chuckography

A Blooming Problem....

My yard and neighborhood have some beautiful azaleas.

Multi-colored beauties. A real treat of Springtime!

Er, but it's still Winter. According to the calendar.

That famous Groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of cold winter on his big Day.

Tell that to the azaleas. They are blooming mad this year.

We all are enjoying an early Spring now that Winter has been downgraded.

We've had early blooms before and it didn't cause any "problems" but this year it is going to affect Summerville's Flowertown in the Pines.

And, to a much lesser degree, members of my 21st Century Photography Group.

Charles Giet, a member, and long-time Summerville resident has put together an annual azalea photo walk for the last 3 years.

He cleverly times it a week BEFORE the official gathering that draws thousands of visitors.

We roam around with our cameras and take stunning photos of bushes in bloom and avoid any parking problems to see the same flowers others will see 7 days later.

This year he announced it would be Saturday, March 25. Like before ahead of the hordes of people.

Yesterday Charles changed it to this coming Saturday, March 4.

The "Y" in Summerville, the long-time sponsor of the 45th annual flowering event, has yet to announce any changes.

I don't envy them.

We simply sent out an email to our 130+ members and said the date has been moved up. A lot!

We plan to wander around and snap away at the array of colors Mother Nature provides.

(All if these photos were taken - literally - in my back yard in Hanahan.)

I don't know if a Farmers Market can be moved forward a few weekends.

The Taste will force restaurants to quickly rearrange schedules of staff and food preparations.I have no idea if a Jump Castle has to be reserved far in advance. Yikes. The logistics.

The signup for our annual azalea outing looks good.

Most had no problem moving things toward the first of the month instead of the end.

Flexibility comes easier to artists who enjoy the walk, the comradery, the beauty and the challenge to get a great photo.

I'm afraid the scene will be drab by comparison in just a few weeks.

I wish the "Y" well as it scrambles to match its needs with what the weather makes happen.

(Click on the photos and links for more details.)

Thanks for taking a sneak preview of our shortened azalea "season" here.

There's always next year!

Labels: Azalea Festival, blooming disaster, Flowertown in the Pines, hey bud, Mom Nature, Wait 'll next year!

posted by chuckography @ 10:34 AM