We're always up early, but it's one thing to be awake and another to get the family out the door for a dawn adventure. When I read that the best time to spot manatees at Blue Spring State Park is early morning in winter, I knew we had to make it happen on our recent trip to the Orlando area. And we did. And you must, too, if you find yourself in central Florida. It was well worth the hurried production of changing and dressing and feeding and navigating (and maybe a few false stops for coffee before finding a shop that was open and had a functioning espresso machine...). The park is a designated manatee refuge and home to the largest spring on the St. Johns River. It has a fascinating natural and social history. Thanks to my friend, Sarah, for tipping us off to this incredible place! We arrived just after the park opened at 8 a.m. The rangers had counted 16 manatees in the spring that morning, including a few babies. The water was clean and clear, appearing brilliant blue in some places and grass green in others. A boardwalk stretched the length of the spring, with small docks extending over the water along the way for excellent viewing. It was teeming with activity; everywhere we stopped, we saw a handful of manatees, schools of huge fish called gar and, here and there, alligators, heron and cormorant. (Believe it or not, all of the above are present in the following frame, though a few are hidden in the shadows.) The manatees were interacting with each other quite a bit. Cricket was sure this one was waving to her. This enormous mama manatee stayed still during our entire visit while her 2- or 3-week-old baby cuddled against her back or side. Can you spot the alligator and great blue heron? Was our visit to this little gem of a place just a dream? If I didn't have the photos to prove otherwise, I'd be wondering... In the mood for more wildlife viewing? Check out the gorgeous nesting egrets we happened upon at Kraft Azalea Garden earlier in the week.
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Imagine my surprise when I parked the car at Kraft Azalea Garden in Winter Park, FL, (on our recent trip to the Orlando area) and noticed a photographer aiming his lens at the trees instead of at the azaleas we'd come to see. I looked up to find an amazing surprise: a colony of nesting egrets. They were actively building nests (a male typically builds or begins to build a nest before finding a mate), flying around chasing each other either to defend their nests or to try to mate (males and females are identical, so it was tough to tell what was going on), displaying and sitting atop their nests. During breeding season, egrets develop neon green masks around their eyes and beaks, as well as beautiful plumage. Treetop touchdown. Collecting nest-building supplies while displaying plumage. A graceful takeoff. Two egrets aggressively dive-bombing each other (mating? defending a nest? fighting over a gal?). The five-acre park is nestled in a gorgeous neighborhood on Lake Maitland. This little lady had a blast exploring the park with her sister. Dashing around the massive cypress trees. We were just in time to catch the tail-end of the azalea bloom. The girls also enjoyed watching kayakers and other boaters from the dock. If you find yourself in the Orlando area, I'd highly recommend visiting this little park. Bring your camera and a picnic (and appropriate shoes for dashing around amidst the cypress).
In the mood for more wildlife viewing? Check out my post on manatees at the incredible Blue Spring State Park. This is a tale about a non-Disney-oriented trip to Orlando (though we did spend a day at SeaWorld). It all started when Jeff decided at the last minute to attend a conference there. Even more spontaneously, we decided to tag along. I'm convinced that the act of my purchasing plane tickets spurs the universe to react in the following two ways: creating horrendous weather conditions for the travel day and causing one or both my girls to develop an ear infection the day before travel. The universe did not make an exception for this trip, but somehow we made it down to Orlando rather uneventfully. Until our sad retreat home, we had a wonderful trip. Since we had so many adventures, I wrote separate posts about two other animal-packed highlights: nesting egrets at Kraft Azalea Garden in Winter Park and manatees at Blue Spring State Park. Above: Dolphin emerging from the water at SeaWorld. The conference hotel was already booked, but leave it to Jeff to find a room at the hotel across the street...which happened to be the Nickelodeon Suites Resort...which happened to have a Dora the Explorer suite...which happens to be the only show Cricket watches...which makes Dora her favorite character of all time. (Plus Cricket and Dora could be twins. The first time Cricket saw a picture of Dora, she thought it was a picture of herself.) So, yes. The Nick Hotel happened. Above left: First Dora sighting. (Our accommodations were a surprise.) Above right: Dora high five. Below: A resident swan swims in a Nick Hotel pond, with the hotel's neon walls(!) reflecting in the water. This heron was keeping the swan company one evening. A friend who grew up in the Orlando area gave us several ideas of "local" activities that would be manageable for me to do with the girls while Jeff was working. On the list was Dr. P. Phillips Community Park, which was a huge win. The lakeside park had swings, unique play equipment, fields for romping, a dog park for dog watching and a paved rec path. I'm not typically a theme park person, but I always thought it would be fun to check out SeaWorld, especially with the girls. It was! We arrived as they were opening the gates Saturday morning, which worked well because the crowds were too intense for our shy Cricket (and me) later in the day. The dolphin tank was a particular favorite for all of us. Take a look at the detail of this dorsal fin; most of the nicks are from the dolphins nipping each other as part of their social interaction. Sometimes you get so excited about dolphins you just have to dance. I was so astounded by the immensity of the walrus that it made me question whether I've actually ever seen a walrus outside of nature documentaries. This guy was unbelievable. We had a great time at the shark tank, too. (And for the photogs among you, here's what happens when crank up the ISO to 6400—very grainy but worth it to capture the moment in a dark setting.) Below top: Cricket also loved seeing Shamu and Baby Shamu, as well as the seals and sea lions. She got a kick out of watching Jeff throw fish to a couple of hungry sea lions. Below bottom: Falling immediately asleep in the car (with souvenirs in hand) is the sign of a successful adventure. P.S. I’m not making restaurant recommendations for Orlando, since I came down with food poisoning the last night. Thankfully the rest of the family was spared. Here's to a husband strong enough to lug his infant, toddler and wife through two airports!
