Fruits and Vegetables

The familiar routines of summer are soothing. We get breakfast at Battlefield Country Store. Strong, fresh-brewed coffee with a BLT topped with a fried egg, cut in half. We talk with the deli manager about her kids and listen to her stories of balancing work and family.

The Farmer’s Market is busy even though we are early. The sun shines brightly but it isn’t too hot yet. We try to stick to our list. The sourdough bagels are already sold out. I think about how many pictures I have taken at our Farmer’s Market. You’d think I would be bored of taking the same pictures over and over, but I am not. Just the opposite. I am delighted all over again. The best pictures are often under the tables or behind the scenes on workbenches or tailgates.

I wear my baseball cap because my curly hair has rearranged itself into some form resembling abstract art. I make a mental note to get a haircut and accept that I do not care to spend my time styling my hair. I do want to spend time taking pictures of berries and cherries. I love that the vendors arrange the produce in such artful arrangements.

 

Summer Solstice

I have so many memories of this place. We got married here, at George Washington’s Birthplace, Wakefield, Virginia, 44 years ago. As kids we took school field trips to Wakefield where we learned our first versions of the history of our country. We spent summers combing the shore along the Potomac River searching for shark’s teeth. Picnicking. Exploring and hiking. Fishing and birding and looking for the river otters. It’s really an idyllic place and one that will always feel like home for me. And the start of summer.

The daylight lasts longer and the growing season begins in earnest. We stop by Garner’s Produce in Warsaw, Virginia and pick up corn and peaches. Even with the windows down the van smells sweet. We share a Nightingale peach ice cream sandwich and laugh the years away. We are not young and we know that our time on earth is finite. This gives us a sense of freedom. Like children having fun playing, we do not want to go home yet. We don’t want the fun to end. Not just yet.

Project Progress

Howard Johnson Motor Lodge | Williamsburg, Virginia

Tony the Tiger Landmark | James City County, Virginia

I’m winding down work on my current project, a travelogue.

I’m still pondering titles.

Leaning toward this: How To Have An Awesome Adventure.

There are many stories that could accompany this collection of images, but mostly, the book is a reminder that life is a joyful experience. I’m not preaching good vibes or silver linings. I’m simply acknowledging that even during the worst times, I’ve always been able to move forward by naming what I see. The camera is the verb that helps me to see and the pictures are the nouns that name what I see—and this is how I process my feelings. Having an awesome adventure is about growth and all the maps we make—the roads we take on that journey. The miles we travel and the sites we see.

I’d still like to add a photo from the Caroline County Fair. That’s next week on June 18th. And I’m hoping we’ll make it the Richmond Metropolitan Zoo this summer. And Patterson Mini-Golf, too. Those would all make great additions to the book.

Then I’ll do some culling. The book is too big (and therefore too expensive). I’m hoping MILK photo books will have a summer sale to help with the cost.

It’s the editing and sequencing of the pictures that I find the most challenging. What stays and what goes and how the book should flow. For example, I have several images from Richmond all clumped together. These need to be spread out a bit, I think. And there are a few blank pages to allow for visual breaks and rest. Do I need more? A favorite quote or two? Does the book need more words? All of these things to consider. In the end, the book is only for me. I’d like to say that I am easy to please, but I am not. I want to do my best. But at some point soon, I will step away and say, good enough.