Azaleas and live oaks

Because I knew it would all be over soon, It was with a twinge of melancholy that I walked along the azalea-and-live-oak-covered paths at the state park and Magnolia Gardens recently, glorying in the final hurrah of the huge azalea shrubs blazing with their finest Spring colors — white, intense red, pale pinks, pastel purples.   Sadly, they are fading and ebbing now, but their brilliance and peak bloom lasted long enough to reaffirm for me, with everlasting gratitude, the miracle of Nature in Spring.  The sun’s shadows played along the ground around the azaleas, a very nice complement to the near perfection of the landscape scenes that unfolded around every bend.   White azaleas dominate at the state park, while at Magnolia the pinks and reds are simply breathtaking in their beauty.

This annual ritual of going to the gardens to see the azaleas in March and April is one of the greatest outdoor pleasures our magnificent South Carolina Lowcountry affords.   Thousands and thousands of visitors have arrived to soak up the beauty, but I manage to find those late afternoon times and paths that are unharried and less frequently visited at those times, and I usually have them to myself.  Me and my camera.   That camera, now that I have the freedom offered by digital technology, has become truly an extension of my eyes.  I see with that sturdy, amazing device in my hand, always at the ready, and prompting me to look closely, ceaselessly, not just on a whim or perfuntorially. At the end of an afternoon’s walk, the resulting pictures always astonish me when I think back on what I have just photographed, and when I get them up on the computer, my delight is complete.

Here is a collection of my favorites scenes from the past few weeks.   It has been a Spring like no other.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camas/sets/72157626362587859/