White Prickly Poppy

White Prickly Poppy (Argemone albiflora spp. texana) is also known as the bluestem prickly poppy or the Texas prickly poppy.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 8Plus with Camera+2 app in macro mode)

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Altamira Oriole

Spent a wonderful afternoon at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX with my high school friend, Vanessa. I was using my Nikon D850 for macro shots, my iPhone for overall shots, and my Nikon Coolpix P1000 for bird shots. There is such diversity of wildlife in this sanctuary that is adjacent to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. I wanted to see this sanctuary before “the wall” cuts through the middle of it. I talked at length with an employee of the center and learned quite a bit about the issues related to the wall, as well as the myriad water and environmental laws that are being circumvented for this project.

This is an Altamira Oriole, just one of the many unusual birds we saw this afternoon.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Blooming aloe vera

Photographed at Mission Concepcíon in San Antonio, Texas (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

 

iPhoneography: Live oak tree with Tillandsia air plants

Photographed at Mission San José in San Antonio, Texas

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

iPhoneography: Ginkgo canopy

Ginkgo grove at the Blandy Experimental Farm and State Arboretum in Boyce, VA

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 8Plus, Snapseed app border)

 

iPhoneography: Ginkgo leaves

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 8Plus)

Capillaries

I shot this image at a rest stop in Arkansas en route home to Virginia this week. My friend Greg purchased the new Nikon D850 (which I have been dreaming about) and let me play with it on this trip. I knew I’d love it! Now to just find some spare change in the couch ($3,300 to be exact).

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

iPhoneography: Sunday sky in Texas

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. iPhone 7plus / Snapseed app border

Prickly pear cactus

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) growing on the roof of living quarters in Mission San José, San Antonio, TX

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. iPhone 6s / Snapseed app border

Ball moss on oak tree

Ball moss on an oak tree outside the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, TX

Learn more about this air plant here: http://npsot.org/wp/story/2009/19/

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.  iPhone 6s / Snapseed app

Field of gold

I shot this on recent road trip down to Texas. It was somewhere in Tennessee.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Waterlilies in Nashville

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Lovely skies of Texasp

iPhone 6, processed with Snapseed app © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Common Morpho (Morpho peleides)

I got this shot of a Common Morpho (at the Franklin Conservatory in Columbus, OH this past weekend) from almost the same vantage point as my friend, neighbor and fellow photographer Michael Powell got his shot. He was able to get more of the other wing because he has the added advantage of being several inches taller! It is so rare to be able to get a shot of the beautiful blue side of this elusive, quick-moving butterfly. We were thrilled that it stayed on the leaf long enough for both of us to get some shots.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

2014: A Visual Recap

I’ve picked one photo from each month of blogging in 2014 to recap the year visually (starting with December 2014 and working my way back to January 2014). Now here’s to 2015—hoping it is another year of immense creativity, staying connected to family, nurturing friendships both near and far and old and new, growing my graphic design and photography business in fresh and challenging directions, continuing to dust off my rusty sketching and painting skills, decluttering my physical space, communing with nature, photographing more flowers and bugs, updating my garden with quirky and photogenic new plants, hitting the road in search of adventure (and fresh photographs), honing my writing craft, acquiring new skills and learning something new every day.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Co-exist

I shot this photo of a wasp and an ant at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas a few weeks ago. I was actually set up to photograph the wasp when the ant came running around the stalk. The wasp was actually startled by the little ant!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Flame skimmer dragonfly

I think this is a Flame Skimmer dragonfly. Photographed at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Water lily

Water lily photographed at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Stack ‘o gulls

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Gulls galore!

Gulls at Virginia Beach, VA © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Re-post: Christmas in Montana

Originally posted 12.13.2009

I took this shot in Montana on the road between Gallatin Gateway (where Michael’s Aunt Jackie lives) and the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We were spending Christmas at Jackie’s, along with two of Michael’s sisters and their families, in 1995. This trip included my first try at snowshoes (awkward, as expected), hiking up a mountain to find a Christmas tree Jackie had picked out (ask me about that adventure sometime), the snowmobile-on-frozen-lake-ice-fishing excursion (no luck for anyone), a fun (but very bumpy) snow coach ride with everyone through Yellowstone the day after Christmas (a gift from Aunt Jackie), me suddenly sinking waist deep in snow (along with Michael’s brother-in-law, Pete) while we were trying to get that perfect landscape shot (but we saved the cameras!), a sightseeing/shopping trip to Bozeman, and more cold and snow than you could possibly imagine. I probably shot this image with my N90s. I also brought along my Fuji G617 panoramic camera—I’ll have to find those really wide transparencies and get them scanned some day. 

