Open Window

Rejoice It's Spring

Spring Blossoms ©2009 Claudia Ward

Vernal equinox, that's the official name for the first day of spring, one of two days in each year upon which the hours of day and night are equal. Today, the sun rose "due east" and it will set "due west". One might say that everything is going up from here, meaning the days will be longer than nights from now until the autumnal equinox on September 22nd. That's a good thing!

Celebrate! We survived the winter-that-wasn't. Now let's just hope that Mother Nature didn't store up all her blizzard-energy for spring torrents. In the meantime, enjoy all of the early blooms.

Daffodils ©2009 Claudia Ward

Photo Exhibition at Ashawagh Hall

The photo exhibition at Ashawagh Hall last weekend, sponsored by Hampton Photo Arts and curated by Laurie Barone-Shaefer, has been deemed a success by one and all. Over 50 photographers, ranging in ages from 9 -81, exhibited a wide range of images and a number were even sold  - including Laurie's. 

SOLD: Towd Point ©2012 Laurie Barone-Schaefer

Peter showed two of his architectural HDR images, one of the New York Skyline and the other of Montparnasse in Paris. 

"New York Skyline" © 2009 Peter Tooker

"Montparnasse, Paris" © 2010 Peter Tooker

I exhibited "Spring", a flower photograph printed on metallic paper, and "Montauk - Post Hurricane Bill", two images framed together of a Coast Guard Cutter braving Bill's waves and dodging surfers off Montauk Point.

 "Spring" © 2009 Claudia Danforth Ward

"Montauk - Post Hurricane Bill" © 2009 Claudia Danforth Ward

 

Once again it was great fun to see everyone's work and to get to know some of the other artists first hand. 

Thanks again to Dave, Ben, and everyone at Hampton Photo Arts, and of course, the indefatigable Laurie. 

 

Open Window's Second Year

It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.

Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself. 

The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App

This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.

Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward

Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter. 

Antique Hood Ornament
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.

Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker 

The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.   

Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek

Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.

The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.

So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories". 

  

Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard 

 

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.

 

 

Sunflowers II

Helianthus annuus is the sunflower's scientific name derived from helios, the Greek word for sun, and anthos, the Greek word for flower (annuus indicates that it is an annual plant). The sunflower's name is believed to have been based on appearance as well as behavior. First it looks a little like the kind of sun you drew when you were in kindergarten, and second, young sunflowers are heliotropic, which means they change their orientation from east to west "following the sun" during the day, a process which is reversed overnight. (Heliotropism is really very interesting and complex; if you're interested in knowing more on how this takes place check this out.)

 As I mentioned in the last post, a sunflower's flower head is really a composite flower consisting of 1,000-2,000 florets which are arranged in a spiral pattern. "Typically, each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5°, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals ..." according to Wikipedia, and this pattern produces the most efficient packing of the seeds in the flower head. This is the source of those nutritious seeds we eat as snacks, the ones that also make the sunflower oil used in cooking.

Helianthus annuus - the common sunflower is complex in its structure and habits, has been useful and nutritious for millennia, and is beautifully photogenic on the whole and in the details. I must thank those faithful followers who mentioned that sunflowers follow the sun, I didn't know that and it peaked my curiosity. "How do they do that?" Thus I researched and learned more about this complicated photographic subject.

 Photos and Slide Show by Claudia Ward
Music: You Are My Sunshine by Lisa Derosia from Songs for Wiggleworms 

I hope you enjoy the slide show. Send new facts, if you have any ... I love to learn!

 

Sunflowers

Sunflowers - it seems to me that you either love them or hate them. I've always been in the latter camp. Somehow the dark "flower head"  always gave me the creeps. Looked like a great place for hiding bugs - ants, spiders, earwigs and the like, and I didn't much care for the rough, hairy stem, or the broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves either. I didn't care for them at all, until I began seeing images made by other photographers showing the immense intricacy of a sunflower's structure and thus, its innate beauty.

