Top Photos for 2012

 

Inspired by Les at A Tidewater Gardener I took a trip through Picasa memory lane and picked my top pictures of 2012. Some gardeny some not so much but all bring a smile to my face...

 

 

I grew up in Philadelphia and spent a fair amount of time working in downtown Philadelphia hospitals as a younger nurse. I would see the touristy "Duck Boat" roaming the streets of Olde City with their quackers quacking. In 42 years, I never took the ride...until this year, returning to my "home," as a sort of tourist with my kids. One part of the ride is a "drive" into the Delaware River with views of the Ben Franklin Bridge that were spectacular!

 

 

 



 I was attending a research conference in DC and decided to take a walk before dark. About a half a block away I spotted this riot of pansy color. As a walked closer the fragrance of PANSY!! was amazing and energizing on an otherwise cloudy and gloomy day.

A favorite spot, if in need of an instant pick me up, is the rose garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden. According to the website there are "approximately 3000 plants in the genus Rosa representing 380 different species and cultivars." Again a riot of color...truly obscene roses of every size, shape and fragrance. You simply can't walk through it and be in a bad mood...

Back to DC...while I was there I decided to take a twilight tour of the city on one of those small buses. Totally worth the price, the tour guide was a font of information and it was cool to visit when there wasn't a hoard of people around. Snapped this from inside the Jefferson Memorial....

Sunsets and water, I have scads of pictures. This sunset was snapped on a pleasant summer evening as I was bumming around Jennette's Pier in Nags Head with my step-daughter. We had a nice time together checking what people were catching, reading all the fishy information on the pier. Just one of those moments that make you smile.

 I am lucky to speak each year at a patient safety conference in Las Vegas. I relish the chance to leave the strip and travel into the truly gorgeous countryside surrounding Vegas. This is an unretouched photo at Red Rock Canyon about 17 miles west of the strip. The rock formations here are gorgeous and the 13 mile trip through the park is a manageable short trip on a tight time schedule and no matter what vehicle you are driving. There are paths to hike and rocks to climb and the bluest sky....just incredible.

Last New Years Day at Pea Island..no matter the season, a place that I love that is beautiful and soul-filling

 I spend many hours on this beach each year, walking, reading, snoozing. The rickety, charming pier is part of our family history now. I have a huge collection of pictures here in all sorts of weather. A favorite pastime is to sit in my truck as a thunderstorm passes and get some pics of lightening striking the water. (This worries my husband a bit :))

I had the opportunity to travel to Malawi Africa this year on a medical mission trip for Physicians For Peace. My physician partner and I were teaching neonatal resuscitation and family planning in the Mwandama Development Village near Zomba. On our day off and along with my husband, we took a boat ride and a game drive. We rode in a smallish aluminum boat up a river filled with thousands of hippos, elephants, crocs, fish eagles and other things too numerous to mention. It was thrilling to see these hippos RUNNING towards the water as our boat moved passed. I read that one reason hippos kill is if you block their path to the water. This was just an incredible, indescribable experience in so many ways.

My Avalon Pier as the hurricane passed- two breaches :( She will be repaired and ready for the summer of 2013 I hear.

Lot's of time spent walking beaches always yields treasures. I particularly liked this vignette.

Another favorite beach, Cape May- the water on the rocks a contrast of colors on this grey March day.

 

 

Winter, spring, summer or fall, no matter where my travels have taken me, my favorite place, my favorite picture, my favorite everything is turning into the driveway and knowing that this wonderful man is my partner in life and wherever he is is home. <3 p="p">