Look what I dug up last weekend. I took this photo, with the Matterhorn looming in the distance, half a lifetime ago while studying abroad in the Swiss Alps. (It's 15 years old—literally half my lifetime.)
Was that semester of hiking, biking, skiing and climbing (rock and ice, mind you) just a faraway dream or did it actually happen? My 1990s-era scrapbook and a bunch of crazy friends tell me it was real. I've only returned to Switzerland once since then, but you better believe I'll be trekking back there as soon as the kids are ready for such a grand adventure. (They will be "ready" when we gather the courage to take them on hellishly long plane/train rides.) One of these days I'll get around to scanning and sharing more of my old-fashioned 35-mm photos. Until then, you can check out another shot of the Matterhorn in my shop. Visiting the quaint little community of Valle Crucis, NC, feels like a throw-back to the late 1800s. The Watauga River winds gently through the mountain valley, past horse pastures, weathered barns and the historic Mast General Store. On our recent trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains, we found an excuse to visit Valle Crucis just about every day. (Click here to read my first post about this trip and here to read about our previous trip to the mountains.) We happened upon the pasture above during the golden hour—just before sunset—on a heavily overcast afternoon. The way the sun was hitting the muted winter landscape and looming clouds caught my eye, and I pulled the car over to take a few photos. The girls were with us, so I only had a few moments with my camera before someone piped up from the back seat that it was time for dinner. Tout de suite. Later that night, as I reviewed the photos, I noticed I had captured the light and color of the valley but missed a few details that could have made for interesting focal points. So I headed back to the same spot the following afternoon to take more pictures. The light wasn't as spectacular as it was the previous day, but I did nab those additional details I was pining over in the photos below. (Don't be afraid of the do-over!) Below: Isn't that tree fantastic? Below: You'll see the same (now blurred) tree on the upper right side of the photo, this time taken from across the valley. When I spied the barbed wire, hay bales and red barn, I thought the scene would make a nice shot. But when I realized I could also get that tree in the frame, I knew I had to have it. Our favorite aspect of this sweet mountain valley was the Valle Crucis Community Park, where we spent many hours walking along the Watauga River, playing at the playground and making new friends. Below, clockwise from left: How I love Nora's bulldog expression. Best playground ever. An old red farmhouse along the river. Happy, happy Cricket. Below: What a pleasant surprise: plump carved bears sprinkled around the park. Below left: The old-timey Mast General Store Annex, taken from Valle Crucis Community Park. Below right: I've been fly fishing a few times in my life and have caught exactly two things: 1) myself, managing to wrap the line around my neck, and 2) a rare and highly prized golden trout. I haven't been fishing since I caught that golden trout in Wyoming. You should quit while you're ahead, right? But the Watauga River looked so inviting on a mild winter afternoon that it made us want to grab fly rods and wade in. (And re-read A River Runs Through It for the 100th time.) We didn't get a chance to fish on this trip, but it was fun to watch the fishermen as we strolled the path along the river. (Cricket has been practicing her casting with a plastic toy fishing pole ever since.) We're hoping to explore the idyllic Mast Farm Inn and The 1861 Farmhouse if we're ever in the area sans babies.
