A French Spider from Jamaica

Happy Hallows' Eve!! I have a new appreciation for spiders...as long as they have dreadlocks of course. Don't you? Notice the jaunty beret-esque-ness of it all!! C'est magnifique!

Snack Hunting

A Great Blue Heron looking for a snack in the early morning...

Sangiovese Grapes

They are so juicy and fat that they are popping!!

Boo!

Halloween is just around the corner...are you getting in the mood?!

Star Power in Pienza

This is a section of the ceiling of the side chapel in Pienza's Duomo. The interior of the Duomo is stark and bare, but the dimly lit side chapel is anything but.

Serendipity

I couldn't have staged this if I tried. A kitten with yellow eyes sitting on a yellow garden hose!! I found this little one behind one of the greenhouses at Rome's Botanical Gardens.

The Running Water of Villa Lante

This is the lower garden of Villa Lante in Bagnaia, Italy. This is yet another garden that is difficult to find...but so worth it! It is astounding with its intricate details and imaginative fountains everywhere. There are about five levels that make up the garden, all along a center axis. I shot the lower garden from the second level looking down. The sketch below shows the lower garden on the left.

This is the fountain leading up to the third level.

This is the fountain at the top end of the third level.

Love all of the moss and ferns...

Dusting with Light

This is a view from Chiarentana at La Foce in Tuscany. The row of low-cut plants in the foreground is lavender that has been cut back for fall. The sun was just starting to set---dusting the tops of the olive trees and lavender with light. 

You can see Mount Radicofani in the background. Radicofani is the name of both the mountain and the fortress town located on its peak. Large walls with a single tall tower surround the town and give the mountain that strange shape.

A Place for Gregorian Chants

This is the former Abbey of Sant' Antimo, built in the 9th century, and located just below the town of Castelnuovo dell'Abate.  Seven Augustinian monks live here. We reached the Abbey in time to hear the Gregorian Chants. Four monks sang and we were all taken to another more peaceful place as we sat on the hard benches...

This is the view from the Abbey's driveway...You can see the olive tree in the foreground and the rows of grape vines in the background--all surrounded by the cypress trees.

Baaaa from Tuscany

From somewhere just south of Route 40, north of La Vittoria on the way back to La Foce...The sheep were very respectful of us!!