#Sunday Stills

The online dictionary gives two definitions of perspective and lists 14 synonyms. The first definition pertains to art and the second to attitude. Telling the story of perspective in Sunday Stills, one synonym at a time.

#1 Position

The Woodlake Rose Garden sits at the bottom of a levee around Bravo Lake. From this position on the floor of the garden, you see there are thousands of roses, but the colors in the back blur to pinpoints against the green.

#2 Vantage Point

This is one of my favorite pictures with the Double Delight Floribunda in the foreground forcing the rest of the garden to blend into the backdrop of Sierra foothills .

#3 Stance

From the stance of standing on the levee, you can see the clusters of pink floribundas in the foreground and Miller Brown Park in the background. From this perspective you see one lone rose which shows that the rose bush was not well-pruned.

#4 Slant

Stand in the same position as the picture above, but slant your camera to the right and you pick up a different color scheme of roses. You have pulled away from your close up perspective, so that the viewers attention focuses on the striking brown foothills against the blue sky rather than the single rose. Even though the color is not as rich as the picture above, the slant makes a more interesting picture.

#5 View (the art)

This view is almost identical to the last two pictures, but you have turned to the right again eliminating the path and presenting only an undefined sea of color and no bridge or open space in the park.

#6 Angle

From this angle, you see the white roses reaching toward the sky, with sunlight exposing their delicate veins. Like the first picture, you are among the roses, but your lower stance highlights their beauty.

#7 Frame of Reference

In this picture you see four distinct frames of reference, the reporter on the left, Chuck House, the Kiwanian who came up with a brilliant plan to help the city take care of the garden, Laura, the Master Gardener on the right and her husband, Bill who was along for the joy of seeing the flowers. Chuck, the former nursery owner, gave them a lesson in rose history as they search for a name and frame of reference for each flower.

#8 Approach

In this picture high school students learned the Master Gardeners’ approach to pruning roses. They are putting in community service hours by doing much needed winter pruning.

#9 Frame of Mind

Usually these guys sit on the bench in the Rose Garden and drink alcohol. When we come to work in the garden, they hop up, pick up whatever tools we bring, and get to work cleaning up their “front yard.” They work harder and faster than anyone. Most of them are field workers by trade, and know what they are doing. They ask for nothing in return and are grateful that we are helping to keep their space clean and beautiful. We give them what we bring for the students, water and snacks.

#10 Way of Looking/Thinking

This broken valve could be a problem or an opportunity. One Kiwanian in our group looks at this broken sprinkler as an opportunity. We have an opportunity to make sure the roses get the water they need during the hot, dry Central California summer. Sprinklers break constantly. The City of Woodlake staff can’t keep up with them all.

Before we started helping, some in the city would have preferred to pave the Rose Garden because it was such a headache. When the water leaks, the public complains because their water is restricted, so water leaks have to be taken care of promptly. It would have been much easier for the city to turn off the water and let the roses wither. So fixing this sprinkler provides Kiwanians an opportunity to preserve the rosy treasure.

#11 Attitude

Sally Pace is the hardest worker on the planet. She weighs all of 90 pounds and gladly hoists a 30-pound backpack sprayer to make sure that weeds are sprayed with both pre-emergent and weed-killer.

Before Kiwanis pitched in to help in the Rose Garden, the Johnson grass was taller than Sally. Now we can keep it under control with much fewer chemicals and back-breaking hoeing. She also fixes the water lines, brings the snacks, water, garden equipment, and tells the students their tasks during work days.

And she prunes.

#12 Outlook

Visitors come to the Rose Garden from all over Tulare County, but few come with the outlook of these wonderful women. Each time Linda Tan comes, she brings more and more friends. Today they deadheaded hundreds of roses after they walked around the lake. They have no self-interest other than helping us out.

#13 Point of View

From the point of view of the City of Woodlake, this system of collaboration works well. Everyone pitches in and they work harder and put more man power into the Garden each week. We enjoy an excellent relationship with the City and Operations Managers, both Woodlake High School graduates.

#14 Point

For a bee, roses are the nectar of life. Attracted to their beautiful colors they scramble to suck up as much sweet rose juice as they can. Since the planet’s ecosystem depends on bees for fertilization, we have come the full circle with this point.

#15 View (the attitude)

In my view, Woodlake Rose Garden would not be possible without the vision and hard work of Manuel Jimenez, his wife Olga, and non-profit organization, Woodlake Pride Coalition. They dedicated their lives to making Woodlake a place of pride, and turned dry ground into a beautiful oasis. They created a botanical garden of exotic species of fruits, vegetables, and flowers for everyone to enjoy.

For additional Sunday Stills Perspectives, check out Terri’s blog. I also recommend that you take squares and you can also participate in Becky’s July Squares – Perspectives.