Not By A Long Shot! - A Photoblog

Magical mornings.......

2009-11-15T23:35:00.003-05:00

Much to my husband's annoyance, I am a total morning person (if I could be dragged out of our cozy bed)....it's hard not to be, when you wake up to mornings as beautiful as these :)

"She loves blood red poppies......"

2009-11-11T21:24:00.006-05:00

I know summer has been long gone but I just felt like sharing these images of one of my favorite flowers before I lose them amidst thousands of images on my hard disk! Aren't poppies simply spectacular??? :)
"Summer set lip to earth's bosom bare,
And left the flush'd print in a poppy there;
Like a yawn of fire from the grass it came,
And the fanning wind puff'd it to flapping flame."-Francis Thompson

"The poppy opens her scarlet purse of dreams. "

Celebrating fall ....

2009-10-25T17:14:00.002-04:00

...in Pocono mountains. Lehigh Valley, PA to be precise.

October painted in pink........

2009-10-20T00:29:00.006-04:00

I am well aware of my silence on my blogs.....have been busy cherishing every moment with some of the dearest and closest of the family visiting us from India. I hope to be back to regular blogging soon....
The glass sculpture above is from Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY.
Don't be misled by the images below...we have had our fair share of "freaky" weather, just like everyone else...these were shot well before the snow came along in mid-Oct!!!!!!!

And yes, I am a shoes-person.....well, who isn't ;DDD

It's "that" time of the year again......

2009-09-22T23:45:00.004-04:00

...my fav. part of the year!!!! :)

An "August" view :)

2009-08-10T20:42:00.008-04:00

A farm scene from Lancaster, PA.

The scene this morning from my porch.....

And finally , the reason to love August......goldenrod and queen anne's lace putting a cheery show, blanketing hills in their yellow and white...... Update: For those who are intrigued by the flower in the last shot, it's a yet-to-bloom Queen Anne's Lace......isn't it beautiful how this thing unfurls into a regular Queen Anne Lace.

Happy Faces.......

2009-08-06T19:30:00.003-04:00

......from my town. Their sunny attitude is contagious!

The girl with the dark curls :)

2009-08-01T15:45:00.004-04:00

Remember my friend? Every chance that I get to spend with her brings smiles in my life....can you blame me for loving her so?? :)

Lush Life

2009-07-25T20:56:00.003-04:00

"Men build too many walls and not enough bridges." - Isaac Newton
Here are a few scenes from our trip to the lush Finger lakes area in NY, last week.

I love, love, love covered bridges....and someday, I hope to cover all of Penn's. The one above was shot a few miles south of Ithaca, in Newfield, NY. Rolling green hills and farmlands, on our way to Ithaca.............

Spinfluence

2009-07-21T19:52:00.006-04:00

I took a well-deserved summer-break (all my breaks, if you go by my claims, are "well-deserved" :D) from work last week to spend some "us" time with my husband. We went tripping a li'l to the north and a li'l to the south and everywhere else in between :) And now I can't get myself back to what I call the "weekday-discipline". Here's a (an???) hastily-edited (read amateurish) image of one of the storefronts that caught my fancy, on one of the trips. The store called Spinfluence, custom frames old record albums to preserve them for times to come! Hope to "get my groove back" soon and eventually return to regular blogging! :)

A gilt trip to work :)

2009-07-08T13:06:00.010-04:00

These days no matter how early I wake up, there's always light outside.....and by the time I am done with wiping sleep from my eyes, and that mug of coffee finally kicking in... the sun outside is just beginning to bathe all that's beautiful on my way to work, in its shimmering pool. This is my favorite part of the day till it's time for sun to set when I am out with my camera again. So no matter how rushed I am in mornings, I still leave with my camera, hoping I will get a chance to stop and click, and if I do get lucky, it sets the tone for the day....a VERY MERRY tone :) These are from yesterday's "trip" to work :)

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” – Iris Murdoch

Bar-red! Sunny side up! One last look...