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

The Monarch butterfly has been here since the time of dinosaurs

It was a discovery to see a 50 million year old butterfly fossil at the National Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. With the fossil, it is now possible to prove that winged pollinators have been here throughout history.

It is a calamity that the Monarch Butterfly only has a five percent survival rate in 2013. I had the honor of hearing Rick Beaver speak about butterflies. He reiterated that it is the children that need to learn and honor nature. I feel certain that Alderville First Nation children, Ontario, Canada, are learning about butterflies and other pollinators.

How could present day mankind be part of destroying a world that once was pristine? Nature was a gift to mankind. We need to live within and be connected to nature. When we make ourselves a separate species far removed from nature, an indicator species such as Monarch Butterfly becomes an endangered biological migration.

The Monarch is telling us that something is wrong in the environment; we most avert a colossal loss of species in our lifetime. Support sustainability at your home, apartment, townhouse, duplex, housing development, and backyards. This is a step that each of us can take to preserve a beautiful planet filled with butterfles. Let’s pass Creation onto the next generation.

Photo Posse

Thanks to my friend, F.T. Eyre, for naming our little photography group this morning! The five of us headed out to the Blandy Experimental Farm and State Arboretum in Boyce, VA yesterday morning to photograph the Ginkgo grove. Nice and cool fall weather, impossibly clear blue sky and bright yellow leaves everywhere! Heather (my SFAM—sister from another mother) and I especially enjoyed singing blue-themed songs such as Michael Johnson’s 1978 “Bluer than Blue” (we knew all the lyrics—does that show our ages?) while on our backs photographing the leaves against the sky. Way fun morning with way fun friends!

Founding members of the Photo Posse are shown below, from left to right: Michael Schwehr, Michael Powell, Heather Callin and F.T. Eyre. Applications welcomed. 😉

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Prickly pear cactus bugs and bloom

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Leaf-footed bug on Prickly pear cactus

Leaf-footed bug, order Hemiptera (thanks, Brian K. Loflin, oh bug man!) on a Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Prickly pear cactus bud (Opuntia)

I was in San Antonio last week to photograph interior remodeling projects for a client, but got a chance on Monday to photograph wildflowers in bloom as well. My dad was an excellent day trip companion—driving me to and fro, holding my tri-grip diffuser to soften the Texas sunshine on my subjects, keeping an eye out for dangerous vermin (I learned that if you hear a rattlesnake, freeze until you can locate where the sound is coming from—do not run or jump), stopping at a yard sale (homeowner was actually named Porter Wagoner), treating me to lunch at Texas 46 Bar & Grill in the Hill Country, and crooning classic country songs from a 25 cent CD he picked up at a yard sale (Sonny James, Freddy Fender, Bobby Bare, anyone?) en route home. More to come…

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Spring 2013 issue of Celebrate Home Magazine now ready for digital download!

The spring 2013 issue of Celebrate Home Magazine is now available for digital download. Click on either of the links below to download your FREE pdf copy of this issue.

This issue is jam-packed (and there’s even a jam-making feature!), so download today and get started reading.

The more clicks we get, the better we do with promoting and getting advertising! We thank you for your support.

Single pages version: Celebrate Home Spring 2013

Reader spreads version (my favorite!): Celebrate Home Spring 2013 Spreads

Order a print copy (at cost, plus shipping): http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/540569

You can also view it on issuu.com here.

On the cover: What says “spring” more than colorful tulips? I was photographing this bed of flowers and was standing on the edge of the wall when this little girl, clad in a princess skirt with sparkly shoes, came running around the corner. I got this one shot and she was gone. Serendipity!

P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home at Moss Mountain Farm, Part 7

Above the brown and white bedroom is the top floor, which houses the sleeping and lounge areas for P. Allen Smith’s nieces and nephews. A bright pink and white checkered runner welcomes you up to the sitting area (my apologies for that noisy image but it was all I got with my iPhone!). Across from the lounge are four twin beds and a full bath. Two dormer window nooks offer beautiful views of the Arkansas River Valley.

P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home at Moss Mountain Farm: Part 6

One of the most inviting spots in P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home was the screened sleeping porch at the back of the house. In his introduction before the tour, he mentioned one of the designers wanted to add a fourth bed to the porch, but he nixed that idea, saying, “We don’t want it to look like a tuberculosis ward!” Below is a shot of the three beds in the sleeping porch, which is the top level of the two-level porch.

