Burnished

In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson I should say hello, summer, but I’m taking one final look at my late spring iris gardens. This iris looks black in most light, however, the rising sun

Till Summer Folds Her Miracles

Till Summer Folds Her Miracles,As women do their gowns,* Even as one iris flower wilts another is blooming. *(Excerpt from Emily Dickensen Nature’s Changes)

Lens-Artist Challenge #149: Spots and Dots Himalayan Blue Poppy

In June of 2012 I was visiting my brother in Alaska and shot this Himalayan Blue Poppy in an Anchorage Arboretum. Aside from Holiday night shots I do not believe I have ever shot a more bokeh spotted and dotted image.

Lens-Artist Challenge #147, Gardens

Flowers from my cutting garden. When you look at a lot of old (centuries old) Dutch Masters’ still life flower paintings Parrot Tulips are often included in their choice of subject flowers. Parrots are magnificently flamboyant, an eye catcher in any light. They get better as they age for before wilting they fully unfurl their

Lens-Artist Challenge #146 Focusing On The Details

We had a much needed rain this morning. I love the details of the falling rain and the droplets on one of our Japanese Cherry trees. Last night was the first Wednesday Night race of the season. The skipper of Bad Dog was short two hands and a new recruit made a minor mistake so

Hyacinths

“If thou of fortune be bereft, and in thy store there be but lefttwo loaves, sell one, and with thedole, buy hyacinths to feed thysoul.” ~ John Greenleaf Whittier If you don’t know the smell of a hyacinth it is unlike any other. I love it. One has to reach for the verbiage of a

Lens-Artist Challenge #143: Colorful Spring

The larger bulbs, tulips and daffodils, get all the acclaim but I love the ‘minor bulbs’ of Spring, small flowers that come earlier even as the snow is still on the ground, flowers such as the early crocus I posted last week. Snowdrops (Galanthus) are the earliest in my gardens. Unlike my loudly cheerful crocus

Lens-Artists: #142 You Pick It!

Crocuses. I feel a bit guilty about these non-native early bloomers yet they have been here for generations and pollinators feed on them. They were already well established when Emily Dickinson wrote of them in the 19th century: The feet of people walking homeWith gayer sandals go-The Crocus-till she risesThe Vassal of the snow-The lips

Globular Intricacies

Once you start noticing the intricate patterns you can’t stop. The middle work has been posted here before: https://dunelight.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/the-wonder-of-earths-creative-edge-2014/ https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/intricate/

Here Comes The Sun

It’s been a long cold lonely winter. I am to submit black and white as well as color portraits but I gotta tell ya, my hunger for color has left me with little interest in B&W.