Serendipity

I had one of those days yesterday that didn't start out like I planned, but ended so unexpectedly well! I went looking for butterflies, since I've seen very few in my yard and needed a picture of one for a scavenger hunt. I thought about a couple of places where summer flowers were plentiful. One was a Little Rock visitor's center where the gardens are kept by a Master Gardener. First off, I couldn't find it!  I had been there once before with my sister and thought I knew where it was. Not so!  I checked the city map...didn't find it. (I was totally looking in the wrong area!) I stopped at the post office, don't you think they would know where it was?  No, never heard of it!  One kind, YOUNG lady in line behind me suggested I used my GPS on my car or Google it on my phone.  I smiled and said, I didn't have GPS on my car and my phone doesn't even take pictures, let alone get on the internet.  She looked at me like I was from the dark ages!!  Another kind, OLDER lady did gave me directions and I finally found it.  It has always been beautiful, only this time the parking lot was full of workers. They were painting the fence and doing some upkeep. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures around them, so I went with Plan B, the Old Mill in North Little Rock.

There were flowers, but I didn't see a butterfly anywhere.

Where are they this summer?

I did find dragonflies!

 

 

 

As I left the Old Mill and headed for the Interstate to come home, I pulled into an abandoned landscape nursery to capture this scene. Loved the white fence and the crepe myrtles. It's a shame it's in front of an abandoned building!

Still on my way to the Interstate I saw the road that led to a very beautiful church. I have been wanting to get a picture of their steeple for my steeple collection. Beautiful isn't it!

 

 

A very sweet lady came from inside the church. She had seen me through a window taking pictures and.......she asked if I would like to go inside and take some pictures.  Oh, yes!!  I certainly did!

 

It was filled with beautiful stained glass, like this dome in the foyer.

I was glad I had my point and shoot camera with me, too. I was able to get more of the dome with it. I really, really wanted to lie down on the floor and shoot straight up, but I didn't quite thing that would be appropriate.

Below you can see the rest of the four panels.

           

    Moses and the Ten Commandments                            Jesus and the lady at the well

          

   Daniel in the lion's den                                             The good Samaritan

 

We then stepped into the semi-dark auditorium where soft music played. I was pleased with my 50mm lens and how well it did in low light. Yes, this was lit with purple lights.

The image below was taken in the entryway to their school. It is actually a waterfall, but they don't keep it running unless its a special occasion.

Who knew what beauty was behind those walls.

Serendipity...that's what I call it! My mother thinks it's odd that I talk to strangers when I have a camera in my hands. She knows exactly how shy I am.  I don't know what it is, but I am more at ease and more confident when I'm carrying my camera.  I guess that's just another benefit of photography.  It has certainly gotten me into some very interesting places.

 

I'm still looking for butterflies!!