Black & White Negative Image of a Sunflower

It turns out the "flower head" is really a composite flower consisting of 1,000 - 2,000 florets - did you know that? The florets within the flower head are arranged in a spiral pattern which are incredible to study (and photograph) up close as they are oriented toward one another by approximately the "golden angle". This makes Mother Nature a remarkable mathematician and the most efficient producer of sunflower seeds, because these florets mature into the seeds we love.

So now, I submit the following, brief, slide show, not as an example of my new "love-fest" with sunflowers, but rather as a demonstration of my new found appreciation for their beauty, if not their geometric design. Next time I may even photograph them from the front!

 

Photos and Slide Show by Claudia Ward
Music: You Are My Sunshine by Lisa Derosia from Songs for Wiggleworms 

Farm Fields of Mustard

A week ago I posted a photograph of farm fields here in the Hamptons. I was attracted to the location because of the rolling hills of yellow flowers, next to the brilliant green of the corn field and the dark red barn, however I had absolutely no idea what the yellow flowers were. You all were great and made several suggestions including buckwheat, corn flowers, and mustard. Having checked these out, I've concluded that the flowers are indeed mustard. Thank you Linda!

One of the things I enjoy most about this blog is the variety of things I learn doing research for each post. I never know where it will take me, which is rewarding for me and hopefully entertaining for you. Well today's research has led me to learn a great deal about the agriculture of mustard, its various types, where they're grown, and their value in a number of cultures, but it also reminded me of something my father always said when we were growing up. If and when we were convinced that something we wanted to happen was not going to happen or if we were frustrated with our inability to accomplish something, he would always say, "Oh ye of little faith ... have faith, as in a mustard seed". Recalling this, I had to research it and find something about it's origins.

Well it appears that dear old Dad had religious training in the form of Bible study, and was familiar with the New Testament. "Oh ye of little faith" comes from the story in which Christ stills the Tempest (Matthew 8:26), and the Parable of the Mustard Seed likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, "which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, ..." (Matthew 13:31-32) So I guess Dad was trying to tell us that great things can come if only we have a little faith, for look what becomes of a tiny mustard seed. 

But closer to what Dad paraphrased is, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ... nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matthew 17:20) So Dad was trying to teach us not to be discouraged or disheartened but to have even the smallest amount of faith and we could accomplish anything.

Either way, these are both pretty good lessons, for just look what becomes of those mustard seeds!

By the way, I want thank you all for your kind thoughts after my recent tumble. All better, thanks. 

Sunday Morning in the Hamptons

As many of you know, I love my morning walks and Sundays are especially nice in the summer because they're relatively quiet. We're so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area which is enhanced by a large entertainment factor once the season is upon us. Flowers abound, hedgerows bloom, and shop windows may be decorated with everything from mannequins doing hand stands to jubilant penguins named Jeremiah, Shane, and Oscar - anything to catch your eye. Our small community has several churches, charming cottages and grand mansions, and lovely wide roads to drive on whether its in the family Ford or a sporty convertible antique Bugatti. Antique and Art Fairs put up tents and take over the grounds of the Historical Society across the street from our house, and nearly every house has deck chairs beckoning its residents to relax with the New York Times or to take a Sunday afternoon nap. Enjoy.

 Photos and slide show ©2011 Claudia Ward
Music: Spurrier Spurned by Mark Adler from the soundtrack of "Bottle Shock"

 

Peonies - Black & White & Pink All Over

Some of you have wondered what I've been up to since I haven't done a post in four days ... how unlike me! Well, first of all it's a holiday weekend and Peter and I vowed to take a break and enjoy it, and we have. I bought lots of peonies to brighten things up and they're blooming all over the house. Naturally I couldn't leave them alone, I've photographed them nearly every day. I love the way they unfold and spread their petals, as if embracing the world and not being able to get enough of it. And sometimes their petals look like layers upon layers of satin petticoats. I so enjoyed the textures I was seeing I thought I'd see what they looked like in black and white. I've enjoyed doing this and would love to know which of these you like. Leave a comment and let me know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tulips After the Rain

It's been raining a lot in the northeast and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. Trust me, I'm not complaining because these rains aren't producing here any of the drastic results they've produced for the states along the rivers in the midwest and east. In fact, the rains have made everything exceptionally green and I think rather pretty dressed in necklaces of rain drops.