Below: This room also has a gorgeous copper bathtub (not a lot of privacy, obviously!) and Sue just had to try it out (yes, she is tiny and yes, the tub is huge).

Below: On the same floor in the front of the house was a guest bedroom with two beds with a crisp color palette of brown, beige and white. I think the two paintings of clouds above the beds might have been done by P. Allen Smith.

Below: Corner desk area

P. Allen Smith and Heidi Berry of the Berry Family of Nurseries

Before we toured P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home outside of Little Rock, Arkansas on December 7, we had the pleasure of meeting Mimi San Pedro (top photo, middle), chief operating and marketing officer for Hortus, Ltd., the multimedia marketing company that oversees the P. Allen Smith brand. She introduced us to Heidi Berry, of the Berry Family of Nurseries, who has teamed up with P. Allen Smith to offer a special holiday collection of hand-harvested, hand-tied wreaths, door swags, table runners and garlands.

Heidi explained to us how she met P. Allen and invited him to visit the Berry Family of Nurseries in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. She told us that their greenery boughs are harvested by hand from the lowest tree branches, which encourages trees to grow taller and stronger. No trees are cut down in the process. The products are made from Noble Fir, Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir. Natural elements such as juniper berries, pine cones, incense cedar, canella berries and white pine boughs adorn the designs.

I shot the image of P. Allen and Heidi in front of a candy cane decoration outside the “tractor barn” before we began the tour of the house. Below the photo is a video of Smith touring the nursery where the greenery is assembled.

Speaking of the tractor barn, click here to see a slide show of how Smith took a standard metal building and refaced it to look like an old wood barn. Very clever!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home at Moss Mountain Farm, Part 2

These shots were taken on the main floor of the house (middle floor), walking out from the kitchen/dining/sitting area onto the screened porch. The stairs lead down to the walkout basement level with a beautiful family room and another bedroom. Doors lead out to a patio and onto the lawn, flanked on either side by Smith’s detached art studio (one of my favorite highlights!) and an outdoor kitchen/prep building. The garden stretches out below this area, with a stunning view of the river and valley below. I’d love to come back in the spring to see the property when the gardens are in full bloom. All of these shots were done with my iPhone (amazing little thing)!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home at Moss Mountain Farm, Part 1

Last week I flew to Huntsville, AL to visit my friend Sue and her mother, Wanda. On Thursday we hit the road headed to Little Rock, AR to visit Sue’s Aunt Gay, whose late husband was former Arkansas Governor Frank White. The occasion? We were all signed up for the open house tour and luncheon at P. Allen Smith’s Greek-Revival-inspired estate located 30 minutes outside of Little Rock. The home sits on top of a ridge overlooking the Arkansas River Valley and is spectacular.

It was love at first sight for me and I shot hundreds of photos with my Nikon SLR, a Coolpix and my trusty iPhone (believe it or not, all of the images in the collage below were shot with just the iPhone). Because there were 90+ people meandering through the house, it was much easier to shoot with my phone than to use my pro stuff. I did get some shots with the other cameras and will share those in later postings.

The collage below shows the main room in the front of the house, plus the sitting room and dining table next to the gorgeous kitchen. I shot every little vignette I could, not wanting to miss even one tiny detail. Learn more about this beautiful property on P. Allen’s website here. Many more photos to come!

Yes, I’m going to Carolina (Beach) in my mind…

Yippee! After owning my iPhone for eight months, I finally figured out how to download all 1,514 images I’ve shot from April until this week onto my MacBook Pro. Now I can finally do something with them other than post them immediately on Facebook!

This first collage consists of photos that I took of Michael and my friend Karen on Carolina Beach (love those donuts from Britt’s!). I had a lot of fun using Snapseed, Hipstamatic and Instagram on my first iPhoneography efforts. Special thanks to Barbara for letting us stay in her adorable condo overlooking the beach!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

A few more Ginkgo photos…

Learn more about the beautiful Ginkgo grove at the Blandy Experimental Farm here.

The following narrative is excerpted from the brochure, “A Guide to the Ginkgo Grove,” published by the State Arboretum of Virginia at the University of Virginia’s Historic Blandy Experimental Farm.

