The Last Days of Summer

I am not usually a fan of summer. Too much sunshine and not enough rain here in the South. Schedules packed with forced fun. But this summer was different, as I mostly loafed. It would be easy to count taking pictures as work, but it wasn’t. It might seem that I have traveled a good bit, and I have. But mostly around and around in a big circle with my home as the center point. I have taken a good many pictures by showing up and meeting life with curiosity, openness, and gratitude. These last days of summer are bittersweet; I have seen flowers bloom that I never expected to see. And that is enough.

Chatham Manor Roses| Fredericksburg, Virginia | September 2025

Chatham Manor, Lantana Near the Greenhouse | Fredericksburg, Virginia | September 2025

Overleaf

In my study of bookmaking, I learned a new word. Overleaf. An adverb, meaning on the other side of a page (a leaf) of a book. In practicality, this might look like the words I scribble on the back of an image (the date, location, subject or some other anecdote). The stories are explained in detail overleaf.

Taken in West Point, Virginia, on the last weekend of summer, these pictures are a bittersweet good-bye to the season. In this small town, the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers meet up to form the York River. The paper mill is the town’s largest industry and the entire town has as distinctive odor associated with the process. Dave and I have vivid memories of West Point as we drove through this town on the journey from our hometown of Colonial Beach to and from Williamsburg where we both attended The College of William & Mary. Neither of us were experienced drivers at the time, and highway driving was a foreign concept. So, we took the back roads from Colonial Beach to Montross to Tappahannock, on to Central Garage and Westpoint, and finally Williamsburg. The landscape was our map and each mile was marked by either the expectations of a new semester or the anticipation of a home-cooked meal and hugs from our mothers.

Lessons Learned In A Coffee Shop

Life is better when you clean up after your own self.

Put Dirty Dishes Here, Blanchard’s Coffee Shop | Richmond, Virginia | September 2025

Sugar and salt are essential.

Salt and Coconut Sugar, Hohl Cafe | Williamsburg, Virginia | September 2025

Pumpkins, like people come in many varieties. Welcome them all.

Pumpkins at Hohl Cafe | Williamsburg, Virginia | September 2025

Try not to take life (or yourself) too seriously. Laugh whenever you can.

Cartoon, ARC Thrift Shop | Hanover, Virginia | September 2025

Wounds Are Soothed

I had to return to the orthopedist for a repeat x-ray of my wrist and thumb. Good news, no fracture. Less good news, significant sprain. I’ll need to allow time for the ligaments to heal and that means limiting how often and how long I lift a heavy camera and lens. I think to myself, this injury is no match for my determination (or my stubborn nature). As if by divine intervention, when I went to take pictures today, I discovered I had left the memory card at home, still in the card reader attached to the desktop computer. Oh, well. I took a few iPhone photos on this rainy day and realized with great joy that I can practice this lovely way of seeing regardless of the tool in hand. The wounds from my fall are soothed. By the lightness of the camera. And the ease of the work.

Rainy Day, September 2025