Category Archives: sunrise photography

Summer Photos 2026

Summer of 2026 is quickly coming to a close as Fall makes an appearance tomorrow.

This past summer has been a bit different for me as I have transitioned from active cancer treatment to a new medication phase for the next 5 years. As a result of that transition, this new medication has impacted my body systems in ways I never anticipated.

My focus shifted significantly earlier this summer, towards finding solutions to these new ongoing issues, keeping the road well travelled to Winston Salem in the Summer of 2026.

The good news… Progress has been made in regard to finding a new day to day normal for me. Sleep has resumed to a more normal, stable condition. I’m extremely thankful for small, but necessary changes in the Summer of 2026.

Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support. It means the world to me 💕.

I feel like I have devoted less time capturing the day to day photos of summer. As you view these shared 2026 Summer Memories, I hope you will enjoy them and find a bit of inspiration in the ordinary things that we often take for granted. Finding Joy in the Ordinary Things.

I’m finding my ordinary life, extraordinary these days. Taking time to enjoy the simplicity of my daily routine and being simply being home. Here’s to the Summer of finding Joy in the ordinary days.

After the Rain

Rain refreshes the Earth from the dry, humid days of a Southern summer… Offering a pause to the intense heat. Rain brings growth to a garden. A Summer ordinary event made extraordinary by its own creation.

Summer Blues

The first glimpse of the mountains from 421 from two different trips… always looks uniquely different based on the weather

The colors of summer seem to hit a bit differently. The beautiful hues of blue dominate our skies each day. The hues of blue along the Blue Ridge Mountains, are a staple of our daily existence looming off in the not so far distance, offering an extraordinary view which is seemingly ordinary to us.

Sunrises and Sunsets of Summer: Ordinary Days at Home

I often step out on my back porch each morning to catch the first glimpse of the new, beginning day. An ordinary daily routine, with extraordinary results, captivated by a new sunrise each morning.

In the Garden

Purple sweet potatoes growing, a fantastic cancer fighting food!
Watermelon growing…
Angel Trumpet blooms in morning sunlight

In the Blue Zones, gardening is a way that people grow necessities, and it creates gentle, daily movements that have allowed them to live healthier, longer lives. Ordinary people completing a daily routine task, with an extraordinary outcome, longevity.

Hot Summer Days

Movie fun in the summertime… popcorn 🍿 is a must!

The heat of summer can be experienced in different ways. Visually you can see the heat from the morning sunrises or viewing the full moon in midst of a humid night. So how do you balance the summer heat? Find a cool place to be, it could be watching a movie 🍿 with friends or family. OR sitting and enjoying the cool breeze of an open doorway. Ordinary living becomes extraordinary in the heat of summertime.

Footnote from me… As October approaches, Ladies, don’t forget to schedule your yearly mammogram appointment IF you haven’t already scheduled it yet. My breast cancer was found during a routine mammogram last November. Sadly, more friends are being diagnosed each day. Pray for them as they fight to resume their ordinary days in a new, profoundly different way.

Everyone included, not just ladies here, know your cancer risk factors and advocate for your health! Do not be afraid to ask questions and go seek answers from your health care team.

I’m currently scheduled for my next round of scans in early November. Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support. It means the world to me💕.

Winter 2025- 2026 Photography

Winter of 2025-26 has been very eventful with my official breast cancer diagnosis in early December. Several of my December days were filled with appointments, making many trips to Winston Salem. Then came January… Surgery, recovery, and radiation all during the remaining winter months.

I did find time to snap a few pictures that I loved in this unique season of my life and compiled for a Winter memory album. Photography is an outlet for not only creativity, but the beauty that comes to my mind as I go about my daily activities, essential for hope and a great force in cancer recovery. All of these captures are from right here in our beautiful home, Wilkes County.

I hope you will enjoy these pictures as much as I have in a winter season filled with challenges, hope for healing and yet grace abounded in the winter season of 2025-2026.

I personally enjoy the winter season in regard to photography, the contrast of the starkness of barren trees with the vibrant colors of sunrise. I have organized this blog so that you can witness the evolution of the winter with a glimpse into each month of the winter season.

Thanks for supporting my blog and I deeply appreciate all of your prayers.

Clear December Skies
Hope Abounds…December morning sunrise taken about a week after my cancer diagnosis… I now view the pink skies as a beautiful sign of HOPE.
Perfection!!! Last Sunrise of 2025
Happy New Year!!! The First 2026 Sunrise
January Rainbow Sunrise
Snowy January Morning
The Hope of Spring
Evergreen Glory
January Sunset over the Mountains
A Rainbow of Colors in Evening Sky
Good Night Y’all
Good Morning Blue Ridge!
Foggy February Winter Morning
March Skies
March Morning Glow
Hope Reigns in the March Pink Skies
Muted March Skies
Blue Skies Ahead
Stormy March Morning… Thunder Rolls
March Storm Cloud Watch… Black and White
Good Morning!!
March Red Sky in Morning

March is in Bloom… The Hope of Spring

March Yellow Daffodils
Another cute little Buttercup
Lenten Rose beginning to blossom
Forsythia

Pup Interlude…

Cookie posing for the camera 📷
My little sunshine seeker… Joy
Jethro… morning nap time
Our sweet little crew of pups… Cookie, Joy and Jethro (Ro)

Fall Y’all

Last of the season flowers…

From the last of the summer blooms to the changing of the leaves… Fall is Here! The Fall season brings apple and pumpkin season, gentle breezes and the solitary tune of the wind chimes. Fall hints at cooler temperatures, the changing of the sun cycle bringing less daylight creating a colorful change in nature through leaves turning and falling, crunching under foot. The vibrant colors that light the morning and evening skies… Autumn has arrived. As we head into the holiday season, here’s to celebrating Fall ONE last time.

Apples are in Season!
Time for pumpkins!!

October Skies… Simply Amazing

Changing of the Leaves

Leafy Carpet
Blown Away
The Vibrancy of Fall
Light filtering through
Majestic Colors
Stumped
Look Up and Enjoy the View
A Sneak Peak of Fall
In Full Color
Autumn’s Glory
Fall Magic
The Glory Days of Autumn
Finding the Colors of Fall
A Walk in the Woods
Jethro is enjoying the Leaves everywhere
Where the Leaves Meet the Water
Peaceful Retreat
Fall Making a Splash
Fall Serenity
Rainy Autumn Days
Plentiful Acorns
Abundance of Berries
A Quiet Place

Thankful for the opportunity to enjoy another beautiful Fall season! 🍂🍁 Thank you for reading and sharing.

Summer Photography 2025

It is so hard to believe that the Summer of 2025 is coming to an end soon! This blog post is devoted to my photography favorites from this Summer as a reminder of some of my treasured moments. I hope that you will enjoy these photos that I have complied as the Best of Summer in photographic form… a “love story” of Summer.

Life is Always Better In The Garden…

First Blooms of Summer
Bursting Open
Searching for the Sun
Flower Tower Power!!! “Heavy Metal” Project
The garden table
Daisy Show
Butterfly 🦋 Moment
Double Butterflies 🦋

Summer Snapshots…

Blue Skies Ahead
Summer Hay Season
Storm Clouds Rolling
Darkened Storm Sky
Good Day Sunshine!
Sleepy Sunrise
Summertime Color Show
Summer Morning Hues
Clementine Skies
Fresh Blackberries… it’s Sonker time! Sonker Summers
Heavy Metal Object

July 4th Fireworks…

Summer Mountain Time… We spent some restful, quality time this summer at our friend’s cabin on Buck Mountain. I’m always amazed by the beauty that surrounds me there. I hope you enjoy these captures as much as we did.

Dimensions of A Sunset
Definitely 💕
Movement of Fog at Sunset
Fog Hugging the Ridge
Where the Clouds Meet the Blue Ridge
Sunset Rays
Sleepy Sunday Sunrise
Hues of the Blue Ridge
Glory of Sunset
Serenity of the Blue Ridge
Golden Hour in Progress
Meet Jethro… our newest family member
Just A Peachy Little Summer!

Sincerely,

Summer of 2025 😎

Spring 2025

New Growth

Spring officially began on March 20th. It’s absolutely amazing to see the changes that surround our world each and everyday during the Spring season. If you blink, you could absolutely miss it! From the tiny, first buds, early flowers, greening of grass, to trees achieving full leaf maturity once again. The Earth is vibrant with the colors of Spring.

The days become longer in this season, bringing us closer to nature as we spend more time outdoors. The entire Spring process is a gradual progression of warming our outer environment all the while, warming and feeding our souls for renewal. Spring… a time of rebirth in nature and also for me. I hope you will enjoy the evolution of Spring of 2025 through my camera lens.

Floral Spring, A Peak Inside The Garden

From the earliest of blooms to the heartiest flowers beginning to emerge as the warmth begins to encompass the outdoors…

First Blooms of Spring, Forsythia
Field of Color…Tulips
Dancing with the Sun
Snap!!! The colors of Spring
Yellow Beauty
Iris Glory
Double White Amaryllis in Bloom
Peonies are almost ready…
In Full Glory…Peony
Strawberries 🍓 growing
Lettuce!
I’m personally experimenting with growing Microgreens for the first time!!! These gems offer a BIG nutritional boost!!!
When ready to harvest… Cut, rinse, and dry … store in refrigerator after drying thoroughly
Cabbage growing along the Greenway

Landscape Captures of Spring

As the early days of Spring begins… the leaves were noticeably absent, but as Spring temperatures rise, the changes begin to slowly emerge. How many slight variations can you find from beginning to end of this sequence???

Hues of Blue
Cloud Action
Crisp Sunrise
Light Frost… the greening of grass begins
Monday Sunrise… it’s the simple things
Contrail Sunrise
Breaking Through
Dark Clouds, April Rain
Quiet April Morning Sunrise
Sunset Hues and a different view
Foggy Morning in the Garden
Golden Sunrise
That Touch of Pink Evening Sunset

Spring Mountain Time…

A Spring trip back to Buck Mountain to watch these beautiful mountains grow into Spring, and oh my goodness… I’m in awe…

Mountain Laurel in Bloom

Cicadas…

The arrival of Cicadas in our neighborhood this year is a first. My initial, first memories of these bugs dates back to my childhood playing in my grandparents front yard listening to the consistent, noisy music of these creatures in Elkin, oblivious to their impact on the surrounding landscape.

Now, in present day, each time I go out my back door, those childhood memories come flooding back to the forefront, of those past, playful days, and now, in the process of adding new memories of cicadas in my garden.

I completed a of research about how cicadas life cycle to learn more about the impact of these creatures. My poor little dog, Cookie is so intent on hunting these critters each trip outside that it has become almost impossible for her to accomplish her “natural business”because she gets so distracted by them.

Finding Bigfoot

The legend is strong, about the wandering Sasquatch, in our foothills… Can you believe that he has been spotted at our local grocery store this Spring??? I simply couldn’t resist taking a moment to grab a quick peek for myself and a couple of pics.

Happy Springtime everyone!!! Hope it has been an adventure filled season for you as well!