Click here to view more of our recent adventures. There is something about that moment when we're driving along and the mountains suddenly jut into view that gets me every time, no matter where we are or which mountains lie ahead. I start breathing a little easier, smiling a little wider and have to resist the urge (or not) to belt out "Oh, what a beautiful morning!" for the remainder of the approach. Jeff said it well as the Blue Ridge Mountains rose up before us a few weeks ago: "There's nothing dramatic about the Blue Ridge, but they're pretty and you don't feel like they're trying to kill you all the time." So true. They aren't the Rockies. They aren't the Andes or the Himalayas. But they are comfortable and beautiful in their own below-the-tree-line-type way. Plus they really are quite blue. (See the last photo for evidence.) In October we spent a weekend in the Montreat area of North Carolina. This time we headed about an hour and 45 minutes north of Montreat for a week in the Grandfather Mountain area between Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock. We stayed in a residential town called Seven Devils, perched on its own mountain. Our little cabin sat along a ridge at the top of Seven Devils at 3,655 feet, an altitude that is no joke on the scale of the Blue Ridge. (But when we thought of our place in Colorado, which sits at 9,200 feet in mountain valley, we had to laugh a little at the lack of intensity here in North Carolina. And then be grateful it's not -20 degrees, so the little ones could play outside.) I wasn't sure how exciting the non-snowy winter mountain landscape would be to photograph, but the rising sun—and believe me, we were awake to witness every sunrise thanks to a couple of ear infections—sent me running for my camera each morning to capture its perfection. And then, of course, little things would start to catch my eye here and there...but only after we'd hit up our favorite coffee shop in these parts, Mountain Grounds Coffee & Tea Co. (We also fueled up along the way with takeout from Bella's and Valle de Bravo Mexican Grill.) I decided to split my photos from this trip into two posts. This post covers the more classic mountain scenes, while the next focuses on a little valley community called Valle Crucis, which we fell in love with. Above: Sunrise view from the cabin with clouds above and below. (Grandfather Mountain to the right). Below: Another perfect sunrise with the moon still high in the sky. We didn't get to hike much on this trip due to weather and illness, but we squeezed in one hike along the Beacon Heights Trail, which required little effort but gave a big reward in the form of the view. If you've got more time and aren't hiking with a 2-year-old, check out the classic Profile Trail, which takes you up Grandfather Mountain to Calloway Peak. My ladies and me. Winter foliage. Most of the trees in this area are covered by green lichen (below, bottom left) which creates a stunning effect even when the trees are leafless. I developed a crush on this old barn next to the road leading up to the cabin. Another crush: Saddle Up Ranch, nestled along a steep section of switchbacks in Seven Devils. (I've got a thing for beautiful ranches, despite my ever-so-slight fear of cattle and horses.) Having the Blue Ridge Parkway at your fingertips comes in handy when you're trying to get a girl or two to take a car nap. Check back for scenes and a few travel tips from Valle Crucis. Click here to view more of our adventures.
Hello, folks! We just returned from a last-minute, week-long trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Boone, NC. Sometimes our feet get itchy, so we pack up the car and take to the hills or the beach or anywhere that removes us from the usual routine. Okay, you can never escape the usual routine with babies, but you can change the scenery. And my, the scenery was beautiful. Where do your feet take you when real life seems a bit too heavy or bland?
While I sift through my mountains of mountain photos and try to pull together a few posts, I thought I'd share with you this photo of an owl we see regularly along one of our favorite trails here at home. Cute little owl motifs have become so prevalent in kids' clothing, toys and design that sometimes I forget how neat it is to catch a glimpse of the real thing. Want to learn more about these incredible creatures? My aunt, a science teacher, just recommended these books to me: Wesley the owl and North American owls. I can't wait to dig in. On an unrelated note, have you been following the recent discussions on slow blogging? I think I'm entering a phase of slow blogging by both necessity and choice. Between the nasty plagues we keep getting and recent shifts in developmental stages (read: serious sleep regression), it's become difficult to find time to do optional things like, you know, think. Or write. Or edit photos. Have you been there, too? Stay tuned for mountains photos and a nut-free cinnamon roll recipe once I get my head on straight... One of my 2013 resolutions for this blog is to offer more ideas on incorporating artwork into your home. Many of these ideas will come from things I’ve done around my own house. I’m kicking off this resolution today by posting about using a series of artwork to cover a large wall.
