Gene Ween at the Orange Peel
March Gardening
March Gardening
I heard somewhere that sticking your hands in the earth during early Spring is some of the best medicine out there. I do not have the biggest area to work, but it is big enough for me to get a taste for gardening and landscaping. Me and my buddy Craig Fender put a fence around the backyard and I have recently started getting rid of all the privet, brambles, and vines. I managed to salvage some lilies and a couple native trillium plants as seen here.
The vegetable garden so far has the following:
• Various Lettuce species (Butter crunch, Red sail, Hell Cat, etc.)
• Irish Cobble Potatoes
• Yellow Onions
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Boc Choy
• Garlic
The Rabbiteye Blueberry bush has also found its way into my backyard! Very exciting! I am a little anxious though, because Asheville is right on the border for this species of blueberry. I have also learned that more fruit can be produced by cross pollination. I have two of the same bushes, so hopefully they will produce some fruit. Apparently a single Rabbiteye Blueberry bush can produce up to 20 lbs a year! Another interesting fact is that blueberries actually help in the creation of new brain cells. Mmmmm....
Thank You Mr. Williams
The first time I walked through the woods with Ted, six Pileated Woodpeckers flew right over our heads. Rare? Yes. Ted threw up his hands and said something inTuscaroan, he smiled, laughed and looked at me as if he were the happiness child on the planet. (Later I asked him what he yelled at the birds, he said to the birds, "Many Thank Yous!!!") He always talked in riddles and it seemed he had this stream of conscious dialog always murmuring under his breath. I did not realize who Ted was outside the world of disc golf. I did not realize I was walking with a Buddha, a Chief, a trumpet player, an Airborne ranger.
A close friend of Ted's joined me for a casual round of disc golf at Richmond Hill. We talked about Ted the entire time and things were good. As we approach the biggest tree on the course, I heard an owl. I thought this was a bit unusual since it was the middle of the day, and we all know owls enjoy the night sky. I looked in the tree and I just could not find the owl. Then the owl's partner started hooting too! Two owls hooting and I can not see either of them. I looked to Ted's friend and he just smiled. By this time there was a chorus of owls and I could not think of anything. I simply looked to the sky and embraced the most spiritual moment of my adult life.
As we get older, most of us are unwilling to accept magic and we dismiss things that we can not readily understand. When I was ten years old, I watched a lightning bolt destroy a mature oak tree. As I was standing with my family on the second floor, a piece of the lightning came into the room that we were in. The lightning paused in the middle of the room, just long enough to feel a resounding peaceful silence before it exploded into nothingness.
When things happen, they happen for a reason and they will foreshadow things that can be changed. We must listen and open our hearts and minds.
Ted has many wonderful stories about spirits, gifted people, and accounts from his own life. Read the book, laugh, and follow the instructions.
Colorado Springs
Five days in Colorado Springs and I was ready to be back in the Sweet Sunny South. Between the elevation, lack of humidity, and fourteen hour days documenting the Tupperware Summit Awards, I had just enough left on the last day to venture out and visit the Garden of the Gods. It really is hard to describe how these monolithic giants dominated the landscape. The birds were in heaven and for a brief moment I relaxed as they filled my mind with there beautiful song.
As I was heading for the airport, I decided to drive into the countryside. I did not venture far to find myself in the middle of nowhere. A couple of horses and a dormant tundra rested in the foreground of the mighty Pike's Peak (14,420 ft.) On the plane ride home, I gripped my book Big Medicine and Six Nations as I prayed to my friend Ted Williams to hold my hand through the turbulence. I hate flying.
Greetings!
Hello and welcome! This blog will be used to post my current and past photography. I am excited to have a space in which I can talk about the context, industry advancements and technical aspects of my work.
Capturing the Moment
The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains around Asheville, North Carolina are the inspiration and fuel of my everyday life. I feel honored to live and work in a place so rich in culture, art, music and people.
I specialize in weddings, portraits, commercial and landscape photography. With over ten years of professional experience, I approach every new project with creativity and technical knowledge.
Whether it be the love of two families brought together by marriage, or the joy of parents with their newborn, every photo shoot speaks of the human condition. Documenting our world through photography is my passion.
- Ryan Bumgarner