For Mother's Day

Sunday is Mother's Day and I've been thinking about mothers a lot lately. In the beginning, we all have one and she fills a spot in our hearts like no other human being in our lives, after all she gave us life (with a little help from her friend). She protects us fiercely, nurtures us constantly, and guides us along our path with a true determination unmatched by others. She would move mountains to help us, if that's in her power. She's the proudest when we succeed, the most dashed when we are disappointed, and the first to pick us up and dust us off when we fail. She is the living embodiment of unconditional love. She is the one we take for granted the most, as she's always there ... until she isn't, when a hole is created in our lives, never to be filled again. 

My own mother died 39 years ago when I was only 20 years old, and to this day, I wonder what she would think of the life I've lived. I can still hear her voice and the sound of her laughter, her words of caution and encouragement, and her proclamations of right and wrong. These I've held tightly to over the years and used as a rudder to maintain my course, and as long as I was listening, they've never failed me. So despite having been gone for decades now, this woman lives on in me through the lessons I learned so many years ago. 

So to all of you mothers out there, wherever you are on the time continuum, know that the lessons you teach to us become a part of our fabric, even if you thought we weren't listening. We are inexorably tied together forever, and beyond, and we truly couldn't live without you, though it seems we spend a lifetime trying to be free of those binds.

Some of you have just become mothers for the first time - bask in the beginning because this is just the first chapter of a life-long novel with many and varied chapters ahead. Some of you are caring for elderly or ill mothers - remember, she helped you in to this world, you should help her out. Some of you have just lost your mothers - cherish the time you had together and the memories she created for you.

All of you mothers - know in your hearts that you are always in ours even when you've gone on ahead - just remember to leave a light on for us to follow.

Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward

Happy Mother's Day, one and all. 

Tulip Trash?

We came to City Hall Park to photograph the gardens but most had yet to bloom. It's still in the mid-40s here in New York today. But I was determined, and low and behold look what I found poking out of the trash. It never had a chance to truly blossom but I bet it would have been pretty.

Tulip Trash ©2011 Claudia Ward

Tulips

Who doesn't love tulips and the colorful cheer they bring to the world around them? I personally know of no one. 

Peter and I are off to the city (New York that is), to shoot the gardens at City Hall and around Trinity Church at the head of Wall Street, which are filled with tulips of all colors right now. So if you're in Manhattan and see some woman crawling around the flower beds on her hands and knees - just say hey!

Spring is in the Air

Truly, it is ... Spring's just very slow in coming in the northeast this year. So to pick myself up, I picked up some tulips at the market. Surely the world of color will bloom soon ... just not soon enough for me.

 

Snowdrops

Snowdrops ©2011 Claudia Ward

The snowdrops are blooming, putting Peter and me in the mood for spring. Bring ... it ... on ....... please. These tiny garden treasures are no taller than three inches and the flower itself is only a half an inch long. They must be tough to arrive when it's still so cold but they look so delicate and fragile - makes you believe in the resilience of nature.

P.S. Another sure sign spring is coming is trucks are unloading flats of plants onto the empty lots of the nurseries. They're filling in slowly but they are filling in. Before we know it, the flats will be filled with flowering plants.

 

Sunflowers

Have you ever found that something in your life is, or seems to be, forever associated with someone else? Sunflowers are one of those things for me.

These are for you Mary, as I know you love them so. The season has ended and these were beginning to take their last bow, but they brought you to mind, as I know sunflowers always seemed to bring you joy.

Cheers!

Peonies

I saw my first peony this year and must say that I am thoroughly smitten. You may recall my mentioning bright red peonies lining the walkway to a friend's house in Indiana - "sentries to all who might come". That was my introduction and when I got home I found them nearly every where. I couldn't resist picking up an assortment nearly every time I passed the Dutch Petals section of our grocery stores.