To happy (July) beginnings :)

2009-07-01T17:01:00.005-04:00

"I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests." .........Pablo Neruda

I may not have grown up in this beautiful valley that I call home now but locals who did, am certain will find a resonating sentiment in Neruda's words.......:) We woke up this morning to find the fog roll in the valley to greet us. It instantly brought back memories of the precious few days we spent in Northwest (remember the move that never happened!!!). I still remember how the ubiquitous fog would fade away oh-so-briefly to offer a glimpse of the houses, the woods, the road ahead and then return even before we could realize that those weren't the figments of our imagination. What a tease! :)

Daddy's little girl! :)

2009-06-20T23:48:00.007-04:00

....I still am one and will always be, no matter how old I grow, how far I go. Love you, papa.

Remember my little friend from the breakfast event that I was a part of not long ago....I am meeting her tomorrow and intend to surprise her with a print of this collage I created for her for the Father's day. Do you think she will like it? I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Update: I gave the collage and earned a hug from the dad (with a joke, "You managed to get my best side" ;D) and a shy "Thank you" from her. Here's the smile she gave me (as you can see, she loves her "treats".....if it's not a muffin, it's a do'nut or a candy). And just one last thing before you do away with me for sounding like a gushing "Julie-Andrews-on-Ecstasy".....don't you just love her dark curls :)))

Summerville........

2009-06-17T16:21:00.004-04:00

As sunny evenings and longer days lure me outdoors, I slather a broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF 70 (nothing lesser works) on my skin and cock-a-snook at Mr Sun by facing the camera lens straight into his direction……….More often than not, I am pleased with the resulting haze:) These pics remind me of my childhood summer holidays…....when we (my brother and I) would linger outside in the dusk, long after the little sparrows had disappeared into the thicket........Oh and that reminds me, I am what you can call an “empty-nester” now.......The finch family on my deck..remember the eggs I chanced upon??? Well, little by little they all learned to fly and left :(((

Cherry orchards in Michigan.

An evening in Michigan

Oh, Summer!

2009-06-13T19:00:00.005-04:00

Scenes from our trip to Lake Superior shore in Wisconsin (the town of Bayfield), last summer. The gallery "Stone's Throw" with all its cracks and crevices is a very pretty building and the owner's gentle lab (Sweet Georgia Brown) was an added attraction. It may have housed some interesting (read unaffordable) "pieces of art" but I really did not need to step inside..for me the most appealing bits were on the outside. And as if the gallery wasn't charming enough, a used-books shop stood adjacent to it and an "egg-itarian" cafe (where most of the menu was egg-based) called "The Egg Toss" stood right opposite to it :)

Standing Tall

2009-06-07T20:33:00.005-04:00

I had been meaning to share the images of this brick-walled light earlier but then I got distracted by the daisies :)

Little Sable Point lighthouse in Mears, MI was closed by the time we reached so we missed out on the view from the tower but the glimmering Lake Michigan had us enchanted for the better half of the evening we spent at the beach.......the sun lingered deliciously over the lake for a long time and eventually dissolved into it.....As we reached the end of our time on the lake, we dipped our toes in the now-cold water for one last time and reluctantly left for dinner.

PS: Those are the famous dunes in the background in the final image.

Unfettered beauty

2009-06-03T11:46:00.004-04:00

It’s that time of the year again. Daisies are nodding and the hills "in my backyard" are alive with wildflowers :) I came back home from work to spot these smiling pretty things on the little hill next to where I park my car and though I had planned to showcase the lighthouses I collected on my trip to Michigan, I decided that the lights could wait. We have had a few sodden days (which I totally love) lately, and then sun shone briefly last evening and look at the magic it created!!!!My biggest joy in summer comes from wildflowers……....other staples of summer: dainty, breezy sundresses, long twilights, butterflies, ice creams, watermelons, buzzing farmer markets, and ripe, juicy mangoes (from the times when I was a child growing up in India) follow the lead. That reminds me, when I was orienting for my new job at the hospital about 3 months back (!!!!! time sure flies!!!!!), some of us new employees joined the “charity” club associated with the hospital to give up a certain percentage of our salary that would help (in ways other than just hospital-related) the club to reach out to the community we serve. As a “thank-you” gift, guess what the club gave us each in return (apart from some sponsored items): a packet of wildflower seeds. The idea being: if you want to be reassured what a beautiful world we inhabit: sow the seeds, water them and then when time is right just stand back and watch as nature delivers its inspired performance. Isn’t that lovely! :)

