Red Leaf Studio

Fruit also reminds me of Mimi, but that’s a story for another day.

The plum tree’s blossoms are a first sign of Spring. Only it isn’t time yet. It’s only the first few days of March, and despite the 70 degree temperatures now, we could very well get a frost in April. This doesn’t bode well for any backyard fruit harvest this year.

“We should tell everyone to wear something pink,” I heard myself say as we planned the funeral. Pink was her color. As were red, and blue, but pink was the color she was known for. Say the words, “pink parka,” to anyone in my family, and it will be Mimi that springs to mind. Mimi and her pink parka.

The pink blossoms remind me of Mimi. The elegance reminds me of Mimi. Flowers and gardens remind me of Mimi. But “reminds me” isn’t exactly it. It is more…in my blood. In the marrow of my bones. In life, and in death, she has always been woven into the fabric of me.

The plum tree just outside the kitchen window is in full blossom, a stunning, elegant display of cheerful pink against the pale yellows of last year’s grass.

A view out a window. In the foreground a tree covered in pink blossoms.

Albie is up early, and therefore, I am up early. The house is quiet. I let Albie outside to do his business while I prepare his breakfast. Birdsong drifts in through the open door, along with early morning sun.

#grief #griefwork #plumtree #pinkblossoms #eastcoastkin

Thank you. 🙏🏻

Absolutely stunning light. Beautiful!

At the diner, a living time capsule, our waitress brought hot coffee, orange juice, French toast, sausage, bacon and eggs to the table. A row of Vermont maple syrup sat on the counter for sale, for the tourists. Mimi would have clucked her tongue at the snow. “Awful weather,” she would have said.

The sun was out, but the roads were still snow-covered. I felt the tires slipping, looking for traction, felt the familiar sense of skating, only I was in the back seat instead of behind the wheel. I eyed the driver in the rear view mirror. How many Vermont winters had he driven in? 4/5

I was worried about our puppy, who we had reluctantly boarded, finding reassurance in it only being for a weekend, and now it was to be two nights longer. The morning after the storm, we ordered an Uber to take us down the road to the Parkway Diner. 3/5

That storm shut down the airport in Burlington, and with it, our flight home. We spent two days holed up in our hotel, checking out the window between naps and hotel television, debating how many inches had accumulated. 2/5

The inside of an old time diner. Booths line the right. On the left a long countertop with classic metal stools upholstered in red vinyl. An older couple sits in one of the booths. The woman faces away from the camera across from the man. He wears a flat cap and a green winter coat and is listening to something the woman is saying. His hair is white and he has a white mustache and white goatee. A young white woman stands in the center walkway. She has long, dark blonde hair and is bending slightly forward holding a heavy industrial rubber mat meant to soak up water and slush. Through the windows you can see a snowy winter scene.

The day of my grandmother’s funeral it was bitterly cold. There were warnings on the radio, on the weather apps. A cold snap just ahead of a historic snowstorm that stretched from the Southwest all the way to the East Coast. 1/5 #vermont #burlington #eastcoastkin #stunday #photographersofbluesky

Buckets of peaches underneath a rustic wagon wheel window set into yellow brick.

New Mexico peaches. 🍑

#BlueSkyArtShow #Round #BlueSkyPhotography #photographersofbluesky

Low clouds in the sky. A fence with a white gate, and fall foliage in the background.

Strange clouds over the farm.

#BlueSkyArtShow #clouds #eastcoastkin #Vermont

Thank you. 🙏🏻

Hot air balloon on the ground. A group of people are gathered around the basket as the pilot fires the burner.

Corrales, NM 2024

#fire #light #ArtYear #OnlyBeautifulThings #SensoryArt #newmexico #hotairballoon

Black and white photo of a brick, multi story building set against a stormy sky.

Montpelier, Vermont, 2017.

#EastCoastKin #StunDay #ClassicMono #BlackAndWhite #B&W #Monochrome #PhotographersOfBlueSky

A tri-colored standard poodle puppy with a holiday bandana around his neck sits on a stair, looking at the camera. Next to him is a large, red Christmas ball.

Been absent because….NEW PUPPY!

#puppy #standardpoodle #blueskypets

7 small motorboats float anchored just off shore, in a line.

#Summer in Maine, 2007.

#BlueSkyArtShow #photography #boats #onlybeautifulthings #photohour #ArtYear #EastCoastKin

A small boy sits on the bright yellow rim of a large tractor wheel.

A boy and his tractor in August.

#summer

#BlueSkyArtShow #photography #farming #onlybeautifulthings #photohour #ArtYear #nature #thelittlethings #EastCoastKin

Yeah, I’ve heard tales of the dusty sensor, which… what am I missing? It’s a fixed lens. How is the design taking in so much dust? Also, how long before that killed it?

I just bought the LX100. What’s your favorite thing about it?

Table umbrella silhouetted against a blue sky filled with patches of white clouds.

Summer has been full! Travels, visitors, camping. Right at the beginning of summer we traveled to New England for my college reunion and then visited family in Vermont. Took this overlooking Lake Champlain.

#blueskymonday #eastcoastkin #photography #clouds #Vermont #umbrella #lakechamplain

Same. I love a good road trip. So many stories.

Pass it on. I don’t know this person, just helping someone pay their bills with their art.

Close up of a tree with a branch cut off. A smiley face with the word “Hi” is drawn onto the flat surface of the branch stump.

🫶 Heehee! A fun one for #ThicktrunkTuesday, found on a walk in #NewMexico. “Hi!” 👋🏼

#Trees #photography #L
#landscape #outdoors #nature #ArtYear #photohour #EastCoastKin #smileyface

A pair of jeaned legs and socked feet standing close to the camera, and in the background a trail of wet footprints on a paved driveway.

This shot always conjures #joy for me. My daughter’s wet footprints on a gorgeous Fall day in #Vermont.

#BlueSkyArtShow #joy #EastCoastKin

Yeah, I’m used to lake kayaking back home. I miss the water so much!

Is this your photo? I love it!

Unrelated, you mention kayaking in your profile. Looking for good kayaking in NM!