Sunday at France Park

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon at France Park. Even though I have lived in White or Pulaski counties for most of my adult life, I had never visited this park in Cass County. The occasion this past Sunday? My youngest daughter was taking my niece's outdoor senior pictures.

The weather was beautiful. It was a gorgeous fall day, warm, sunny, just a little bit of a breeze, cloudless sky.

Of course we were not alone at the site of the waterfall where most of the pictures were taken. Other families were enjoying the rare fall Sunday afternoon and several others had the same idea we did---perfect opportunity for senior pictures.

My role last Sunday was "photographer's assistant" which meant carrying the lenses and scouting out perfect settings where Shelby could pose. We gathered leaves for her to sit in and throw, picked a geranium to tuck behind her ear, dragged a truck with a black and gold afghan (Pioneer colors) to sit in a cornfields (after we left France Park), positioned her on fences to look natural, and checked for shadows and the perfect lighting. My other role that day was keeping my 21 months old grandson from jumping in the water and running away from us. That task negated all of the duties of Task #1.




What I am getting to in this post is not about taking pictures, chasing my grandson around, or spending time with the family. It is about enjoying nature.

The Transcendentalist time period is one of my favorites. I like the country. I like the outdoors. I like nature. I enjoy reading the essays of Emerson and Thoreau, the poems of Longfellow and Whittier. I like the seasons. I enjoyed feeling the sun on my face and the slight breeze through the hair, hearing the crunch of the leaves under my feet, and seeing the brilliant dazzling colors of God's paintbrush as we drove through the countryside between Logansport and Royal Center.

After we had exhausted all of the spots for perfect pictures at the waterfall, we drove to the lake, which is actually an old quarry. Landon has fallen asleep on Papa's shoulder as we finished the first set of photos and was snoozing on the carseat, so I stayed with him while the rest of the group climbed some rocks for more 'perfect poses.' That afforded me the opportunity to gaze over Walden Pond....errr...the lake/water filled quarry. There is a peacefulness that still water can offer. There is the beauty of a perfect reflection of the trees and stone walls on the water.

What a perfect afternoon! Not only was I spending time with family, but I was outside, absorbing all that nature had to offer. The papers from the ENGL 112 and ENGL 211 classes were not graded. The Pod for ENG 222 was not completed. But I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and relaxed--which is what Thoreau would have appreciated.