Nostalgia

The other day I was visiting my friend, Maria. We stood in her kitchen admiring the china/crystal place setting her daughter selected...she had put it out for the in-laws-to-be's visit.  I turned and saw a punch of coral red among the ivy in her back yard.

Spider lilies!

It instantly took me back to my grandparent's home in Troy.  To the front corner of the front yard, to be precise.  Each September spider lilies would materialize overnight.

It was magic.

So Monday morning I went out to take out the trash.  The bin is on the side of the house.  The side with the ivy.

And I found my own spider lily, just one, growing in the ivy on the side of the house.

It felt like a visit from my grandmother.

Company Day

Every year my company has Company Day.  The purpose was for everyone to get together from all our various offices and spend time together having fun.  This year's was one of the best, I think because the event returned to its roots.

We had group events:

We climbed walls:

Saw old friends:

Hung out and watched:

Raced tricycles:

and relaxed after lunch:

I'm fortunate to work for a company that takes time out to have fun.  It's an investment in the team. 

Engagement Session

Friday afternoon I shot an engagement session with a couple who will be married in January.  I got some good images, including some like this which were unguarded moments, despite the time (wish it could have been 6:30 instead of 5 pm) and the inexperience of the photographer. Something that I haven't heard any of the photographers mention is how wonderful it is to spend an hour or so with a couple who are so clearly in love and happy to be together.

It's a great bonus.

Sunday Shots

All summer, the butterfly bush has drawn these black and yellow guys.  And while I enjoyed them, I did wish for more colors.




Today, I got to see more colors.




And a butterfly duel.  Who knew?  They chased each other from flower to flower, fluttering madly, until they shot up into the sky.





Then, just as the duellers were fluttering off, this guy showed up.



And he gave me a nice profile shot.



And a stained glass shot.



Hope you're having a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Franken-Gus

Gus had a bump removed from his head this week.  This was Wednesday evening.  By last night he'd managed to tear?  break?  rupture one of the stitches, so I have to call the vet to find out if we need to come in or not. 

Life with Gus is never dull.