Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Guest Photographer: Cindy--All the way from Texas!

Here is  part of an email I received on Monday:

 "Hey, Karen, looks like we'll be out your way on Tuesday afternoon.  Do you mind if we stop by?" 

Do I mind??  I was thrilled!!!  I was finally going to meet TufaGirl (aka Cindy) and her husband Shawn who drove all the way from Texas. I've been a fan of Cindy's blog, Texas Tufa for a long time.  It was wonderful to meet them. 
Shawn, Cindy and me.
 I've said it before, and I'll say it again, there's just something so special about the blogging community.  When Cindy and Shawn got out of their truck yesterday, for me it was as if we'd been old friends for decades.  Carl wanted to be here too, so he took a half-day vacation Tuesday afternoon which worked out so well.

When Cindy and Shawn arrived, it had been raining but there was a chance the weather might give us a little break later on, so we went inside for a little lunch while we waited. The weather here has been rain and humidity and heat (and mosquitoes) non-stop, but Cindy and Shawn said this was nice weather compared to Texas which has been breaking heat records in the 100's for weeks on end.  Cindy said she wished she'd brought a sweater along on the trip!  (Just goes to show I'm a whiner, I'm just not liking the weather we'd been having lately.)


 We had high humidity yesterday, but today it's finally supposed to be cooling down and drying out a little. You can see by this photo above how humid it was for their visit.  Cindy had never been to Wisconsin before and for the most part they had been following rain storms wherever they went, so I hope on their way home they get to enjoy nicer weather.

We asked Cindy if she would mind being our guest photographer and she graciously agreed.  So here we go, the gardens from TufaGirl's lens:
Take it away, Cindy!
I hope the black-eyed susans keep on going for awhile yet.
The lilies are almost done
Pouting angel in the garden
Sneaky Carl taking pictures of Cindy in the garden! 
I think the coneflower in the middle is Pixie Meadowbrite...it's a bit smaller and brighter in color than the others I have.




The metal 'sunrise' shape is from a piece of old farm equipment of my Dad's...it was part of the back of a silo filler.  The shape was cut out by Carl's dad with a torch and given to us as a gift.
Ernie is much more photogenic than I am, LOL.
Look who showed up for a visit, too.
That's one odd flower, isn't it?  Talk about two-faced!
Something Else bed, finally doing something besides looking dowdy.




View from the Pachyberm
Our guests graciously overlooked the fact I haven't kept up with the weeds or the deadheading.  They were so nice!!

This is a good photo for the Yard Art Game.  I bet you could score a lot of points with this one, Cindy!  

The time just flew by and all too soon our wonderful guests had to be on their way.  It was a day I will never forget, such a special time with good friends.


Thank you so much for your guest photography, Cindy, and hope you and Shawn enjoyed your visit as much as we did! 

22 comments:

Shirley @ The Gardening Life said...

It's so fun to see another's perspective of your garden. Glad you had the opportunity to get to know your blogging friend!

Lana from Farm Life Lessons said...

I agree with you about the blogging community - I've found that bloggers are people of substance...they observe life and have something to say about it!

Your gardens are gorgeous. It's so wonderful that you had a Texas blog buddy personally come by and enjoy the beauty first hand.

I'm jealous!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

It is fun seeing the gardens through someone else's photo shoot. They see things we take for granted or may not even see the same way.

Glad you had a nice visit with blogging friends from TX.

FlowerLady

Junebug said...

I so enjoyed the pictures of your garden from a Texas's eye! Bloggers are great and if I ever get a chance to travel to Wisconsin you bet your bottom dollar I will stop by!

Junebug!

Alison said...

How cool is that, a visit from a blogging buddy! What a wonderful treat. It must be nice to get a different perspective on a garden that you see every day, but don't really see (if you know what I mean). Sometimes it's hard to really see what's great in our own gardens, the big picture, because we're so busy pulling weeds and trying to figure out why plants aren't thriving, etc.

Cindy took some great photos! I love that one of the cherub with the windmill behind. Is it the same cherub that Joel shot surrounded by Susans? And I so often think of your garden as very sunny, it was great to see it from under the trees with all the hostas all around.

Thanks for the link to her blog, it's one I've never read.

BTW, I'm amazed that there is a location in this country that doesn't have a Starbucks! I thought they were everywhere! And you're right, you can always start over at any time. I ate badly during the recent Fling, but just got right back into eating right when it was over.

Darla said...

I don't blame Cindy for wanting to visit you and Carl and your beautiful grounds. She took some nice photos.....

Sue said...

DOwdy? Nothing in your garden has EVER looked dowdy. And another photographer and more great pictures. Lovely job! And so nice you got to meet some friends from the online community! I suppose your weather would seem rather nice compared to Texas!!
:D

Diana LaMarre said...

It sounds like a fun day with your blogging friend. Cindy was a great guest photographer!

It is sad to see the lilies ending for the year, but the BE Susans are really looking nice in your garden.

Carol said...

Beautiful gardens and so glad you got to visit!!!

Sandy said...

I am looking forward to seeing your friends blog and how she will 'show' your garden.. (will be a special moment in your eyes when you see her post)
Such a special visit for you all...
Sandy

HolleyGarden said...

How fun to meet another blogger, and I'm certain they enjoyed seeing your garden off the pages and in real life. I hope they bring some of that rain back with them!

Anonymous said...

Cindy did a great job photographing your beautiful gardens. It was so nice you got to meet her. I too have been a fan of her blogs for awhile, and it is so nice to put a face to the blogger. It is like having old friends even though not ever having met. You were lucky to have actually got to meet her.

Becky said...

What lovely photos of your gardens. Everything is so beautiful.Where in Wisconsin to you live. I live in Antigo.
Becky at Ginger Creme Hollow

Toni - Signature Gardens said...

And the Texans just keep coming...Lord willing, I'll see you next Saturday :-) Great photos!!

Peonies & Magnolias said...

Love her views of your garden, gorgeous as always. So glad you got to meet and had a great time. Have a wonderful weekend.

Sandy

Barbara Rosenzweig said...

I am always overwhelmed at the size and scope of your stunning gardens. Cindy did a great job showing them off.

How do you have time for stanined glass, too? At least I can mix the colors I want. It must be doubly difficult to find the exact glass colors for your work.

I hope that you get to have a relaxing day!
Barb

Beth said...

Hi Karen, Cindy did an awesome job! I especially like the woodland shots and the butterfly shots. Yesterday I found two black swallowtail caterpillars on a plant and I was happy to welcome them!
Blessings, Beth

Unknown said...

I am so happy you had photos to use. I was so afraid my camera would not do your garden justice. My favorite is the angel with the windmill. Well, I should say one of my favorite.

We had such a great time.

Ginny said...

Cindy did a great job photographing your beautiful gardens - and I didn't see a single weed or dead bloom anywhere!

Anonymous said...

Those are great photos. Your yard is better than our Botanical Garden. That's so nice to get to meet up with blogging friends. I'll bet that just made your summer.

Rosemary said...

Karen Your idea of having guest photographers is wonderful Cindy did a great job and showed things that I had not seen before and I think I know your garden rather well from all the photos but no there was the sunrise , a candle holder, the cool looking woodland area, the pouting angel.
Feel free to send some rain my way!

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