What a pretty morning I woke up to this morning! Actually, as is usually the case with me, it was not quite morning yet, since I wake up with the very first bird most days…and today that bird was singing away at 4:10 a.m.
I put on my running shoes with the intention of an early morning jog through the park…but then, as an afterthought, I grabbed my camera as I ran out the door. I should know better. Given limited time and the choice of a run or an opportunity to get some pretty photos, the camera always wins. Every. Single. Time.
I headed over to the Spirit of Life, hoping that the sun would be hitting her in all her newly unveiled glory and I was NOT disappointed. I went to the re-dedication ceremony the other day as per my earlier post (https://www.saratoga.com/frozen-moments/2015/06/the-spirit-of-life-rededication-ceremony.html) and, while it was a great afternoon, I had a hard time getting an unobstructed shot given the crowds, and the sun was obviously at an entirely different angle and not illuminating her at all. This morning she was glorious!
I met a woman while there, doing the same thing as me…taking photos of the statue while drinking a large Dunkin Donuts coffee. We chatted for a while and both commented on the merits of very early morning walks in the park with both a camera and a coffee. Turns out she works for the Saratogian, and we knew similar people and it was a really nice chance encounter.
OK, I am not going to babble away anymore, at least not a lot. I will just share the photos in the order I took them so you can kind of follow the course of my morning. But FIRST, I want to share something about me….
As anyone who may have been following this blog from the beginning may remember, I said in my very first post that my move to Saratoga from Burnt Hills about 1-1/2 years ago was one very important step for me in a series of major life changes that had been a long time coming…and were very much anticipated and very, very necessary. My whole life was changing, and I was beginning my Chapter Two. Lots of scary obstacles needed to be overcome (and, in all honesty, I am still working on a few of them), but there was so much opportunity, so much potential and so many wonderful changes.
This morning, as I was walking through Congress Park, and then all over Yaddo which is definitely my “happy place”, it occurred to me how incredibly, thoroughly and completely happy I am with my life. The beautiful morning, this beautiful city, the blog that I enjoy so much; all in addition to my children and my family, my old and dear friends, my new and dear friends, and my job and co-workers which make going to work every single day such a pure joy…have all combined and interwoven themselves to give me a truly happy outlook and a truly happy life. Phew! I did it. And I am so grateful to all the people and opportunities that have been such a constant joy. (How funny that, as I am writing this, Louis Armstrong has just started singing, “What a Wonderful World.”)
I have a dear friend who told me recently that it has taken him over six decades to realize that he is the only one who can make himself truly happy. Smart guy. That is so true. I think I’m on the right track.
I know I sound all sappy and, for that, I apologize. But as I was out there taking photos this morning, I realized how my shots were seeming to reflect my mood. I was pleased with how well each and every pic was turning out! So I started to wonder if my very, very happy mood this morning was as a result of the beautiful morning, or if the photos were a reflection of my mood. This is how my mind works when I don’t get enough sleep.
Oh well, enough of that. Just wanted to share.
Next stop was Yaddo, where the magic continued. Again, it was that early morning angle of the sun that was making everything all shiny and sparkling.
I went straight back behind the pergola for some reason this morning. Went right past all the roses and headed to the back. I wasn’t even sure why but, YIKES, I was so glad that I did. The sun was filtering through the trees and spotlighting various plants and flowers. And, as my employers will tell anyone, this phenomenon routinely turns me into a total nut case with my camera.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better and certainly not any prettier, I turned around and saw THIS!
I could only see this spectacular rainbow in certain positions as the sun was shining through the trees at very limited angles, but once I figured out the best contortion to get into in order to get the best pictures, I went a little bit wild. I know the next several shots are all very similar, but I couldn’t decide which ones to leave out (and these are narrowed down from approx 50 original shots!!), so here are my favorites.
Enjoy the weekend and all that Saratoga has to offer! I’m going to the fireworks tonight on Saratoga Lake and will be at the Firecracker 4 tomorrow as well…hopefully taking more photos!
As I was proof-reading this, I realized that I messed up the watermark on all the photos! However, it is a beautiful day and I have places to go/people to see…so let’s just pretend I did it on purpose, OK? 😉