Tuesday, May 20, 2008

ROAD TRIP!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending 2 days taking photos of some of the most beautiful things mother nature has to offer with a dear friend who shares my passion for photography.

Jane and I departed on Saturday morning with a van load of photography equipment and a bin of fragile cargo - blueberry seedlings - bound for my brother's farm in Vineland.

Our first stop was Humber Nurseries where we were delighted to find that they had just watered the plants and there were water drops EVERYWHERE! A photographers dream come true!





Also at Humber Nurseries is a small butterfly conservatory. Although there weren't a lot of butterflies there, it was a good primer for our visit to the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory on Sunday.



Saturday evening, we arrived at my brother's house and got some sunset shots, but the highlight of the weekend for us both - certainly the most fun part - was after the sun went down. Being the Victoria day long weekend, I had brought sparklers for my neice and nephew and naturally, once it got dark, we got the out and had fun both with them and with the cameras.


From here, we progressed to "writing with light" and, although not predicted for the weekend, the moon made an appearance and we got some shots of it as well.





Sunday, we headed to Niagara Falls early to go to the Butterfly Conservatory in the pouring rain, which ruled out any photos in the stunning gardens there. Our second stop was Bird Kingdom which yielded no good photos for me.

Our final stop of the day was the Niagara Parks Greenhouse which was our favourite stop for several reasons... #1) it was quiet. We almost had the whole place to ourselves, #2) it was filled with stunning and unique plants, and #3) it was F R E E !




A Tasty Trip Down Memory Lane...

I notice a few years ago that a little country store near my brother's house in Vineland sells pink elephant popcorn. Every time we go to visit them, we stop in at this store for fresh baked goods and I always say I want a box of pink elephant popcorn...and Darryl always talks me out of it and every time I kick myself for not getting a box.

Well, I was in Vineland this past weekend and I stopped into the store again but this time Darryl (a.k.a. my conscience) wasn't with me to talk me out of buying it.

It only took 2 pieces to transport me back 25 years ago. It was still as vibrant, sweet, and yes, stale, as I remember it being.

My tastes must have refined over the years as I daresay, as good at pink elephant popcorn is, I believe I now prefer cashew poppycock.

But it was nice to be 9 years old again... if only for a fleeting moment.