Back in March (yes, that far back!) I was visiting a friend in Maryland and we went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. With all the riot of color – there was an orchid extravaganza going on, and the usual spring blossoms, it’s ironic that one of most favorite pictures from the day is this one – because it’s the kind of graphic photograph that appeals to me, and because it shows that beauty is often just at our feet, if we choose to look for it. It’s easy to see the beauty that surrounds us at eye level or even slightly above or below that when in a beautiful place like Longwood. But when the blossoms fall, how many of us bother to notice that this can be just as worthy of a photograph? When teaching more recently at Whidbey Island, the students were working on textures, patterns, etc. in Meerkirk Gardens and I spotted one rhododendron with flowers on it, bright pink in a garden of green. As we headed towards it, I pointed out how beautiful the flowers on the ground were, with the peeled, curled up bark bits. The pattern and texture were both what drew me to it.

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