A peony begins as a tightly wound orb about the size of a ping pong ball and opens to a five-inch wide brightly colored blossom in just a day, and looks as if it's made of the most luxurious rumpled silk taffeta.  
It's truly spectacular to watch this transformation! Colors range from pure white to deep carmine, but our favorites began as cerise pink. I say began because, as the days past and each peony opened wide, we also noticed that the colors in the petals faded, so that the flower that began as a deep dark pink finished its living days a beautiful ivory color. Look at the pictures below and please, someone, tell me - is this natural? Is this what every peony does?

 All Photos by Claudia Ward, 2010, All Rights Reserved

This is the exact same flower in each photography, just six days apart - check out the leaf pattern. What a transformation in one week!

Roxanne's Gardens

Gardening is taken up every spring by many a novice but none more enthusiastically than a friend of mine. Renovations completed on their Indiana home, Roxanne turned her attentions to the landscape and with a voluminous tome on the topic in hand, she began planning the gardens. The results are a glorious symphony of color that performs for nearly half the year.

The gardens begin revealing their treasures in late March and will continue to do so on cue throughout the warm spring and summer months. In May when we saw the gardens, the yellow and white daffodils had already made their exit from the stage, replaced now with tulips et al dressed in royal purples, blues and pastels. Demanding attention at center stage however were bright red peonies planted along the walkway - sentries to all who might come. 

These are some of May's "performers" in the gardens at Bye the Beach Cottage.

Photos & Slideshow by Claudia Ward, 2010, All Rights Reserved

Music: Presto, Roberto Fabbriciani, Orchestra Da Camera Di Santa Cecelia, Vivaldi: 6 Concerti Per Flauto

Remember to click the four arrows to make the slideshow larger and change the 360 to 480 for the best possible quality.

How do your gardens grow?

Happy Mother's Day

For all you mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day from Nashville, IN on the way to Charleston, WV - you deserve this day!

 Photo by Claudia Ward 2010 All Rights Reserved 

Dancing with Daffodils -The Slide Show

Spring and flowers, what a glorious way to come out of winter's doldrums - I find it intoxicating. Sunday morning was lightly overcast, with little to no wind - perfect conditions for photographing flowers. So if you were in the vicinity of Sagaponack on Long Island yesterday morning and saw a woman sitting cross-legged on a plastic tarp around 6:30 a.m. in front of a diamond of daffodils ... that was a very happy me, despite the damp and chill in the air!

The results are assembled in this slide show - as you all seem to respond most positively to them. "Dancing with the Daffodils" was a wonderful way to spend the day and I hope you enjoy the music as well. It's a song called "Si Do Mhaimeo" sung by two members of a group I adore called Celtic Woman.

Photos by Claudia Ward 2010 All Rights Reserved

Note: Change to 480 to maximize quality; click on the four arrows to enlarge the show.

Please leave a Comment here and let us know what you think, or how you spent your Sunday, or just say "Hey!" We love hearing from you, as always.

Friends

Friends share and friends care - that we all know, and I'm lucky enough to be able to say that I've had one friend for 40 years (in September). We met our freshman year in college and have shared and cared our ways through at least one of nearly every life event - boyfriends and breakups, new jobs and career changes, new businesses and corporate takeovers, a couple of marriages (each) and the ensuing divorces, births and deaths, laughter and sorrow. These events and our friendship have played on the stages of at least seven states (she moved a lot) and numerous countries if you count her business travel and my vacations.

My longtime friend came to visit a week ago with her two daughters and a friend of hers; my friend lives in Rhode Island and I live in New York. We all have such a good time when we get together and pick up right where we left off. Over the years we've learned to respect each other's choices, to offer advice and never lecture, to critically support but never criticize, and to recognize that we each have our own separate path in this life, we're just lucky enough to share and be part of the other's journey.

These friends gave me some beautiful tulips during their stay and a week later I'm still enjoying them. They greet me every morning in the bay window in the living room, bathed in sunlight - and remind me how very lucky I am.

