Sharing the beauty and wonder of Nature in Daydreaming on the Porch

It’s a quiet and very relaxing Labor Day, a holiday I as a single person and wannabe-hermit never in my life cared about. For me Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend are merely symbolic: the beginning of summer and the end of summer. No family getaways the SUV, no picnics or beach outings. Same with July 4th, which this summer of the pandemic seemed like the most futile, ridiculous, and empty holiday I could imagine, given the sorry state of the country, politically and health-wise.

What I do like to do in all seasons in this part of the country blessed with unsurpassed natural beauty, is go off by myself to my favorite parks and gardens and walk, meditate, savor the peace and quiet, and take pictures of the beauty that always surrounds me, and which I never tire of experiencing, even as many countless times as I’ve been to these places. I’ve taken photos all my life. It inspires me to look closely at the world so that my inner life can be enriched and find contentment and meaning in Nature. It’s always been this way for me.

Getting out to walk and photograph Nature was especially important and meaningful to me during the years I worked full time and was also caregiver for my mother who had dementia. Until the end, she was the biggest fan of my photography, whether it was flowers, birds, sunsets or scenic landscapes. She loved flowers and my photos of irises, azaleas and camellias always delighted her. Her face would light up whenever I’d print some of my pictures and bring them downstairs to show her, just as she delighted in, and received such joy from, the bouquets of fresh-cut flowers I bought for her, sometimes a couple of times a week. That beauty made her so happy just as my photography brings abundant happiness to me. As I self-quarantine month after month, photography becomes an ever more vital refuge. In the pictures included here, I hope you can see why.