Series can be useful when you have a considerable space to fill but one large piece of art feels either physically imposing or conceptually underwhelming. Technically, of course, two or more objects constitute a series, but there is something about the magic number three that is visually satisfying. I tend to think of successful series as falling under—but not limited to—one of the following categories: a subject/object captured from multiple perspectives (example: Golden by the lake), a subject captured from the same perspective over time (example: Baby giant tortoises acting tough); different perspectives of one geographical/physical space or abstract idea (examples: Dillon bold and Telluride), tied together by complementary colors or design elements. We have one wall in our dining room (above), which you can see at the far end of the house the moment you walk in the front door. This wall sat blank for the first three and a half years we lived here; filling such a high-profile space with just the right thing seemed impossible. Eventually—after spending a significant amount of time seeing that boring, blank wall out of the corner of my eye—I concluded that whatever I hung on the wall had to meet the following specifications: it had to be a series of three pieces (one large piece seemed like it would overwhelm our small dining room); it had to be nature photography that appeared somewhat abstract (to complement our other wall art); and it had to include a color that tied at least one of the tones of the living room (preferably grass green) into the dining room. When we left to spend the summer of 2010 in Colorado, I decided I wouldn’t come home until I had that series in hand. After a few false starts, I came across the flowers in the above series (Golden by the lake) near Lake Dillon and knew I had found what I’d been looking for all along. I took a lot of photos of the same flowers from different perspectives, then played around with cropping and arranging the images until I found a combination of three that balanced each other. I printed the photos on 20x30-inch canvas. And you know what? I receive more compliments on this series than just about anything else in the house. And I love when it catches my eye. (An aside on photo canvases: I absolutely love them and would like to offer them as a regular feature in my shop but haven’t had time to update my website. If you’re interested in canvas prints, send me a note and I’ll send you pricing information.) Want to view the Golden by the lake photos separately? Left, center, right. Interested in building your own series from my photos? Check out how to order it here. And here are more posts from Around the house. Goodness this year has been a blur—one filled with absolute joy and absolutely sleepless nights; with happy, healthy development and loads of viruses (oh, the weird diseases you get with kids around!); with giggles and tears.
But above all, it has been a year filled with profound thankfulness for all we have been given, all we have created and the future we seek together. Two years ago, Thanksgiving took on a new meaning for us. I'll never forget the moment I glanced up at the clock in the hospital triage room and realized our first baby was going to arrive on this special day. In fact, I can still barely respond without choking up when someone asks me Cricket's birthday. "She's our Thanksgiving turkey!" I joke to keep the tears at bay, so grateful I am for the little girl who transformed me into a mother. What timing she had. This year, I am grateful for the doubling of my joy. Nora chose her own day to greet the world. No official holiday—just a beautiful, bright afternoon in May. We first gazed at her as parents who, though a bit more seasoned than we were the first time around, still wondered how we could ever do right by this new life, how we could ever measure up in the face of perfection. I'm sure we never will, but I am thankful for the certainty that we will never stop trying. Our family extends far, far beyond the walls of our home, and for each member I am grateful. In the last year, our family has propped us up and walked with us when we were too exhausted or too sick or too anxious to move forward alone. How could we ever repay such selflessness? Despite these blessings, I know several of our family and close friends are struggling through very difficult circumstances this Thanksgiving. My heart is with them, with those on whom they lean and with those who lean on them. I am incredibly grateful that they somehow find the strength each morning to climb out of bed, put one foot in front of the other and fight for their lives. I could go on forever listing the things for which I am thankful, but enough of my rambling. Go enjoy your turkey. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Above: Japanese maple in our yard. Below: Red leaf at the neighborhood playground. I'm excited to offer several more holiday discounts today, so you can cross some shopping off your list! FREE 8x10 print of your choice with a gift card purchase of $75 or more. Are you thinking of giving the gift of artwork but not sure which prints to select? Consider purchasing gift cards to Calm Cradle Photo & Design for your friends and family. For each gift card purchase of $75 or more, you'll receive one free 8x10 print of your choice from my portfolio (a $41 value). I'll ship the print for free to you or a friend. Here's how it works: Between now and December 25, 2012, purchase a gift card of $75 or more. As soon as I receive your payment, I'll email you asking which 8x10 print you'd like and where to send it. Two new featured photo discounts: 25% OFF From now through December 15, 2012, receive 25% off the print price of any size of two new photos: "Japanese magnolia in orange and yellow" (above) or "Yellow leaf against blue" (below). I took these photos on our recent trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you are interested in purchasing a canvas print, please contact me for pricing. Don't forget the two ongoing featured photo discounts below. Now through December 10, 2012, receive 25% off the print price of any size of "Dragonfly silhouette" (below top) and "Red dragonfly" (below bottom).
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My new book is out! Click to learn more about it.Hello thereI'm Julia Soplop, writer and photographer. I believe there is something profound in bearing witness to moments of joy and pain in others’ lives. My husband, three girls and I live outside of Chapel Hill, NC. You can read more about me here.
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