Happy Easter

Photo by Peter Tooker 2010 ALL RIGHT RESERVED 

Art or Photography?

It's a busy week for us with lots of "to-ing and fro-ing". Head in to the city, New York City that is, several times so posting every day will be a challenge. As we all seem to have a good case of spring fever, we'll be sharing "spring photos" this week and hope you find them a pleasure to look at and maybe even inspirational.

 

Crocus Photo by Claudia Ward 2010 All Rights Reserved

 

Snowdrops Photo by Claudia Ward 2010 All Rights Reserved

So, what do you say, art or photography? Let us know your thoughts.
  

Croci

Crocuses a.k.a. croci bring joy to their beholders and that's evident from the photos we're including in today's post. These are Peter's photos from this morning's shoot in our neighbor's back yard. It must have been a real hoot to see grown (very grown) adults lying on their stomachs on the damp ground taking pictures of very small flowers. (If you thought beached whales, you're now in the penalty box.) All joking aside, aren't these spectacular? Spring art! 

   

 

All Photos by Peter Tooker 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Let us hear from you, send some encouragement (or criticism) our way. What do you think, do these tickle your fancy or not? Let us know either way, we love hearing from you!

Happy Spring!

Photo by Claudia Ward 2009 All Rights Reserved

This daffodil reminds me of a bugler heralding the coming of spring. At 1:32 p.m. EDT today, spring will finally arrive and our temperatures may break records, in the mid 60's. Peter and I are thinking of packing a picnic and going to the beach for lunch today. I wonder if it's improved at all since last week's storm. Will keep you posted - literally!

In the meantime, smile ... winter is officially behind us and warmer weather is overtaking the cold! Yeah!

Want to share any springtime cheer? Please do it here. Even if you simply say hello ... we'll be glad you joined "the party".

Happy Spring everyone! 

Snowdrops in Spring

Determined to beckon spring, we started our spring cleaning today and by Jove we think it worked. Rising at 6:30 a.m. and working until 1:00 p.m., we broke for lunch and when we returned look what we found just outside our front door - snowdrops!!

 Aren't they brilliant?

They are no taller than 3 inches, but they've made our hearts sing! 

What a great day!

Any comments? ........ anyone?

Dancing in the Rain

It's a dreary day here in the northeast in the aftermath of this week's storm, and I have a day of paper work ahead of me so I thought I'd share with you something a friend shared with me after reading "Stop and Smell the Roses" earlier this week. It rang true to my ears and brought a smile to my face.

"Life is not about how to survive the storm, but rather, 

how to dance in the rain."

Photo by Claudia Ward Copyright 2010 - Taken in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard

Thank you John, and rest assured, when I captured this rose last spring ... I was dancing in the rain!

Have a great day everyone, and let us know your thoughts, on anything, leave a comment by clicking on these words or the word "Comment" below ... let us know you're there. 

Stop and Smell the Roses

Researching the expression "Stop and Smell the Roses", I found that it’s often expressed as “Wake up and smell the roses” which, in fact, is an erroneous and nonsensical rendition of “Wake up and smell the coffee” which means “get real”.  

Further research revealed something that was more lovely than I’d hoped. It’s believed that “Stop and Smell the Roses” could be misquoted advice from the golfer Walter Hagan that appeared in the 1956 book The Walter Hagan Story. 

You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry. Don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.

The time we have on this earth is way too short and we all take it so much for granted. We feel assured that there will be a tomorrow, and a day after, and a day after that. We plan accordingly and too often live for what will be rather than for what is today, in fact quite ignoring the here and now that we should be cherishing. 

A friend died this week, entirely unexpectedly. He’d not yet retired but was living the dream that he and his wife shared, a country house in Maine, with their beloved animals (her cats and his new dog Rufus), and all of the outdoor activity that would entail.

There’s a beginning, middle and an end to these lives we lead and we have no idea where we are in that continuum. Please ... “Stop and Smell the Roses”.

Roses for Greg