Thursday Challenge—"remembrances"

When my mom's house was destroyed by
Hurricane Sandy, we put what was
salvageable in storage—and finally cleaned
out the unit recently.  One treasure
I found in a trunk: my well-loved Raggedy Ann, 
purchased by my dad the day I was born.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

Happy May Day

In France on the 1st of May, people offer
each other un brin de muguet, a sprig of my favorite
flower, lily of the valley.  This is the last
bouquet of these sweet little blooms
that I picked from my mother's garden before
it was destroyed four years ago by
Hurricane Sandy.  (I kept this bouquet; it hardly
looks like this now, but I still can't
bring myself to part with it.)

[Linking back to Today's Flowers at
An English Girl Rambles.]

The Off Season

This was shot from the train as I was
headed down to the Jersey Shore.  To be
honest, I took this picture before
Hurricane Sandy and I don't really know
if this boatyard is still there.  Hope so.

[For more Skywatch shots, go here. To see more
Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.] 

ABC Wednesday—S is for "swans"

I went down the block from my mom's house
to feed this mama swan and her almost-grown
cygnet. S could also be for "Sandy" and
"storm surge"  (and "sad"), because not long after
I took this picture, the storm struck and the water
rose (and I trust these swans found shelter somewhere).

[To see more ABC shots, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"nature"

This inventive treehouse, the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden's attempt to turn lemons into lemonade, was
made by Roderick Romero from trees downed by 
Hurricane Sandy.  But Sandy was just the latest; with a 
tornado, the worst snowstorm in 60 years, and two 
hurricanes, in the past few years the BBG has lost more 
than 100 mature trees and shrubs—but they haven't 
lost their healthy respect for Mother Nature.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

muguet des bois

In Paris on May 1, you'll find bouquets
of lily of the valley for sale everywhere.
It's one day when anyone can harvest these
fragrant little flowers from their garden and
sell them on the street without a vendor's license.
(These were from my mom's garden, which was
hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.  I'm going
to miss these beautiful blooms!)

[To see more April flowers, visit Tina's Picstory.
And to see more flower macros, go here.]

Skywatch Friday

Took this shot from my window Wednesday
night. We're still trying to clean up from
Hurricane Sandy and there are lots of people still
without heat and power.  Yo, Mother Nature!—did
we really need a snowy Nor'easter on top of all that?

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

We had a little storm on the East Coast a 
week ago—maybe you heard about it?  
I was lucky here at the highest point in Brooklyn, 
but my mom's house—the one I grew up in—took 
on a lot of water (picture Katrina) and so many folks 
have been without power for days (or much worse).

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]