Today was a highly unusual day. It was 84 degrees with low humidity. In late July. In Virginia!! It was THE perfect day to take a day off from work and walk around Lewis Ginter. Still plenty of colorful flowers in bloom and butterflies fluttering about.
Don’t look too hard, no butterfly in this shot. I just liked the purple flowers set against the purple pot.
I love fireworks! And thanks to my new camera, I can take REALLY good pictures of them! Ok, it’s a little bit of a cheat, there is an actual fireworks display function specifically for fireworks, but hey, as long as I get the shot, I don’t really care how I get it ;-)
I typically only see fireworks on the 4th in D.C., but we didn’t go this year. So instead I went about 2 miles away from my house to the fairgrounds. I can usually see some of them from my house, but the tree line is a bit too tall to see them really well. I braved the traffic and the crowds and ended up getting a pretty good spot! Out of the 150+ shots I took, here are the best of the best (and there are still 30 or so, just couldn’t seem to cut them down any further!).
Happy Independence Day!!
Here we go…!
I really like the residual streaks in this one.
This show was very impressive! Some of the fireworks had distinctive shapes. This one was a heart ;-)
Grande Finale!
If I’m not in D.C. next year, maybe I’ll try the downtown fireworks. Only reason why I haven’t before is because the traffic, not to mention the parking, downtown is AWFUL! But I would love to get shots with the fireworks reflected in the river. Maybe I’ll hire a limo, HA!
Independence Day week wouldn’t be complete without some sort of historical, proud-to-be-an American trip somewhere. We decided not to do DC this year, so what’s the next best thing? Visiting our first presidents’ home, Mount Vernon, of course. And what better day to do it than on Mom’s birthday! ;-)
Inherited by George Washington in 1754, he lived there on and off until he died there in 1799. There was no photography allowed in the house itself, and unlike the Biltmore, there were too many guides stationed around the house for me to sneak a shot or two. So I had to just look, listen and appreciate it.
I got plenty of shots of the outside, grounds and gardens though ;-)
This is a “Necessary,” basically an outhouse…but I must say it looks like a nice one, it’s even got windows!
That’s what I call River Front Property!
One of my favorite vegetables, artichokes, were growing in the garden.
Peaches and Apples
I guess even Washington had problems with those nasty, pesky beetles.
His other garden had plenty of colorful flowers in bloom.
In the education center, there is what looks like a picture of a bust of George Washington. But as you walk past it, it’s as if he is watching and following you! I think it’s some sort of projection, but part of the wall is concave. However it’s done, it’s a very cool optical illusion!
The day ended with an early dinner at Macaroni Grill, our favorite Italian restaurant! We then stopped off at Wegmans to pick up a few groceries then headed home where Mom opened her birthday presents.
It was a very good, family fun-filled day!
Happy Birthday Mom, love you!!!
For Father’s Day 2013, I drove my dad about an hour and a half south to McKenney, VA, to Lucky Lake Gem Mine to mine for gems! It wasn’t quite as adventure-laden as I thought it would be…no pick-axes or spelunking in tunnels…but it was quality Father-Daughter time hunting for treasures from nature. Just like we used to when I was a kid.
We actually ended up “finding” (and I use that very loosely, we “found” it in the bucket of dirt we were given), a Garnet that I’m having cut (which happens to be my birthstone). I’ll post a picture of the after faceted stone once I get it back. The before picture is in Dad’s find, with an arrow ;-)
We also “found” a ton of Rubies, a Citrine, a couple of Amethysts, lots of quartz (including Rose and Smokey), Turquoise, Sodalite, and Silver Topaz, among others.
The Garnet should be ready in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to pick it up and see how it turned out!
Sluice Box
Sluice Box with our finds
My finds
Dad’s finds
Gemologist explaining the stones and gems
Amethyst
February birthstone – my grandma’s ;-) Said to be the stone of royalty, it can also keep away nightmares if you put it on your bedside table.
Aventurine
Said to be a good luck charm, if you hold it in two hands and wish for wealth and prosperity it will all come to your door.
Carnelian
Said to stimulate creativity, give courage and promote positive life choices.
Citrine
November birthstone – Dad’s ;-) Said to be the stone of creativity and is said to bring success in business and commerce.
Howlite
Said to aid in teaching patience as well as helps eliminate rage and control anger.
Ocean Jasper
Said to be the stone of protection, it also absorbs negative energy and gives one courage.
Quartz
Said to be the healing stone and is the most commonly used amongst healers and psychics. In order to cleanse a quartz, one must leave it underneath a full moon overnight, then never let another person touch it every again. Dad didn’t want to keep any of the stones, but he was drawn to this one, so it was one of his Father’s Day presents ;-)
Rose Quartz
Said to be the stone of love. Nuff said.
Rutilated Quartz
This is my favorite stone that we found. The golden straw-like lines are said to be hairs from Venus! The goddess of love, not the planet ;-)
Azurite
Thought to have healing properties, it also helps open the mind and make it more receptive to retaining information.
Sodalite
Said to help you be true to yourself and help you stand up for your beliefs.
Silver Topaz and I think some Aquamarine
Said to be the promoter of truth and forgiveness, removes stagnant energy and purifies emotion.
Rubies! Lots and lots of Rubies!
July Birthstone – Mom’s ;-) Said to be the most powerful gem in the universe, Burmese warriors used to insert Rubies into their skin before battle thinking it would make them invincible.
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