Meet me in the garden of Eden, bring a friend.

Garden of Eden, my parents' back yard, same diff... 

More photos, for your viewing pleasure! I've got the square shots as usual, but I also just used up the last bit of power my Nikon 35mm had left in her for 2 rolls, one of which had been sitting in the camera since, say, summertime 2 years ago? A few nice surprises. Plus some new black and white of those precious nieces 'o mine. And let's not forget the beautiful flowers and surroundings of the Garrison homestead!

Home, itself.

 Micah, you can use that one for a sketch, ey?

Planter, turned semi-birdhouse.

Hidden treasures.
(this was last season's Abita Strawberry, closed up in the old cabinet)

This one's for you, Mom:

My mother is SUPER proud of these crazy bloom-type things coming out of her palm tree.
Pretty nice, I agree.

And here is some more of her prized flora...

Azaleas, with flash. The pink ones really do smell the best...

Some of Mom's yard art.

Purple flowers? I have no clue what these are.

Some sort of thornless rose. I love these.
They're yellow, which you unfortunately can't tell very well.

Double exposure of the white and red azaleas

Budding beauty.

Iris! With a fly on it!

Lovely bryophyta.

Wild azaleas! My parents actually forced my hand at this one, which is no complaint.
Although I did almost take an unintended dive into the creek for it...

My beloved Sweet Olive branch.

Sometimes I'm amazed at how cute my animals can be. Although I love Fern just as much, most of photos of her don't turn out well. Fanny's, on the other hand, are usually quite adorable:

Sleepy Fanny, finds some sun.

One of the trucks that helped clearcut our neighboring pine forest. Boo...

The girls' visit, in 35 mm:

Buddy, the hand puppet wolf, is a recurring character in these photos. Watch out, he Bites!

Shelby = totally into "Extraordinary Chickens."
Peyton = not so much.

Shelby's photography skills always impress me...

Howlin' wolf.

While Gran'ma Nielle takes Peyton back to the house on the Mule,
Shelby and I walked through the woods. 

Or, may I rephrase that: I walked, Shelby ran.
That girl sho' can hustle!

Creekside walkin, with Too-big sweaters on.
And a bunch of dogs.

Oh my, at the adorable..

I think she wants to drive, Gran'ma Nielle...

At this point in the photo storybook, I get to the old stuff. First, there's the sweet random photos:

Bouquet from our neighbors at Granada Lake, many moons ago...

Crazy flower, I think this was outside of our Bay St. apartment?

Lastly, let's have a photographic Ode to Uncle Lew.

You see, short months before my Dad's only brother passed away, they worked on a little project together. They built a shed. We all helped, actually. Some of us before Lew passed, and even more of us after. And, while his death was grievous and the time was terrible, for my father and his sister especially, I like to think of the finished product as well as the simple memory of the process as a wonderful reminder of their relationship, and of the importance of spending quality time with those you love the most.

So here are some photos of the shed-building process, which have been safely nestled away in my camera, unbeknownst to me, for about 2 years now. You can see the age in the color. I like it though..

Dad and Uncle Lew, chiseling rafters together.

 And here's one last picture of our sweet Lew:

He was a crazy ole' cooter...

There's definitely a Ben Franklin quote to be interjected here, but I never was good with remembering things verbatim. So, I'd say the take-home message is:

Be genuinely glad about how beautiful your world can be. Let go of your troubles (dogs and drinks help!). Love your family and friends just as much and as long as you can. And don't take yourself too damned seriously!