We stayed overnight with friends at their tranquil retreat home.
My friend and I sipped tea on the porch watching this butterfly mistake my daughter’s swim shorts for a flower.Hummingbirds whirred and chattered at the feeders.
My kids fished at the pond.
I could have stayed another day or two.Or a month.
It is a fine thing that friends still do……relax and enjoy each other surrounded by such beauty.
She provided an oasis…a respite…
Bliss, Ann.
I hated to come home to traffic and deadlines.
At thirty-some years old, I am just learning to love the outdoors – this looks lovely!
You would sigh deeply and feel all woozy-happy if you’d been sitting there on my friend’s porch. It’s all so beautiful. She’s always on the lookout for something. She excitedly invited my son over to see a Mexican beetle of some kind that has been eating her zucchini plants. “He’s the funniest little bug with the cutest face!” she exclaimed. She had my son admiring and laughing at it. The last time we visited, we were amazed by a gorgeous red velvet ant (that’s actually a wasp). I’d never seen anything like it. We caught it in a jar only to find out that it’s sting is really strong. It’s nicknamed a “cow killer.” So not all nature is butterflies and hummingbirds….
But still to be admired.
I still want to know how you got those butterfly photos! And the hummingbird ones too! They’re fabulous! But the friendship, relaxed and outdoors, tops them all.
Blessings,
Janis
Janis, my friend’s butterfly bush was like a tea party setting for the butterflies. They’d come and dip in to each little flower, moving slowly up and over and around, so they slowed down a lot.
But we all slow down at my friend’s cabin. It’s serene. Maybe the butterflies pick up on that? 🙂
All I did was stand down low and use a telephoto lens. That was the technical secret. Abundant sunshine allowed my mediocre lens to produce good results. I did the same thing for the hummers, but I had to take a lot more shots of them to get any decent ones, because we were in lower light and the birds moved so fast.
I really like that first hummingbird photo … and the fishing. Oh yes, the fishing. This summer, we took a couple trips up north to my parents tranquil retreat home in Minnesota. I could have stayed a month, too! The perfect Slow-Down Solution for Frenzied Families! 🙂
Your photos brought joy to my night.
Delighted to meet you today! Hope you don’t mind if I splash around a bit to get to know you. This looks like a refreshing place to get drenched in goodness.
Splashin,
Sara
beautiful shots… good bye, summer, but welcome fall with apple cider, pumpkin spice, colors of red and orange! thank you for sharing this nice moment!
these photos are magnificent!
We’ve had one of the coolest Southern California summers on record, but I’m still looking forward to Fall. Don’t you think it’s ironic that Summer is the time we slow down and Fall is when we “get back to work/school”? Wonderful photos! We have them here, but I know that there are big parts of the country where there are no hummingbirds and people get a thrill out of even seeing pictures of them. Peace!
Ann,
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos with us!
I would have hated to come home too!
What a beautiful and serene post. I think you captured your little holiday perfectly.