landscape

At the beginning of June, Samuel and Laura were married.  There was wonderful celebration with family and friends.  My '86er cousin Nicole was there from Texas and decided she would come for this past weekend to help celebrate the marriage of our cousin Joel to his love Mindy.  

Samuel picked her up from the airport and brought her down for the fun.  Well, first they stopped for lunch at the Chicago Diner and brought me back some (vegan) Mac n' Cheese!!!!

Our goal before they left on Sunday was to take some landscape photos.  Much like myself, Nicole is a pretty avid photographer and much like myself has fallen out of the habit.  She really wanted to roam the countryside a bit and get some good landscapes.  After a few slices of Mom's banana bread we hopped in the car.  Armed with Sam's Rebel and me with my Rebel we went out to shoot Canons.

Seriously, she is so awesome.  I'm so glad she came for a visit.

 Our first stop had to be the Secret Garden downtown.

 Those potted Begonias smell amazing!

 Mom has it in prime shape and it was gorgeous.

 The rows and rows of corn led to a discussion on GMO crops.  Nicole and I share a similar passion for food, nature and protecting the future generations.  It was very nice to find ourselves wrapped up in the same passion in the discussion.

Out in St. Joseph County we crossed Beech Road.

 A pretty fantastic clearing.

 Stella, the greeting committee.

 All my favorite men.  This limb fell in a storm last week.  I think we used to swing from that branch when we were little.  Seeing the beauty of the moment I made them all take a seat for a photo before Sam and Nicole hit the road.

Mom's garden is looking especially fantastic these days.  All the rain and cool weather is a far cry from last year's drought.  I know everyone has enjoyed sitting around just looking at it.

I'm glad Nicole inspired a little photographing adventure.  Too often I rely on my iphone for photos.  In some cases it is better at capturing the image (really low light) but mostly it just leaves that level of depth to be desired.  I have to take it out more often.