The Story of the Blandy Ginkgo Grove
The Blandy ginkgo grove is one of the largest collections of ginkgos outside the tree’s native China. Given their autumnal glory, a visitor might assume that Blandy’s ginkgos were planted solely for their beauty. But this grove is the happy result of a scientific experiment.

Dr. Orland E. White, Blandy Experimental Farm’s first Director, began collecting ginkgo seeds in 1929 from a single “mother tree” on the University of Virginia grounds in Charlottesville. After these seeds germinated, Dr. White’s students planted over 600 ginkgo saplings to determine the sex ratio of this tree. Most plants are both male and female, but like holly, persimmon, and other species, ginkgo is dioecious, meaning a tree is male or female, but not both. Dr. White hypothesized the sex ratio would be 1:1. He did not live long enough to find out if he was right, but of the 301 trees that survived to maturity and for which gender could be determined, 157 were female and 144 were male. Statistically speaking, this does not deviate significantly from 1:1.

A Living Fossil
Ginkgo biloba is often described as a “living fossil.” It is one of the most primitive seed plants found today, and it’s the only surviving representative of its plant family (Ginkgoaceae) and order (Ginkgoales).

The earliest ginkgo leaf fossils date from 270 million years ago. During the Jurassic (200-145 million years ago), the era of dinosaurs, ginkgos were already widespread. And by the Cretaceous (145-65 million years ago), ginkgos grew in what is now Asia, Europe and North America.

Ginkgos disappear from the North American fossil record about 7 million years ago, and from the European record about 4.5 million years later.

Western scientists first learned of the ginkgo in the late 1600s, when living trees were found growing in cultivation near Buddhist temples in China. Thus, the sole remaining member of what was once a dominant plant group remains a link between the present and our geological past.

The Silver Apricot
The word “ginkgo” originates from a Chinese word meaning “silver apricot.” When mature the fleshy ginkgo seed—ginkgos don’t form fruits—has roughly the size and appearance of a small apricot. Historians trace the earliest documented use of ginkgo as a food and herbal medicine to 11th century China, and it is still widely used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. It’s important to remember that if eaten raw, gingko’s fleshy seeds are poisonous, and we ask visitors not to collect ginkgo leaves or seeds for this or any other use.

Research shows ginkgo extract has three important actions on the body: it improves blood flow to most tissues and organs; it is an antioxidant which protects against cell damage; and it blocks many of the effects of blood clotting that have been related to a number of disorders. Western medicine has recently focused on Ginkgo biloba to protect against memory loss, but clinical trials have not confirmed this.

Photos © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Ginkgo tree “web”

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Ginkgo trees

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Ginkgo grove

Ginkgo grove at the University of Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm and State Arboretum in Boyce, VA. Double click on the image to see a larger view!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Some of my favorite fall photos…

These were taken at Lake Land’Or back in 2008. The shot of the dock with the cloud reflections is one of my all-time favorites of this place!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Reflections of fall

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

The serenity of fall

Fall comes to Lake Land’Or in Ladysmith, Virginia.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Revisited: Shine on, shine on, harvest moon…

Originally posted September 23, 2008

En route to visit Barb and Dean in Spokane on Saturday, September 13, we drove past miles and miles of wheat fields and as the land became more golden in the late afternoon light, we noticed the makings of a harvest moon.

Whenever I hear the words, “harvest moon,” I always remember a very old Ruth Etting album (heaven only knows where I found it) that I eventually gave to a friend’s husband to add to his large music collection. I just did a search and I actually found the recording! The only words I could remember were “shine on, shine on harvest moon…for me and my guy.” (I sing it true to her old-fashioned vibrato, of course).

Etting revived the song in Ziegfield Follies in 1931. Click here to find it on youtube.com. And if you’re a Liza Minnelli fan, click here for her rendition of the song.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

_____________

ADDENDUM: Thanks to fellow blogger, Deborah Rose Reeves, for her recent posting of this poem by Ted Hughes.

The flame-red moon, the harvest moon,
Rolls along the hills, gently bouncing,
A vast balloon,
Till it takes off, and sinks upward
To lie on the bottom of the sky, like a gold doubloon.
The harvest moon has come,
Booming softly through heaven, like a bassoon.
And the earth replies all night, like a deep drum.

So people can’t sleep,
So they go out where elms and oak trees keep
A kneeling vigil, in a religious hush.
The harvest moon has come!

And all the moonlit cows and all the sheep
Stare up at her petrified, while she swells
Filling heaven, as if red hot, and sailing
Closer and closer like the end of the world.

