Fall Uphill

I suppose one doesn't say happy Guy Fawkes Day? Probably not. Here are a few pictures I took on a Sunday drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon recently. We went as far as Albion Basin. (The July wildflower pictures.) I took some pictures of the meadow in it's autumn state, but they are so forlorn that I just can't present them here. (They cut down my favorite dead trees and mowed some of the meadow! Horrors.) Instead, I've included my favorite 'autumn-aflame' shots. Also, something I'd never seen before, but perhaps you have...Aspens turning red instead of the traditional yellow. I could not resist two brag shots of 1-month-old William with his parents. And lastly, two shots Tracy took of me with the first glimpse of our new baby, err...book, Eventide. Happy Fall all!

Autumn Road Home

I recently had the thrill of taking the Alpine Loop drive over Mt. Timpanogos from Provo Canyon to American Fork Canyon. I have loved this road since my teenage years, but it has been a while since I've traveled it. The fall colors this year seem somewhat muted and perhaps not as vibrant as they might be. In fact, a friend recently commented to someone that he didn't think that the fall colors were very good this year and he was told that he is a 'leaf-elite-ist'. However, the clouds and light combined to make for a satisfying Saturday afternoon. I wish I could have bottled the chill air with the sharp scent of pine against the low musky note of fallen leaves. Heaven.

I've included one picture at the very end of little William who is our 'fall harvest' this year. Grand babies are wonderful.

This is the bowl above Aspen Grove on the south side of the mountain.

The weather was quite changeable.

We began the climb in earnest. Tracy was very patient to let me capture shots and became quite adept at finding places to pull over on the narrow road.

This picture is for my daughter Angel who has an 'autumn tree' lit and decorated that looks quite a bit like this one in her front entry. Who knew they came pre-decorated? Just add lights.

Feather bed of ferns

Summit

Stage Curtain Parting

Pavilion

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say. --JRR Tolkein

I sometimes wish I could see the road ahead more clearly. Just a glimpse, please? No. I suppose that would be cheating.

Fairfarren

Sweet William and Nanny

Rainbow's End

Have you ever noticed how the light changes outside when a rainbow is about to appear? Color and contrast suddenly intensify. That's when I run outside with my camera. I just know there will be a bow in the sky. Often there are two.
I've also included my Garden Mantra. Which I use in my garden and elswhere.
I attempted to photograph the moon. Difficult. It's moving a lot faster than it seems. I read an article on 'shooting' the moon and discovered that there is fancy equipment for such a task. ~sigh~ I will not be investing in these things right away. And I'll restrict 'shooting-the-moon' to a game of hearts.

There are a few photos of our family trip to the zoo on Labor Day Weekend. AJ was monkey-enchanted. 'More monkeys? More monkeys?'

And lastly, sunflowers blooming in my garden. Finally. They were the absolute last bunch to bloom at the community garden and I thought it would never happen. Sometimes life feels that way too. Waiting...breath holding...pain; but then it unfolds and blossoms and all the agony is forgotten in the joy of that perfect moment. Anticipation is a terrible and wonderful thing.

I was amazed at how close I got to rainbow's end.

I loved this bow because it persistently grew brighter despite the fact that it endured against the backdrop of a dark-grey velvet storm.




Garden Mantra
I am Eve in the garden
in the garden
in the garden
I am Eve in the garden
In the Garden of Delight
In the Valley of Joy
Under the rainbow
Beneath God's hand
Where all is good and right.
(Repeat)
-Laura Hickman

Did you know that there will be no blue moon's in 2010?

First Zoo Trip

Ah! Real monkeys.

More monkeys?

Monkey love

Alex and I...two little ladies in hats.

These eyes have seen a lot of new things today.

Late Bloomers ...like me

Midsummer Madness

August is halfway gone and swept by in a whirl of wildflowers, Grassroots Shakespeare, cold neon conventions lights, and sultry summer nights.

I have many pictures to share this time. Some of them are more information than art...but you may choose just which is which. The first set is from my second walk up at Albion Meadow. There are different flowers blooming depending on which week you go. I'm hoping to make one more trip up there late in the month to see what else my hungry camera can devour.

The second set of pictures are from a performance of "Midsummer Night's Dream" by a company of players called Grassroots Shakespeare. My daughter, Tasha, performed with them in the park.

The third set of photos are from our annual Gen Con appearance in Indianapolis, Indiana. We've been going for 28 years! Are we crazy? Well, you may judge for yourself....

Utah Penstemon (Blue stalks)

Here is the aptly named Monk's Hood, and Indian Paintbrush is twining in coral complement.

Lewis' Monkey Flower
What I want to know is where is the monkey??????

OK, I confess I have no idea what this tiny moth is named,

but I think he looks like a silk bow-tie.

This splendid little chap posed for the camera quite sweetly.

The Grassroots Shakespeare Company gather for their eveing performance in the park
of Midsummer Night's Dream


Actors seem to have a second sense about where the camera is pointing. And yes, there is some sort of kinship with one of the pictures above.

Bottom rehearses

Titania Rehearses



Tahsa strikes a swash-buckling pose

TJ practices her Florentine technique

Tahsa as Helena in the evening performance




And now , Gen Con in Indianapolis:
Here is a typical building in Indianapolis. It just looked like an establishing shot for some old fortie's film to me. Well that, and I found the old clock irresistable.



Here is a cu of the clock. Whenever I was outside the convention center, I found myself focusing in on clocks wherever I was at. The convention is completely in it's own time(less) zone. I was always surprised by what time of day or night it was.

Costurmes are ubiquitus. Most are homemade. (I noted that there weren't any Klingons this year, but tons of vampires.)

Here is a very merry band just outside the convention center.


Steam-Punk was a huge theme this year.

Here is a shot of the crowd at our Killer Breakfast Event. Tracy does two hours of improv- role-playing with about 200 players and nearly 700 more on-lookers.

The audience do cheers with us and sing on demand. Here, Tracy bursts into song and the audience happily joins in.

This was a great moment. This young couple have just become engaged on stage. (Note the sure-grip she's got on both him and the ring-box.) The entire audience spontaneously leaped to their feet and cheered for them.

I had to get a picture of this group. Here are our ultimate KB players. They have come up with some pretty amazing set-ups over the years.

The Haase family had a great schtick this year. Many thanks to Candice Haase for the KB pictures of this and the proposal photo.


Here are two characters from Dragonlance who showed up at the booth. (Bupu and Raistlin)



In the booth.
On the left is Emily who helped Tracy earlier this year with Killer Breakfast at a convention in Ireland.


Here was my end-of-day treat on Saturday. Felicia Day, is a fan of Tracy's (and we are fans of hers!) she came to the booth because Tracy had mentioned to her I was stuck there. She is sooo nice! And gorgeous and very funny. Did I mention I'm a fan? ;)


Ahh, once again the time of day surprises me, but with a soothing evening-blue. I shot this from the balcony of our room. Which is a view of the old Indianapolis Union Railway Station.