are always interesting to me.



The full moon through the trees is fun to watch.



I took the last shot with my cell phone of the downtown Durham, NC post office. 

November 6 through November 18, 2016

Avory was home last weekend so I didn't do a weekend post.



I have a lot of shots so I thought I'd go ahead and post a hodgepodge.



The first shots are from a Sunday walk Bill and I took on November the 6th.



I think my last post had shots from my Saturday November 5th walk so I thought I'd start with the next day here.



It's been one of the longest spans of autumn color I remember.



There are still some flowers although we have had a hard freeze.



The shot below begins the part of this post of shots I took when Bill, Avory and I walked at the NC Art Museum park on Sunday, November 13.



It was a beautiful day.



I love this time of the year.



Below is a shot I took of Avory and Bill. The trick was I was walking backwards to shoot them and managed not to fall.



I can't believe that my state has still not been able to finish the Governor's race.



I can tolerate the wait as long as Roy Cooper keeps getting further and further ahead.



The Presidential election has broken my heart so I'm counting on NC getting a new Governor. Last I heard Roy Cooper is over 7,000 votes ahead (YES) but Pat McCrory can ask for a recount if the lead is under 10,000. 



Enough of that, I'll try to focus on the autumnal shots for the rest of this post.



The shot above and the rest were taken today (Friday - 11.18.16).



I haven't been on a lunchtime walk in a while.



Most of today's shots were taken in downtown Durham, NC.



It was a perfect day.



I'm surprised how many flowers are still blooming.



It's going to be beautiful tomorrow and Sunday although it will turn much colder Saturday night.



That's one of the reasons I took flower shots since I doubt many will last next week.



The shot below is one I took driving home when I was stopped at a red light.



Below is another stop light shot.



I guess I'll stop here.

July begins 2016

We've had a stormy long weekend but Sunday was nice enough for a drive to Oxford, NC where Bill has retired to.



When we were still married we had a tentative plan to retire somewhere out in the country in the mountains.



Since we're divorced and back to a close friendship I'm kind of glad that Bill didn't retire quite that far from Raleigh.



He's 8 years older than I am and retired last year.



He bought a farmhouse and five acres of land in Oxford NC which is less than an hour from Raleigh.



The shots above include his first phase of the vegetable garden he's put in, the cold frame which is growing weeds now that the plants are out, and a pasture that he originally thought he'd use as a meadow but currently plans to plant trees on.



One of the old tobacco barns on his property fell down recently the other is being eaten up by vines. Starting with the next shot are photographs inside Oxford proper as opposed to out in the sticks where Bill lives.



The first shot on this post is of the horses when I first turn on the road his house is on and part of the 5 mile drive from the turn to his house. 



We went into downtown Oxford all decked out for independence day and I photographed some of the houses on the way there and back while Bill drove.



It's nice seeing such well maintained older houses.



I particularly like the one with the sunflowers out front and the old truck.



It's nice to see a variety of styles.



Part of what I don't like about newer subdivisions is the houses often all look a lot a like, that's certainly true of the 1960s one I have lived in since 1984.



Happy Independence Day!