
L
ive Oaks have a way making their roots the center of grace, leisure and tranquility. This grandfatherly oak connects the earth and sky with stretched-out shadows and ray-catching Spanish moss. The shot is on the inspiring lawn at St. Joseph Abbey near Covington, LA.Powered by ScribeFire.
Along the way of the St. Tammany Trace, a beam of light lasers through the dense foliage and sheds light on a young leaf.Powered by ScribeFire.

Somebody had an Easter party on this Easter lily. Who could it bee?
Powered by ScribeFire.
Our niece Rebekah is in a quandary. She is going to exit this limb in a split second. The trick is to land gracefully, with all limbs in tact. I glad to report she was successful. The scene is on the lakefront it Mandeville. Spring is a great time to enjoy the fresh lake breeze and warm sunny days.
Maybe these are the kind of days you remember -- running, walking riding a bike through the park. Worry free. Thoughts roaming.
Powered by ScribeFire.
This tree just invites kids to climb. You can get on it by practically stepping up a few inches. You can't easily go very high because the limb gets steep quickly. The shot is from the lakefont in Mandeville on the northshore of Lake Pontchartain, across from New Orleans. You can see the 23-mile Causeway Bridge on the horizon.Powered by ScribeFire.
I can't tell you what captured my fancy about this.... this... well, this weed. It had found a shaft of sunlight in a dark corner of a cool bayou bend and was soaking it up. It had a bit of loneliness to it, as well a bit of pioneering spirit. But, mostly it just seemed content to be out of the dark, gathering strength from the light.

Starting out on a fishing trip on a chilly morning with the mist rising from the bayou. These three men, sailing out from Mandeville Harbor have great hopes of a good day of fishing.Powered by ScribeFire.

Another shot from the Mandeville Dog Parade held recently on the lakefront. I think from the interest she was showing in my camera, that this dog was inquiring into photography lessons.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Was it something that I said? This Grebe out on the lakefront of Mandeville wanted no part of being around me. As I approached straight to the lake wall, he caught site of me and you can see how fast he flashed out of there --1, 2,3,4,5 water slaps showing in this picture. The shot was taken at 1/320th of a second!

It may not be exactly climbing a tree, but it's just as much fun. Our grandson, Sullivan, and his cousin Kristin were having a lot of fun on the roots of this giant oak on the Mandeville lakeshore.
Copyright
All text and pictures Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009 Steve Buser
All Rights Reserved