Till the gold fields of stiff wheat
Cry `We are ripe, reap us!’ and the rivers
Sweat from the melting hills.

by Ted Hughes.

A most perfect Sunday

Yesterday Michael and I left at 5:00 a.m. (yes, you read that correctly—I got up on a Sunday at 4:00 a.m., which is unheard of for me) to drive to Newtown Square, PA to photograph a Walk4Hearing event at Ridley Creek State Park for the Hearing Loss Association of America. The weather was perfect and we shot a ton of photos. En route home mid-afternoon, we came upon this bright yellow-green field of (unknown crop) against a cornflower blue sky. The field is adjacent to the train tracks in Pocopson Township in Chester County, PA, near the crossroads of Pocopson Road and Street Road. The Pocopson Station is now home to the Pocopson Veterinary Station. 

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Announcing Art, Photography and Cooking Workshops in Tuscany in April and May, 2013

Earlier this year, my friend and fellow artist, Suzy Olsen, invited me to teach photography workshops at her villa in Tuscany. We had originally planned for workshops to happen later this month but the timing was too short for planning, so we moved the date to spring 2013.

Join us in Italy for a feast for the senses!

Spend seven days/eight nights in Tuscany for workshops in watercolor painting and photography, topped off with authentic Italian cooking lessons! Accommodations are in a lovely artist community at the top of a hill overlooking the Poppi. The little town of Poppi is located in the beautiful Ortignano Raggiolo region at the center of the Casentino Valley, not far from Florence.

Two dates to choose from: April 19–27 or May 2–10, 2013

Trip includes accommodations, all meals, and daily workshops—watercolor and pen and ink classes with Suzy Olsen each morning; a travel, nature and portrait photography class with me each afternoon, and three authentic Italian cooking classes in the evening with Chef Daniela Cursi.

WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

Artist Suzy Olsen will teach you a great way to use watercolor with pen and ink for travel sketches using just the supplies in your backpack. You will learn how to access views and single out what works best—sketching and using your pen, then you can later fill in with watercolor back at the studio where you will utilize photos for reference. Her demos will be done every day to assist you with how to use pen, papers, and watercolor to your best advantage. You can paint with both a notebook and a watercolor paper pad, and are encouraged to further your creativity in the studio at the villa. She will share her paintings and demonstrate watercolor and sketching techniques during the morning hours.

Graphic designer, avid blogger and award-winning photographer Cindy Dyer will show you how to capture the beauty of the Tuscan countryside with your camera including landscapes, nature, still life and portraits. You’ll learn about composition, depth of field and lighting and receive hands-on, personalized instruction in every session. Cindy will review your digital images throughout the week so you can improve your skills with each session. She will show you how to combine your watercolor paintings, sketches and photographs with narrative and captions to create an online blog or publish a travel journal with magcloud.com.

Chef Daniela Cursi has spent more than 20 years mastering traditional Tuscan cuisine and has worked as a chef since 1998. She will prepare our food and teach us how to make our favorite Tuscan meals such as homemade pasta and wood-fired pizza. She has mastered the local cuisine of the Casentino Valley near Poppi and Arezzo, which is famous for lasagna and ravioli. During late afternoons, Chef Daniela will host three cooking classes in which she will focus on these areas:

Homemade Pastas—You’ll learn how to roll it out using fresh country eggs to make the classic noodles: raviolis and lasagnas. Chef Daniela will also teach you how to create pestos and vegetable- and meat-based sauces.

Vegetables and Roasting Meat—You’ll learn to use fresh vegetables in side dishes and salads and how to grill meat over an open fire. Chef Daniela will share how the locals prepare wonderful appetizers—the traditional way to start a great meal!

Pizzas—You’ll learn how to make homemade pizzas using wood fire and desserts using pastries. You’ll see firsthand how beautiful simple food can be. We embellish with good wines from the area, and we’ll sample cheeses, local delicacies, sweets and more.

QUESTIONS? E-mail Cindy at dyerdesign@aol.com or call 703.971.9038. Contact Suzy directly via e-mail at suzy2art@gmail.com or text her cell phone at 210.556.8909 for more information.

For more details, download the preliminary brochure by clicking this link here: Tuscany Workshops

Announcing Art, Photography and Cooking Workshops in Tuscany this September

My friend and fellow artist, Suzy Olsen, has asked me to teach a photography workshop at her villa in Tuscany this September! The 10-day trip includes accommodations, all meals, and three daily workshops: watercolor and pen and ink classes with Suzy each morning, a travel, nature and portrait photography class with me each afternoon, and authentic Italian cooking classes each evening with Nadége Bernardi. Accommodations are in a lovely artist community at the top of a hill overlooking the town of Poppi.

