I haven’t seen my father in some time
But his face is always staring back at me
His heavy hands hang at the ends of my arms
And my colors change like the sea

But I don’t worry much about time lost
I’m not gunning for the dreams I couldn’t find
‘Cause he taught me how to walk the best that I can
On the road I’ve left behind

But most of all
He taught me to forgive
How to keep a cool head
How to love the one you’re with
And when I’m far into the distance
And the pushing comes to shove
To remember what comes back
When you give away your love

I haven’t heard my mother’s voice in a while
But her words are always falling out my mouth
My mind and spirit are at odds sometimes
And they fight like the north and the south

But I still care enough to bear the weight
Of the heaviness to which my heart is tethered
She taught me how to be strong and say goodbye
And that love is forever

But most of all
She taught me how to fight
How to move across the line
Between the wrong and the right
And when I’m turned out in the darkness
And the pushing comes to shove
To remember what comes back
When you give away your love

Give away your love
When you give your love away
Give away your love
-Brandi Carlile

I think everybody can relate to that song. Particularly anybody that has lost one or both of their parents. During an NPR interview Brandi was asked about this song. She said:

I watched both my parents lose their mothers last year. It was really interesting, because throughout the process of growing up, I listened to all of their grievances and gripes about their mamas, the things that kept them from answering the phone sometimes and all that stuff. And then as soon as those women were gone, it was like all memory of any of that immediately just evaporated, and it was all funny stories and good things. There are people that could criticize the way that we that we react towards our loved ones when they’re gone, and say that we make them inhuman or perfect — but then, there is the argument to be made that suddenly we see things for real for the first time.

That suddenly we see things for real for the first time…

But enough diving in the deep end. Thursdays are for flowers! This is the final collection of images I took on my usually annual trip to Pella to do some tulip flowertography. Some of my favorites are in this collection:

This last picture features some AI Photoshop work in it, for fun.

There might be a State Fair picture or a Photography 139 Calendar image in that collection. Time will tell.

I’m already looking forward to my trip to Pella in 2024. If you would like to book a seat on the trip with me, you know where to find me. We can eat at #DutchFix.

The next set of flowertography pictures are taken on the same day, but are from Red Haw State Park.