Calm Reflections Photography shares beautiful photographs that can be placed on mugs, mouse pads, canvas, puzzles, T-shirts, coasters and prints. Joanna Macaulay makes souvenirs of St. Mary’s County for tourists and local residents. Information about St. Mary’s County attractions, travel, events and photography can be found at her site. She now does pet photography as well.

To buy my photos, photo cards, and photo crafts of wildlife, pets, holidays and more, visit my Zazzle Photo store at https://www.zazzle.com/store/calmreflectionsphoto






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To see my Flickr Photostream go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75311362@N08/





Featured Post

The Lonely Buck

I have been fairly busy lately with the Christmas rush, so I thought I would make a few posts about interesting sights that I somehow didn...

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Two Visits to Newtowne Neck State Park

We visited Newtowne Neck State Park in St. Mary's County twice to enjoy the beach at the end of Newtowne Neck Road in the perfect weather.  First we stayed to the West and then returned to see the Eastern side of the beach.  There are quite a few coves created by rock jetties.  Beautiful!  We didn't exactly have to  fight off the crowds in September.  I've heard it is quite crowded in the summer.





Osprey





Kayak Launch area



Sunbather








Manor House



St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church


 

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Crepe Myrtles In St. Marys County

I assigned myself a project to photograph the beautiful Crepe Myrtle (or crape myrtle) trees in the County.  They can be planted in late fall to early spring, because they bloom in summer.  Recently they may be attacked by an Asian pest called Bark Scale that slows the growth of the tree (but probably won't kill it), due to a substance called Honeydew.   The substance gets on the leaves and bark and can be scrubbed off with 1 Tablespoon of soap to a quart of water or use horticultural oil instead.  You can also trim the branches and burn them.

I still found the trees to be fairly beautiful, especially compared to 2022.

I particularly like the pink ones (light or hot pink), but I did find some white and lavender flowers as well.  In the County, they are found near buildings, in parking lots, roadways and on lawns.  















Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Farm Country in St. Mary's County

 Quite a few years ago, I was delayed getting to work by a car accident and the police had me detour through some big farms to get back to work.  I went back to visit the area (Brown Road, Cedar Lane Road, Blacksmith Shop Road), to find some photos of the scenery that makes our County what it is.

Leonardtown area farms


Blacksmith Road

Curves

I liked the patterns in the crops.









Friday, September 1, 2023

Autumn Photo to be in 2024 Calendar


My photo was in a calendar contest and won a place as one of the 14 photos to be their 2024 calendar for Community Bank of the Chesapeake/Shore United Bank.  I entered their contest because they have done some nice things for our Camera Club in the past.  The calendar will come out around November.





Monday, August 28, 2023

Sunflowers

I took some photos of a nearby sunflower field.  I got permission first from the farmer.  I was happy to see them.  They look very pretty backlit.  Then I photographed some from the grocery store indoors.  I liked both.  Nice and cheerful.
#sunflower 














Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Solomon's Island Beach Waters

Some lovely beach scenes from Solomon's Island.  I used a magenta filter to enhance the setting sun creating a lovely pink glow on the beach area. (not a public beach)