Alidia Vane Photography

In love with this Ceratostigma willmottianum (Chinese Plumbago) 😍 Its vibrant cobalt-blue flowers persist through the late fall, creating visual interest and an important source of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds through the end of the season.

Wishing there was a pomegranate emoji... 🌺

This chilly Fall weather has me remembering warm summer days in Madrid 🌺

What a neat little plant! The white flowers on these golden shrimp plants only last a few days each. So excited to have caught these when I did. 🥰

Playing with focus 📸

Beautiful weekend in the garden 🌷

Ready for the weekend! 🌴

Exit here to... where?

Fun fact for the day: these columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall in Luxor are each about 33 ft around and 79 ft tall! Hard to imagine the work that must've gone into getting these into place.

Ready for some weekend adventures. 🥾🧭

This isn't the best shot from my trip to Utah, but it's one of my personal favorites. Here's why.

I took this picture during one of the toughest hikes of the trip for me. To be honest, this wasn't the longest hike we took, or the steepest, or even the hottest day, but that morning, I was really struggling. It was a 5 mile hike with over 1,100 feet of elevation gain: 2.3 miles nearly straight up, and then 2.3 miles straight back down. I'd heard that the views at the top were some of the best in the park, but only half a mile in, I was seriously wondering if it was worth it.

Thankfully, my hiking buddy kept me going, and even though we stopped what felt like every 5 minutes, eventually, we made it to the overlook. The views at the top, of course, were awesome, but that's not what this is a picture of.

This picture is actually from near the bottom of the trail, right as we rounded the last bend into the parking lot. This was the point where I realized I'd made it.

Even though it's not the most glamorous shot, this picture always reminds me of that time I overcame that challenge. For that reason, it always brings a smile to my face - and I hope this story brings one to yours! 😊

(P.S. The trail is the Rim Overlook Trail. Highly recommend if you're in the park!)

“There is nothing so American as our National Parks.” – FDR 🗻