Pearls & Prose

Dos Cervezas

Posted on August 15, 2012 by pearlsandprose

I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I have acquired a taste for Mexican beer, or cerveza. It goes so well with great Mexican food and the balmy nights we’ve been having. Can’t stand beer in the winter.

I took both of these shots with my iPhone, then used an instagram filter on each:

A Corona Light with lime.

I know the glass says Dos Equis, but the bottle is Negra Modelo, a really good Mexican beer. I may try painting this in oils.

Hope your week’s going well so far. We’re flying out again tomorrow (way too much traveling this summer) but will be back on Sunday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

{carole}

P.S. A big welcome to the new subscribers!

Posted in photography | Tagged Corona, glass, Instagram, iPhone, lime slice, Mexican beer, Negra Modelo | 17 Comments

Exquisite

Posted on August 13, 2012 by pearlsandprose

Last night after dinner, I noticed that the peach-colored rose bush was in full bloom. The light was catching them just so, and they were fairly begging to be photographed. I put down the iPhone, pushed aside the iPad and pulled out the Nikon.

Wish I knew the name of this floribunda–the coloring is so beautiful. Parts of the flower look pink, then peach, then pink again . . . .

There’s even a hint of gold inside.

Thank you, previous owners, for planting this.

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged floribunda, peach-colored roses | 15 Comments

More Skies

Posted on August 10, 2012 by pearlsandprose

Just a couple more horizon shots. Both were taken somewhere in Wyoming or South Dakota.

There’s an awful lot of red dirt in this area and I think they add it to the highway mix. I really liked the contrast between the colors when this storm approached.

The clouds in this part of the country are so wonderful. The shadow play is pretty nice too.

Great weekend, everyone!

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged clouds, highway, horizon, South Dakota, Wyoming | 8 Comments

Gobblers Knob and Dessert

Posted on August 8, 2012 by pearlsandprose

We decided to do the Jeep Safari in Custer State Park and were lucky enough to get a driver who took us to the top of Gobblers Knob. Bouncing over the rough road was more like an amusement park ride, but we loved it. Here are the views from there:

The safari included glimpses of wildlife, such as this pronghorn.

Sorry, no zoom lens on the iPad.

Our driver said the pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. They can run 60 miles per hour!

Of course, you can’t go through Custer State Park without seeing the main attraction, bison:

Sweet mules came right up to the Jeep looking for food. . . .

Speaking of sweet, we found out from one of my cousins that there was a pie shop in Custer that served the best pie à la mode. She was right!

The Purple Pie Place lives up to its name for sure:

This blackberry pie was some of the best I’ve ever had.

Wonderfully flaky crust, berries that were neither too tart nor cloying; unbelievably creamy vanila ice cream that complemented perfectly. I’d love to have some right now.

Hope your week’s going well. . . .

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged Black Hills, blackberry pie a la mode, buffalo, Custer State Park, Gobblers Knob, mules, pronghorn, Purple Pie Place | 14 Comments

Crazy Horse Mountain

Posted on August 6, 2012 by pearlsandprose

While in the Black Hills, we visited the Crazy Horse Memorial. Chief Crazy Horse is known for defeating George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer’s Last Stand. The sculptor, Korczak Ziółkowski, started the carving in 1948, but it is far from finished as you can see in the following photo:

We took a short tour that brought us closer:

Chief Henry Standing Bear of the Lakota tribe commissioned the carving. Ziolkowski thought the Tetons in Wyoming would be a suitable location, but the Lakota wanted the project to be in the Black Hills, which they considered sacred.

According to Wikipedia, “Ziolkowski reportedly was offered $10 million for the project from the federal government on two occasions, but he turned the offers down. He felt that the project was more than just a mountain carving, and he feared that his plans for the broader educational and cultural goals of the memorial would be overturned by federal involvement.”

If you’d like to see what the finished sculpture will look like, here’s a photo of the model:

courtesy of Wikipedia

Ziolkowski died in 1982, but seven of his ten children are still working at the site.

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged Black Hills, Chief Crazy Horse, sculpture, South Dakota | 13 Comments

Wyoming

Posted on August 3, 2012 by pearlsandprose

On our way to the Black Hills, we decided to spend the night in a small Wyoming town where we encountered this billboard:

Always good to have some peace and “quite.”

We had dinner at a place that served this:

Sorry about the glare–these are iPhone shots.

After dinner, which was inexpensive and downright delicious, we saw this:

Finally, I took an instagram from the nearby gas station:

Wyoming, you are one of a kind.

Great weekend, everyone!

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged billboard, gas station, Instagram, menu, sunset, Wyoming | 18 Comments

Oh Those Skies

Posted on August 1, 2012 by pearlsandprose

Thanks, everyone, I had a great time at the cousins’ reunion. We flew to Denver, then drove through Wyoming to the Black Hills. Saw some amazing skies along the way. . . .

When you’re driving the highways of Wyoming and South Dakota, the horizon stretches to forever. I’ve been there before, but am always surprised by the wide vistas. You can even see rainstorms in the distance:

If you look closely, you’ll see a rainbow just above the fence.

In this shot, it’s raining on the left and sunny on the right:

I have more photos, but am still unpacking suitcases and there’s the little matter of moving into a new house. Getting there, but still a bit to be done.

Hope your week’s going well. . . .

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged highways, horizons, rain clouds, rainbow, South Dakota, Wyoming | 17 Comments

I Heart Anthropologie

Posted on July 27, 2012 by pearlsandprose

Anthropologie stores have the best stylists, I swear. I’m still kicking myself for not photographing a beautiful old canoe filled with quilts at the D.C. store. This one in Carlsbad, California is pretty nice too, though. . . .

Love the oven mitts and the cupboard.

Never get tired of latte bowls.

What a great old table.

It’s all in the details, right? Love the blues and greens.

I’m out of town for a few days for a family reunion, so won’t be blogging until next week.

{carole}

Posted in photography | Tagged anthropologie, latte bowls, oven mitts, shabby blue table | 8 Comments

The Sea

Posted on July 24, 2012 by pearlsandprose

“Who does not love the sea? The beach is a place of healing and joy. The salt cleanses us and the sun embraces us in its warmth. The ocean heals the heart, mind, and soul.”

~Unknown