Questions? Contact Suzy directly via e-mail at mandalas2art@yahoo.com or text her at suzy2art@gmail.com.

To learn more, download the preliminary brochure by clicking this link here: Tuscany Workshops

Vermont Road Trip Part 1: Ice cream, shoes, cheese, and a most memorable picnic in the rain

The Lower Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area in Ferrisburgh, VT, near the entrance to Kingsland Bay State Park, encompasses 738 acres of wetland and floodplain forest habitat. Otter Creek reaches out to Lake Champlain and hosts a wide variety of wildlife: birds include state-endangered ospreys, bald eagles, ring-billed and great black-backed gulls, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, mallards, hooded mergansers, and many types of ducks; mammals include mink, fox, white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits and gray squirrels; reptiles include many species of salamanders, bullfrogs, spring peppers, tree frogs, turtles and snakes; fish include large and smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, chain pickerel and yellow perch.

After photographing the Hearing Loss Association of America’s Convention 2012 in Providence, R.I. (June 21-24), my sister Debbie and I hightailed it up to Vermont for a short road trip. We left Providence about noon on Sunday and officially kicked off the Vermont tour that evening with a visit to Ben & Jerry’s headquarters in Waterbury. I tried the Late Night Snack, which was inspired by Jimmy Fallon (vanilla ice cream, fudge covered potato chip clusters and a salty caramel swirl). I just read a few online reviews and although the reviewers rave about the flavor, I wouldn’t try it again. I should have stuck with my favorite standby: chocolate chip cookie dough. You can’t go wrong with that flavor, no matter which company makes it!

We stayed in Shelburne that night. On Monday morning we impulse shopped at the Vermont-based Danform Shoes (great bargain basement where I bought a pair of my craziest shoes to date—heretofore known as my Saturday-Day-Night-Fever-Don-Johnson-Miami-Vice-white-Mafia-don-Wendys-advertising-newsprint-tabletop mules; stay tuned for a shot of these wild things!), drove around part of Lake Champlain, visited Shelburne Farms (a beautiful 1400-acre working farm) where we bought picnic supplies (cheese, crackers and various spreads), stopped at the Vermont Wildflower Farm in Charlotte, then stopped at Dakin Farm in Ferrisburgh for more cheese, crackers and Vermont maple syrup. It rained off and on all day, so I wasn’t able to hunker down and get some macro shots at the wildflower farm, unfortunately. That was something I was really looking forward to. I did get some great deals on wildflowers seeds and perennial bulbs, though, so it was worth the trip. Plus, who cares about rain when you have cheese?

We then drove to Kingsland Bay State Park and had a wonderful late afternoon lunch picnic on the porch of the historic Hawley House, c. 1790. This property dates back to the first settlers in Ferrisburgh and was home to Ecole Champlain, an exclusive girls camp, until the late 1960s. I’ll have photos and history to share on a future post about this lovely stone house with a wraparound porch on all four sides. We started our picnic at a picnic table by the bay, but the intermittent rainfall drove us to the wraparound porch. It was the most memorable picnic ever! Debbie and I concocted our own strange Chopped dishes with the various cheeses, crackers, chocolates and sweets we picked up along the way (photos and descriptions to come!). Aside from the two employees at the park entrance, a few seagulls and one very attentive chipmunk, we had the entire park to ourselves that afternoon.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

I shot this image with my iPhone using the app “645 Pro” in 6×17 panoramic format. It is one amazing app! It gives you lossless developed RAW tiff files and high quality jpgs, low-light performance, and live preview and real-time LCD readout. It offers seven professional color and b&w “film” options inspired by classic print and transparency film, and five switchable “backs”—645, 6×6, 6×7, 6×9, 6×17. Amazing! (I own a FUJI 6×17 panoramic film camera, so I’m very familiar with this format. It’s so fun to use this app to mimic the panoramic film format—it’s much lighter and easier than the real deal!)

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/40177690″>645 PRO for iPhone</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/jaggr”>Jag.gr</a&gt; on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Great White Egret, Cape Fear River

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Monarch on Purple coneflower

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) on Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), photographed at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Golden light

Golden light, Cape Fear River © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Cloudscape

Cloudscape over Cape Fear River © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Storm clouds over Cape Fear River

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.