Good, Old Flowers

1,000 Words Photography

Often in the South, we will use the phrase "Good ole...." when referring to well, just about anything. This post is about something that sounds similar, but is meant a bit different. The flowers to which I refer are called "Spider Lilies" unofficially. Apparently, they are a very old variety of the lily family that dates back to the 1850's. It is unsure of the origin of them here in Mississippi, but if you look around from the end of September to the middle of October, you are sure to see some of the reddish/pink spider-looking flowers popping out of a hillside.....the base of a tree...or just out in the middle of nowhere. Their most spectacular showing is when there is an entire bunch set all together. This vibrant color is sure to grab your eye against the rapidly-waning color of summer.

The fact that they are old will be very apparent when you try to purchase some. They will set you back about $10 for 3 bulbs. Only one flower comes up from each bulb. The good thing about these mysterious little flowers is that they reproduce quite rapidly. Because they are perinneals, you will see them year after year. The good part: there will be more and more each year, as the bulbs replicate and help out your original investment.

Go to your local nursery or just go ask your grandma for some, but definitely get some of these for your yard. It's just the good, old Fall Surprise your yard needs.



**To see more photos, visit my site: http://bruceaulrich.zenfolio.com

Growing Like a Baby

You've heard of sleeping like a baby? Well, it would be better said to be growing like a baby. They are constantly changing. My son is now 17 weeks old (that's a little over 4 months, for the non-initiated) and just had his 4 month doctor checkup.

 A few weeks ago

Everything went well at the doctor. She checked his joints....fingers....toes....etc and said that he was perfectly healthy. That is just music to my ears. He is now in the 90th Percentile in his weight and the 75th Percentile in his height. Seems to be getting a pretty good amount of food these days, don't you think? He even took his shots well. He had to get 3 shots, and with the aide of some Tylenol before getting them, he was still happy when I arrived home at about 5:30. That's what I like to see....a happy baby!

Yesterday

I still wonder things like: Will he be taller than me? Will he be right-handed or left-handed? Will his hair turn darker as he grows older?

I guess we will just have to wait and find out.

I See........Pinestraw

You've heard of seeing dead people as a sixth sense? Well, I can see pinestraw as my sixth sense. This past weekend, I spent a good bit of time raking, bagging and distributing pinestraw in our flower beds. It is a painstaking task, but when you have had to pay for bales of pinestraw (at $15/ea., like we did last year), you're just grateful to even be able to rake some up.

It started with getting the beds naked....so that we could see what needed trimming and pull weeds. Then, we could fluff all of the old pinestraw, for added volume, before applying the new needles. Finally, after many scrapes and pokes....we had a nice, thick layer of pinestraw covering our flower beds. It was like the plants were being held snuggly in place by a brown see of discarded items.

The only problem now...everywhere I go, I see fresh piles of pinestraw.....or a freshly dropped carpet of it, and it makes me just want to grab a rake. Habit, I suppose at this point.

Good Things

Good things come to those that wait. I've heard this my whole life, and truthfully, it's one of those sayings that just kind of bothers you more than making sense. You think, this is just a ploy that my parents cooked up so that I would stop bothering them about having this or that right now. It is true though....as the famous Ent from Lord of the Rings, Treebeard, once said, "Nothing is worth saying, unless it takes a long time to say." I guess I think that about a lot of things now. I would morph it more into something like, "Nothing is worth doing unless it takes a long time to happen." If you think about it, you have to plan significantly for some of the best things to happen in your life: marriage--must plan the wedding, starting a family--seeing if you're ready for kids or not, pregnancy--you are constantly planning for this and that.

You never really know what will arise when you find out your are pregnant. This, as you know from previous posts, happened to my wife and I about this time a year ago. We found out that she was pregnant with our first child, Alan. We were exstatic and scared, all at the same time. However, we did begin to plan. We started planning for his room accommodations. We started planning for hospital bills. We started planning our lives around this little guy that was coming. We knew, things could not be the way they had been for 3+ years in our marriage.

We had a strong marriage, but we would soon come to find out that those strengths, and more importantly, the weaknesses, would be tested. The strain of sleep deprivation, worry, and nervousness of the unknown pulls hard at a marriage...even one tested by years of marriage. We found this to be especially true. I think the things that we've had a tough time with, we have emerged even stronger because we persevered though.

Alan is such a blessing. He is here now (Yes, I'm a bit late with this post) and we cannot stop looking at him, even after these 3.5 months. He is our pride. He is out joy. He is our life.

Great Expectations

Expectations shape a majority of our moods and what we demand from society and from our lives. These expectations can be a pleasant surprise, because they were previously low, and the reality turned out to be something so much more. Also, these expectations can be great, just because they have built up in our minds to the point that nothing could shatter the imaginary world they have created. Regardless of how we use them, expectations are everywhere. Well, our expectations are some of those that were previously referenced. They are the ones that keep us floating on cloud nine, and will still for years to come. The expectations to which I refer are parenthood. We are about to journey into that world, where many have come before us, without any previous experience. Our expectations will help carry us though...our expectations will make up for the lack of experience that we might feel. Our expectations of our little one, Alan, are coming due...sooner, rather than later.

Innocence Personified

This little boy, Eli, did so well with our shoot the other day. He was just so interested in giving his mom some flowers and letting his dad make him laugh. What parents would ask for something else? What a beautiful family, Nicholsons! Thanks for letting me be a part of it for a little while.

Beauty & Beau....and more Beauty

I had the chance recently to shoot a Beauty and Beau Pageant. It was interesting. There is nothing to make you realize you are getting old like shooting pictures of a bunch of young, beautiful people. There were so many of them too.

Susie, my friend, has nothing to be but proud, as her daughter was definitely one of the most beautiful Beauties there. Here are a few from that night.