I don’t find trees showing off their fall colors in my neighborhood. Instead, I find evidence of fall when the marsh grass starts changing from green to brown.
My neighborhood is surrounded by salt water creeks and salt marsh. It’s a small, friendly neighborhood where most of the neighbors know each other and look out for each other. When we are driving down the road we wave at each other as we go by. When we are in our front yard, neighbors out for a walk stop to chat.
When the muhly grass turns pink, fall is here in coastal Georgia
I found more signs of fall a few weeks ago when the muhly grass in my yard displayed it’s brilliant pink.
Snowy Egret in the neighborhood
I find many birds in the neighborhood all year long. This week I found this Snowy Egret on our dock.
For this photo challenge Patti has invited us show an image that uses one or more of the following: leading lines, patterns, color, contrast, selective focus, freezing the action, doorways or arches, or the eyes of humans or animals to draw our attention to the subject. I chose images that use three of these techniques.
Freezing the Action
The image at the top of the page shows the water droplets frozen in a closeup of the Forsyth Park Fountain in Savannah, Georgia. The photos above shows a pit crew at the Daytona 500 frozen in action and college football players frozen at the beginning of a play.
Selective Focus
Zooming in on the butterflies blurs the background of these images.
Using Arches to frame the shot
On the left, the arched doorway at the Tybee Island Lighthouse frames the stairs leading to the top of the lighthouse. On the right, the Forsyth Park Fountain in Savannah is framed by the arch of Live Oak trees.
For this photo challenge Tina says “We’d love for you you to share something that was a treat for you”. This challenge reminded me of a fun day with friends before the pandemic shut down the world.
I sampled almost all of the flavors
A few days before the national emergency was declared, our group of nine Active Older Adults from our local YMCA boarded a small bus for the 30 minute ride to Byrd’s Famous Cookies Bakery and Flagship Store. We began our adventure in the store where we sampled cookies and of course bought some to take home.
I’ll take a jar of eachWhat a Treat – Byrd CookiesThe smell of the baking cookies was heavenly
After a short presentation about the history of the company and more cookie tasting we took a tour of the bakery. No photography was allowed in the production area but I was able to get this shot through window of the doors to the room. Seeing so many cookies at once was a cookie lover’s dream come true!
As soon as the door to the production room was opened the smell of fresh baked cookies filled the air. Just imagine the aroma in your kitchen when you are baking cookies and multiply it by about 1000. I wish I could transmit that heavenly scent through the internet to you. Our guide walked us through the entire process from dough to hot cookies coming out of the oven. We were then rewarded with warm, fresh baked cookies right off the production line.
We wrapped up our day with lunch at Bow Tie Barbeque before boarding the bus back home.
Byrd’s Famous Cookies Since 1924
The cookies have been made in Savannah since 1924 when there was only one flavor – their famous Scotch Oatmeal cookies. Today their flavors include Key Lime Coolers, Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel, and Georgia Peach plus many others. There are several Byrd’s stores around Savannah and the cookies are distributed to stores all around the country.
Laughing with friends, eating cookies, and going out to lunch – what a treat!
If you would like to learn more about Byrd’s Famous Cookies or would like to order some of these mouth watering treats, visit Byrd Cookie Company.
For this challenge Ann-Christine has asked us “where or what is our hideaway”. Her description of hideaway says “A Hideaway, is a place to which a person can retreat for safety, privacy, relaxation, to seek seclusion or refuge.”
When I am at home I can hideaway for a few moments by getting out in nature or by reading a book. But for me, a true hideaway is a wilderness area far away from civilization, somewhere with no robo calls, internet, or other interruptions.
Three of my favorite destinations immediately came to mind – the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in south Georgia, Denali National Park in Alaska, and Everglades National Park in Florida. Although these are three unique protected wilderness areas, what they have in common is that they are miles away from civilization and the wildlife is free to roam.
Okefenokee Landscape
Of these three areas, the closest to my home is the Okefenokee Swamp. When we get to the end of the 17 mile road from the main highway and arrive at Stephen C. Foster State Park I feel like I am in another world. This image and the one at the top were both taken in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Fargo, Georgia.
Mount Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska
To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.
John Muir
Sunrise in Everglades National Park in Flamingo, Florida
There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them.
Wandering Dawgs 