A sun-soaked weekend

2009-05-31T06:31:00.006-04:00

I know, Memorial day weekend is long past now but I could not find time earlier to share these images from our weekend getaway in Michigan. While I am still craving for a trip to the mountains, I had a great time scouting lighthouses on the western shoreline of the mitten and hope to share some of the images here soon. The only bummer: my burnt skin which is still healing from all that exposure to sun :((

June is calling!

2009-05-20T22:39:00.005-04:00

No, these aren't the mountains in my backyard, though they may very well be but these were taken on our trip to Smoky Mountains last year. Is it time yet to start yearning for a summer vacation 'coz I am already itching to be on the road. Every June I start getting antsy about a summer trip..........Anyways, till such a time that we can afford to accommodate one in our schedules, I will revisit my old pics! And for now, I am happy looking forward to spending the next 3 days in Michigan :)

Romance me!

2009-05-16T19:11:00.002-04:00

There's a pink glow around me right now! I know it's a full-blown Spring when Nature dons pink the way it has......from the soft, demure hues of dogwood and cherry blossoms to the bolder, richer ones of tulips......There are so many tones of pink around that even Paris Hilton's wardrobe can't match it ;D and I am in such a pink heaven that even Pepto-Bismol pink will not be un-welcome :D These cascading dogwood blooms are for a special friend of mine who lives across the state-line and whose labor of love, her garden, is my virtual haven.

"Nest"led! :)

2009-05-13T21:35:00.004-04:00

I have two (recently-acquired) hanging baskets in the name of a "garden" on my second floor apartment deck. Though I have no green thumb, I water my plants religiously and wouldn't mind singing to them for the joy those tiny little colorful flowers bring. But last evening, once back from work, as I got one of those two baskets down to "deadhead" the flowers (as the gardener-lady had instructed me to), my eyes would not believe what they saw. I had to repeat "Be still my heart" countless times to myself to contain my excitement. Unbeknownst to me, this little birdie who had been chirping around the flowers lately, had decided to make its home and babies right there in the basket. I can't thank her enough to choose my deck and am keeping my fingers crossed that this little family will enjoy their new (even if temporary) abode. As I exclaimed to my husband later at night, "It's like we have a little ecosystem in our own house" :)

Soft and pastel........

2009-05-05T20:02:00.004-04:00

........dreamy and atmospheric: the beautiful is everywhere. Shots from my latest walkabout in our neighborhood.

Yes, you May!!!!! :)

2009-05-02T16:03:00.003-04:00

I love months which begin with weekends. Who can not live with an extra weekend to look forward to!!! :) And if it begins with the month "shaking out her rain-drenched hair"............I am positively beaming like I was last morning as I left for work.

This morning was spent volunteering at a local community-breakfast event. It was my first in this new town of mine and everyone went out of their way to make me feel welcome. One little girl was happy being friends with me for the simple reason that I came from Obama's state. I had no idea that 5-year olds know their politics so well :)

Meet my latest new friend :)

Not all flowers are created equal ;DDDD

2009-04-27T22:12:00.005-04:00

Two days in a row of scorching 90 degrees temps. and I am beginning to feel a li'l uneasy about Spring (my love-hate relationship with Mr Sun continues). My skin is burning right now...I am supposed to take precautions against the damaging sunlight but can I be blamed for wanting to be outdoors when Spring has waltzed in as it has............rest assured, I won’t miss a moment of the show outside.......allergy or not!!!!!! :)

Happiness loves company :)

In the dappled sunlight of a Pennsylvania evening,

Earth day or not......

2009-04-22T17:45:00.002-04:00

..........I love our planet green :)