Chasing the Sun

Today is the Feast Day for Saint Francis of Assisi. He is a beautiful and emblematic figure of the Franciscan order and of the town of Assisi, Italy. While living there I always walked by this garden and stopped to admire this sculpture. It is my favourite depiction of San Francesco and is placed in such a beautiful setting amid this grove of olive trees overlooking the fertile valley below. As the patron saint of animals, this is a very fitting scene, depicting one of the legends where he stopped on the side of a road to "preach to his sisters the birds." The garden is in St. Anthony's Guest House which belongs to the Franciscan Sisters of Atonement.

Shot handheld at f/2.8, 1/400 sec, ISO 200 on May 13, 2010.