Country Road...Take Me Home
Day 52 ~ Beyond Layers
Photo-Heart Connection
Our Day 52 assignment was to find fences. I have, in the past, taken a few shots of fences here in Lewisville, Texas that were decent--meaning the fence was pretty and flowers of some sort or another cascaded on or near the railing. I wanted to capture a new image for this assignment, but as I wandered through the neighborhoods of old Lewisville, there was nothing there for me to photograph. I revisited the same homes I'd stopped by previously, but rose bushes were gone and rows of gladiolas were no longer thriving along fence lines. Maybe the original owners of the homes had moved on and the new folks couldn't be bothered with flowers or maybe the heat had taken its toll...104 degrees on the day of my walk about. Years ago, while scouting out flowers and fences, I stopped by the home of an elderly lady who was growing bluebonnets in the planter in front of her place. She allowed me to take several pictures of her bluebonnets and graciously gave me some of the bluebonnet seeds she'd collected from the year before. I still have the little jar and seeds. I consider them a treasured gift. We exchanged addresses and I sent her 10 or so note cards with photos of her bluebonnets glued to the front. I thought of her as I walked by. I didn't stop. The whole landscape in her front yard had changed and I was afraid I'd find a new family living there.
I decided I must move on with this project so into the archives I went. I remember the day I took this picture very vividly. We'd taken the jeep off road...we left Provo, headed south on I-15, then east on Hwy 6, and then turned right onto Hwy 89 toward Thistle, Utah. There's a dirt road to the left off of Hwy 89...jeep tires hit the dirt and we were off.
It was a beautiful fall day...warm sun and the sky filling with white puffy clouds. We took the top off the jeep and did a bit of geocaching along the way. As the dusty road climbed higher and higher, we drove along a creek, through meadows, over boulders, the cooling wind blowing into our faces, and we thought...maybe we should put the "lid" back on the jeep? The clouds were darker now along the horizon, but sunlight still filtered through tall stands of Aspen trees filled with flickering yellow leaves. We ignored the sky and on we went. Once we crested the ridge we found ourselves on a plateau filled with sagebrush and barbed wire fences. The sky was gray now and a deafening clap of thunder brought the rain and it brought it hard. Danna drove the jeep truly off road under some unidentified trees and we literally threw the top back on the jeep. By the time we were done we were soaking wet.
In Utah, thunderstorms blow in with a furry, rain for several minutes, and then limp away across the mountain passes. In the time we sat in the car drying ourselves...the storm had passed. What the storm left in its wake was some beautiful light and the fragrance of sage filling the cool fresh air. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots...this being one of them.
I decided to use this image for my assignment and my July Photo-Heart Connection entry. I love my memories of Utah...its landscape, its people and most importantly...my life there with children, grandchildren, and Danna.
"...Country Roads, take me home to the place I belong..." ~ John Denver
Our Day 52 assignment was to find fences. I have, in the past, taken a few shots of fences here in Lewisville, Texas that were decent--meaning the fence was pretty and flowers of some sort or another cascaded on or near the railing. I wanted to capture a new image for this assignment, but as I wandered through the neighborhoods of old Lewisville, there was nothing there for me to photograph. I revisited the same homes I'd stopped by previously, but rose bushes were gone and rows of gladiolas were no longer thriving along fence lines. Maybe the original owners of the homes had moved on and the new folks couldn't be bothered with flowers or maybe the heat had taken its toll...104 degrees on the day of my walk about. Years ago, while scouting out flowers and fences, I stopped by the home of an elderly lady who was growing bluebonnets in the planter in front of her place. She allowed me to take several pictures of her bluebonnets and graciously gave me some of the bluebonnet seeds she'd collected from the year before. I still have the little jar and seeds. I consider them a treasured gift. We exchanged addresses and I sent her 10 or so note cards with photos of her bluebonnets glued to the front. I thought of her as I walked by. I didn't stop. The whole landscape in her front yard had changed and I was afraid I'd find a new family living there.
I decided I must move on with this project so into the archives I went. I remember the day I took this picture very vividly. We'd taken the jeep off road...we left Provo, headed south on I-15, then east on Hwy 6, and then turned right onto Hwy 89 toward Thistle, Utah. There's a dirt road to the left off of Hwy 89...jeep tires hit the dirt and we were off.
It was a beautiful fall day...warm sun and the sky filling with white puffy clouds. We took the top off the jeep and did a bit of geocaching along the way. As the dusty road climbed higher and higher, we drove along a creek, through meadows, over boulders, the cooling wind blowing into our faces, and we thought...maybe we should put the "lid" back on the jeep? The clouds were darker now along the horizon, but sunlight still filtered through tall stands of Aspen trees filled with flickering yellow leaves. We ignored the sky and on we went. Once we crested the ridge we found ourselves on a plateau filled with sagebrush and barbed wire fences. The sky was gray now and a deafening clap of thunder brought the rain and it brought it hard. Danna drove the jeep truly off road under some unidentified trees and we literally threw the top back on the jeep. By the time we were done we were soaking wet.
In Utah, thunderstorms blow in with a furry, rain for several minutes, and then limp away across the mountain passes. In the time we sat in the car drying ourselves...the storm had passed. What the storm left in its wake was some beautiful light and the fragrance of sage filling the cool fresh air. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots...this being one of them.
I decided to use this image for my assignment and my July Photo-Heart Connection entry. I love my memories of Utah...its landscape, its people and most importantly...my life there with children, grandchildren, and Danna.
"...Country Roads, take me home to the place I belong..." ~ John Denver
Hi Suzette,
ReplyDeleteI am a fellow beyond layers member too :) You described your trip so beautifully. I can almost smell the sage here.. Thanks for taking me along on your journey
xo
What a beautiful picture and post. I too felt like I was with you on your trip. Thank you for taking me to visit a new and beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely STUNNING!
ReplyDeleteLovely lighting and beautiful yellow flowering bushes. The perfumes and lighting after a storm are always so astonishing and you have captured it all so well here!
ReplyDeleteYou had me with just the image...but then your story about how it came about really spoke to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is fabulous!
Beautiful image and words. I was there with you. How sad it must have been to revisit that neighborhood, and find it so changed. You must plant some of those bluebonnet seeds, in memory of the lovely connection with that woman. Thank you for sharing in the Photo-Heart Connection!
ReplyDeleteThe processing on this is fantastic. Your words are touching-it is such a delight when we open to a stranger and she must have been equally delighted when receiving her blue bonnet cards.
ReplyDeleteOh... such a beautiful photo and post, so glad you´ve joined photo-heart connection
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo-heart connection and such a lovely fence image! I love fences especially when their draped with color!
ReplyDeleteHi Suzette, I came via Photo/heart but I'm a fellow beyonder too. :) Love this image and I really enjoyed reading your words too, you write beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI think its a stunning photo and you tells your story just great.
ReplyDeleteFabulous story telling... thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete