Edited 6/14/15, 1:30 PM

Estes Park, Colorado, Sept. 15, 2011

I’ve seen this sculpture several times on our visits to the town of Estes Park, just outside Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, but I’ve never recorded any information about it.

“Voice in the Forest,” Bronze Ed. 12, by Victor Issa was on display outside Old Church Shops on our visits in 2009 and 2011. A full size “edition” of the bronze is $36,000 in Issa’s Living Bronze Gallery.

I don’t know if this being is supposed to be an elf or a fairy, though with the wings, that’s what I would lean towards.  One photo of her online has her labeled as an angel, but, with the pointy ears and other features, I rather think she is supposed to be some sort of fae.

Much of the folklore about fairies revolves around protection from their malice. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature, they originally were depicted quite differently: tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being two of the commonly mentioned forms. (Wikipedia)

Azalea, Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas, April 13, 2010

We’ve visited Garvan Woodland Gardens twice in the last 5 years.

Garvan Woodland Gardens is a 210-acre (850,000 m²) botanical garden located at 550 Arkridge Road approximately 6 miles from Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. It is owned by the University of Arkansas and open every day (except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and the month of January) for a fee.

The Gardens are situated on a woodland peninsula with 4.5 miles (7 km) of shoreline on Lake Hamilton. The Gardens feature rocky inclines reminiscent of the surrounding Ouachita Mountains, floral landscapes, streams, and waterfalls in a natural woodland setting, plus a Japanese Garden with Japanese maples and tree peonies, a conifer border, and various flower and rock gardens. Its collections display hundreds of rare shrubs and trees, including camellias, magnolias, roses, and over 160 different types of azaleas.  (Wikipedia)

Twisted tree on south rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Wyoming, October 7, 2011.

The tree is probably a Utah Juniper, as it is the most common juniper in Arizona.  A short tree, it is an extremely slow growing plant that may live as long as 650 years.  Under very severe site conditions, Utah junipers can subsist in very stunted forms –  a 6-inch tree with a 24-inch taproot may be over 50 years old.  Utah junipers thrive on very dry sites and usually occur in areas with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, March 13, 2011

This was our second visit to the gardens – the first one had been quite a few years – before, and we were there at just the right time for the spring display of very colorful flowers.

This was a weekend trip to visit the Dallas Quilt Show, our second visit to that, too.

Cow elk, Moraine Park meadow, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 3, 2009

When we visited Rocky Mountain National Park in 2009, our campsite was next to a trail that went down to the meadow where many of the elk gather during the autumn rut season.  We were able to see the elk almost every day without having to brave the “critter jam” of all the vehicles driven in to view the elk.

We came back again in 2011, but were not able to get the same site.  We probably won’t go this year as the window for time off from work is later in the season.  If we go west, it’ll likely be further south – perhaps Utah or New Mexico.

Overlooking a bend in the Arkansas River from Stout’s Point,
Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas, January 19, 2013

Petit Jean State Park is one our favorite destinations in Arkansas.  We usually make it there at least a couple of time each year.  Stout’s Point, on the eastern end of Petit Jean Mountain, is several miles from the main body of the park.

Middleton Place plantation, Dorchester County, South Carolina, 15 miles from Charleston, June 11, 2012

For our 40th anniversary, we took a road trip to Charleston, South Carolina.  While there, among other things, there we explored plantations as well as antebellum homes in the city.

Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Middleton Place plantation was the primary residence of several generations of the Middleton family, many of whom played prominent roles in the colonial and antebellum history of South Carolina. The plantation, now a National Historic Landmark District, is used as a museum, and is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States. (Wikipedia)

While exploring the grounds at Middleton Place, we came across our first South Carolina alligator. It was actually not very big, but we still kept our distance.

The Gardens, which Henry Middleton envisioned and began to create in 1741, reflect the grand classic style that remained in vogue in Europe and England into the early part of the 18th century.  The principles of André Le Nôtre, the master of classical garden design who laid out the gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte and the Palace of Versailles were followed.  Rational order, geometry and balance; vistas, focal points and surprises were all part of the garden design.  (Middleton Place website)

This statute was one of four, with each set at one of the corners of a hidden grassy square in the gardens.

When I went back to work in January 2015, I decided that my blogs would go on hiatus, sort of.  I stopped actively trying to make money online and have limited blog posts to about 1 per month.

I’ve decided to start doing more blog posts.

One of the reasons I started blogging over ten years ago was to share my photography.  I have over 3700 images selected for eventual sharing – and I have a lot of photographs that have yet to be looked at for post-processing.

I don’t intend for my blogs to just be photo blogs.  Even though I will be posting photos, there will usually be some sort of personal descriptive content.  I won’t, however, be publishing posts with extensive information and links.  What with working, I just don’t have the time to devote to extra material.

I’ll be posting here as well as on Haw Creek. Currently, my plan is to not duplicate posts between the blogs.  Most of the time, there will be one photo per post.  Sometimes, it will just make sense to include more than one.  An upcoming example – tomorrow – is several images of a statue from a South Carolina plantation.

Five months into it, work seems to be going well.  I’m currently just down and across the hall from the office I worked out of for many years.  In my group, all but two instructors have retired in the eight years since I’ve been gone.  Three of us, or about 25%, are back working as contractors.  It looks like my contract work will last at least another year.

Our best dogwood tree is in an open area next to our house.  It was transplanted from further back on our property many years ago.  Each spring, the tree is heavy with lovely white blossom, much more than is typical for a dogwood trees.  In Arkansas, most dogwoods are found growing in the woods in the shadow of larger trees.