Winter 2022 At the Japan House

Even though spring is less than a week away, I have photos taken during winter that I’d like to share. This year’s winter started slow then decided to sock it to us in the form of a huge winter storm in February and another ice - snow storm two weeks later.

 

 
Honestly, I really like snow - the white brightens the dull landscape and when sun gets mixed in, there’s so much brilliance to enjoy. During the mid February storm, we received almost a foot of snow over 2 days. I opted to work from home and took some time to shoot snow selfies as the snow was falling. This was shot in my backyard with the iPhone 13 Plus in selfie portrait mode. I really like the results.

 

 

 

 
After two days of active snowfall, the sun came out so I invited two friends to visit the Japan House. We visit here often, mainly in the Spring and Fall. I had been waiting for a snowfall to complete my "seasons at the Japan House" Photo series.

 

 

 

 

 
Two weeks later and a snowy Sunday morning found us back. Friend My, texted me unexpectedly in the morning and after a pause, I kicked the lazy Sunday morning inertia to the curb and headed out. What an enchanting morning - snow fell lightly at first then suddenly we were blanketed by soft fluffy flakes. We were so happy to have gone out on this photo walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Finally, here's another snow selfie with my photo partner in crime, My.

 

 
Winter may be gone but not forgotten!

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Here Come the Sunflowers

Repeating the success of last summer, a local realty group has teamed with a local farm and planted a field of dreams - with sunflowers.

 

 
Last year’s sunflowers brought much joy to the local community, worn down and weary of the pandemic’s impact on summer - in the sunflower field, we could all enjoy being outside with plenty of space in the midst of these happy blooms. It was the end of August, a time of transition and potential hope that the Fall would usher in better days. The sunflowers buoyed those hopes.

 

 
This year’s field, while larger, is located to the north of town and was planted earlier so the sunflowers are peaking in July vs at the end of August. Or, maybe last year’s field was planted late; I found it more enjoyable to visit in the cooler August weather than mid July’s heat and humidity.

 

 
My visit this year happened on a morning right after a torrential overnight rain. Can you say streams of mud and standing water everywhere? Still, the massive field provided that same magical sense being enveloped and safe in something bigger than our own sphere of life. The flowers teemed with bees and pollinators, all doing nature’s great work.

 

 
Since my visit in mid July, the weather has turned downright delightful, giving us cooler and drier conditions to enjoy, which means more people will visit the sunflower field.

 

 
Bonus - I caught this engagement photo session during my visit. What troopers - it was early Sunday morning in the heat and humidity. I shot this behind the scenes photo.

 

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Campus Life

The weekend before the start of Finals plus the first real Spring like weather equals:



Oh, to be a college student again.... (OK, maybe not!)

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