Sunday, August 15, 2010

TSS: 8.15.10

What a lovely way to spend the final week of summer!

As many of you read earlier this week, I was offered the opportunity to use a friend's lake house this week and after much internal debate, I decided to accept that offer.  Both of my daughters joined me and it ended up being a delightful two-day girls' get-away.  We left around 9:00AM Wednesday morning and returned home around 4:00PM Friday afternoon.  We stayed up late talking and watching movies, we slept in as late as we wanted, and we ate nothing but junk food.  I did a little bit of research reading for my novel project, and even had the girls help me brainstorm a variety of story lines that I can now work on as time allows.

One of the goals that I had for this mini-excursion was to practice taking some landscape photographs with my new camera.  Unfortunately, it was too hot to do much of anything outside, and the walk down to the water's edge included a wooded section that literally buzzed with swarming bees.  I am not of fan of any insects and had no desire to risk stinging pain for a photography lesson.  However, my desire to accomplish the goal, along with my new resolve to embrace life's adventures, helped me to think a little outside the box.

On Friday morning I woke up at 6:25, quickly put on my clothes, grabbed my camera bag, and headed down to the shore.  I surmised that the bees would not be fully awake at this point, and even though I could imagine all kinds of creepy crawly things hiding under the rocks and weeds, I kept my adventurous spirit and sprinted to the lake.  I was not disappointed.  The sun had just crested above the horizon and I was able to capture this photo.

I spent about twenty minutes down there, trying to experiment with horizon placement, depth of field, wide angle shots, and water reflection.  I took about fifty photos before deciding to go back toward the house before the heat was too oppressing and the bees were fully awake.  As I drank my cup of coffee I felt a sense of pride of following through on personal commitments, and a sense of awe of the simple beauty of nature.  It was a wonderful way to end the get-away.

Last night I had to pick my son up from the airport.  He flew in from Nashville to attend the wedding of a high school friend.  The weather in Kansas City was horrible.  Thunderstorms moved in around 6:30PM and then did not let up for nearly six hours.  All planes were delayed and some completely cancelled because of the dangerous lightning.  Fortunately Brian was able to land - about 90 minutes late - and we arrived home without incident.  The wonderful benefit of this storm, however, is that in less than one hour the temperature dropped from 104 degrees to 74 degrees.  The rest of the weekend is supposed to be sunny, mild, and low humidity.  Perfect weather to allow for great family activities before the start of a new school year.  I am indeed blessed.

21 comments:

  1. Molly, what a beautiful opportunity to get some quality time with your girls. I envy the quiet special time despite the bees and bug, and heat.

    The photos were lovely; great job.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How fantastic! So glad you had a chance to get away before school begins. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So happy to hear you had a lovely, relaxing time at the lake and even got some great photographs! Good for you. So jealous about the temperature drop!:) Hope it's been a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad to hear that the wedding your son was attending had fantastic weather! And it looks like you had a wonderful time with your daughters -- and some great pictures of the area, too! Oh, to be able to vacation like this all the time...! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm jealous of your getaway, jealous of the drop in temp. Nicole said that today she had her windows open! Argh! Not for us down here. We are facing the peak of hurricane season, and the most hot and humid part of our year. Your pictures are beautiful by the way. Nice job, and something to be really proud of.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, your getaway sounds lovely, and the photos are gorgeous! I really enjoy photography, as my oldest son lives and works as a photographer in Europe (since the nineties). He shares his photos with me, some of which grace my blogs as headers.

    He spotlights castles, ruins, Berlin Wall reconstruction, etc.

    I'm glad you were able to spend time with your daughters and came up with storylines. Fabulous!

    Here's my Sunday Salon:

    http://accidentalmoments.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/the-sunday-salon/

    (or click my name!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. The photos from the lake are gorgeous - I'm glad the trip turned out to be so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
  8. the getaway with your daughters sounds incredible...what a wonderful relaxing escape! :):)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I so love being on the lake! Your girls' weekend out sounds heavenly, Molly. The photos you shared are gorgeous!

    I am glad Brian arrived safely despite the horrid weather. Enjoy the cooler weather and have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The photos you shared are gorgeous! How nice that you guys get a break from the heat now too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. sounds wonderful :-) I love the pictures- gorgeous! glad you had such a good time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad God blessed your getaway!
    You're good with the cam!!

    Patti

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so glad to hear of the break in the weather. It's about time, isn't it? So glad also to hear you had a great time with your daughters.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Glad to know that you got home safe! I love the pictures. I hope you have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful pictures. The last two are terrific! Think what you'll be doing once you get some practice and have better conditions for photography.

    And it sounds like an excellent getaway to me, even with the bugs.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Despite the bugs, sounds like a great getaway. Your photos are wonderful. keep on snapping!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for posting photos....I'm so glad you went!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful photos, Molly. Glad you got to enjoy some quality time with your girls!

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a great getaway for you and your girls! The photos are beautiful. Enjoy the rest of your time before the start of the school year. I'll be starting a part time school therapy job in a few weeks so my routine will be different.

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a fabulous retreat: relaxing and reconnecting with your girls is so special. And your photographs are gorgeous! Bees or no bees, you definitely have an eye.

    ReplyDelete
  21. What lovely photos. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your "girls" weekend away. And thank God the weather is a bit cooler now for your son's visit. You are indeed blessed!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails