One night, after the golf league finished playing, my better half was enjoying hanging out with his buddies on the patio at the course, appreciating all the myriad varieties of green he could see.
On the 29th, he thought he'd work on his putting, and invited me to go along and check out all that green.
As we arrived at the course, I spotted this great blue heron. I walked back down the road, a bit, to get back to the pond after we parked.
It was clearly very aware of me -- watched me the whole time -- but luckily it didn't leave.
I had the bigger camera, with the 12x zoom and the higher pixel count. This is cropped from the above.
Practicing putting, or, a study in greens (with a little blue).
The late evening light was difficult for the camera. People's eyes shift focus from the sky to the trees to the ground so quickly that we don't realize how much work is being done to change focus, and to change how much light is allowed into our eyes.
When a pic is captured, it has exactly one exposure. When the sky is still light but the ground is getting dark, it has to choose....
Post-processing can help, a lot, in bringing an image closer to what our experience is when we are there and our eyes and brain are stitching, seamlessly, that bright sky and that much darker ground.
These pics have been seriously post-processed with that intent.......
Two male mallards were hanging out in a stream. It was dark enough that I didn't get anything very good, but I liked this one's colors and reflection enough to show it to you.
Looking at the edge of the putting green. Sort of hard to believe grass can really be this short.
I decided to find out what it felt like to my feet.
The actual green's grass was so short it just felt ... wet. I couldn't perceive "grassyness" at all. The slightly longer grass felt like grass.
All of it was cool and nice underfoot. No prickers, no rough spots, perfectly smooth.....
Raising our eyes to the trees......
The setting sun, coming through the branches.
The black ball marks spot of the farthest-from-the-hole tees.
This city-owned course has a dirt road running through it.
Now we are on the patio, which is a higher vantage point.
You can see a pair of black balls marking the farthest tee on a different hole, as well as a barn in the distance.
A study in greens, with black, white, and red.
The original for this one was seriously dark.
The yellow-green of a willow, as the sun sets.
By the parking lot.
Coneflower.
Daylily.
Looking over the road from the parking lot to the west side of the course.
Greens and more greens.
The putting green, in repose.
Many moons ago, my better half met Don Yost, right here on this golf course. Don was nearly 50 years older. Don loved golf. Really, really loved golf. He played every day, if he could, and he walked (no golf carts for him!). If he couldn't play, he hit practice balls.
He played in every month of the year (right here in Ann Arbor), and he played in nearly every sort of weather.
If there was an 80% chance of rain, Don called it a 20% chance of golf.
When others didn't want to go, because the sky was gray or the course was wet, Don would ask "What are you, a fair-weather golfer?"
Don was a retired minister, and when people would ask if he couldn't do something about improving the weather, he'd reply "I'm in sales, not management!"
My better half and his age-mates played with Don many, many times, over the years, celebrating with him as he began to shoot his age (he did that about half a dozen time -- it's a feat most golfers will never achieve).
Don is no longer with us, here on this plane, but he is fondly remembered by many.
This memorial was placed in a gorgeous spot on the course. My better half was the driving force in getting this accomplished. There was a very nice dedication at the time, attended by Don's family, by people from his church, and by dozens of golfers, golf course workers, driving range owners.....
We think of this as Don's rock.
It's easily visible from the road (you can see it with the heron in the first shot in this post). (These shots are a testament to "just take the pic." I had no idea if the camera, even with 12x zoom, would get anything that would be at all legible, but of the six or so shots I took, a couple were actually pretty easy to read. These have been enhanced just a little, with an increase of contrast....)
Here's a look at the front of Don's rock, from the road.
It reads
Don Yost
a golfer in all seasons
a man for all time
.
5 comments:
I knew I'd have an eyeful of bright flowers and you did not disappoint.
I love seeing your daughters room and hearing about the transformations over the years. Mine is the same, but about now I'm thinking it's time that she started seriously thinking about getting her own place :)
THere was one stamped leaf on the wall near the floor behind the door to her room. We painted around that one this time. Wish we had thought to leave a similar size patch of the pink...... :-)
Despite her being gone for nearly five years, I had not taken over her room, and, as it turns out, that is a good thing! :-)
She is very interested in learning all she can about food, with an emphasis on the yummiest, local, sustainable, etc.
We have been having some wonderful edibles since she arrived -- and she does the marketing as well as the cooking, when she's cooking. :-)
We'll see how the situation evolves. :-)
ps -- glad you're enjoying the flowers. I certainly am!
Very grateful to all the gardiners who share their visual delights with the rest of us!
Just lovely. Love the picture of the sunset coming through the branches of that tree.
Thanks!
I like that one, too. :-)
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