The hyacinths and furry bumblebees are awash in spring sunshine. What a lovely time of year!
Category: Photographs
Photographs – Six on Saturday
Visiting the Orchid House at Longwood Gardens is the perfect remedy for the winter weary. #SixonSaturday The large Paphiopedilum Orchids seem to almost float atop their slender stems.
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Photographs – Swampy Six on Saturday
Swampy Saturday along the bike trail that spans Glassboro and Williamstown, New Jersey.
- Green Heron
- Duck Weed covered swamp
- Eastern Painted Turtles
- Eastern Long-Necked Turtle
- Bull-frog hiding in Duck Weed
- Water-lilies
This post is part of Garden Ruminations Six on Saturday.
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Photograph – Six on Saturday/Snow Day
My area of Southern New Jersey went over 700 days without accumulating snowfall. Yesterday, we had a beautiful snowstorm throughout the day. What a lovely sense of peace the quiet flakes instill into the atmosphere. Early in the morning, I couldn’t resist grabbing my camera and taking photos as I fed the birds.
Here are my choices for Six on Saturday.
- A Junco, one of a large flock that visits my yard, seemed to wait patiently for me to scatter birdseed.
- The Rose of Sharon pods were the perfect resting place for snowflakes. Looking closely, you can see a few of the sharp points of individual flakes.
- The gourd birdhouse, crafted several years ago, looked lovely with a coating of snow.
- The Japonica, colorful with new growth, wore a blanket of snowflakes.
- English Ivy, indestructible, seemed impervious to the cold.
- A stem of a zinnia, left in place as cover for birds, held a mound of crystal snowflakes…beautiful.
The flying pig who holds court over the sideyard couldn’t escape the snowfall. A natural monochromatic setting with the grey sky behind him and the bird bath pedestal beneath him seems a good choice for Skywatch Friday.
I love this quote from my Farmer’s Almanac Daily Calendar:
When oak trees bend with snow in January, good crops may be expected.
Farmer’s Almanac
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Photograph – Morning Walk & Winter Sky
Winter walks always find me looking up. There is much to see in the trees hidden in Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
Polyphemus Moth Cocoon
Last Quarter Moon, glowing in the morning sky, framed by woodland trees.
Bird’s nest. What a perfect display of avian construction skills. It is still holding on after months of heavy rains and winds. The nest reminds me to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you don’t have a bird feeder at home, you can tune into theirs through YouTube. I enjoy watching the Panama Live Cam at this time of year.
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Photographs & Phun – Just Because
We drove the fifty-two miles to Ocean City, New Jersey, on Friday, just because it was a glorious October day.
We had lunch at Manco and Manco Pizza, just because we think they make the best pizza in the world. Truly, it is!
We biked both ways of the 2.5 mile Boardwalk just because riding a bicycle close to ocean waves is wonderful.
We walked down to the beach, just because the October day was near eighty degrees, and I wanted to gather a few seashells to paint for Jersey Shore Shells.
At the 22nd street beach entrance, I was entranced by the strings of shells adorning every fencepost on the way down to the shoreline. Some posts even had more than one string. Beautiful. Why did the creative beachcombers take the time to do it? Probably, just because it was fun. I need to give into more enjoyable impulses, such as stringing seashells, JUST BECAUSE life is short, and really, why not enjoy every moment you can?
Creativity is intelligence having fun. ~Albert Einstein
This post is part of Skywatch Friday.
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Photographs, Perspective & Place – Cedar Lake or Missing the Window
We revisited Cedar Lake over the weekend. I posted about this place in February 2022, and meant to showcase it again on the blog in its Springtime glory and spectacular Summer abundance, but somehow, missed my window of time and once again am writing a piece when all the growth has fallen away. Whatever the season, it is a perfect place to revisit and blog on Jo’s Monday Walk and Skywatch.
If I had visited when undergrowth was growing wild and lush, I would have missed this sight. “Look, through these trees,” my husband said, pointing the way. I didn’t see much at first, but then saw the gleam of sun on a living creature.
I zoomed in with my camera, and since the doe was resting, and unafraid, I was able to take a good photograph through the twiggy protection around her. She must live in the park, accustomed no doubt to many people walking by her on the criss-crossing paths. Can you see her eye?
Further along the path we saw some robins, hanging around long after the first frosts. They never leave our area to fly south; they Winter over here, finding berries and other fruits. I need to remember to place a bit of fruit on the platform birdfeeder and maybe draw them in.
A few mallards swam within a small pond hidden in the woods. There are creeks, small ponds, and larger bodies of water every hundred feet or so in the park surrounding the lake. A perfect spot for a ‘Water, Water, Everywhere‘ post.
Cedar Lake and Washington Lake Park, Sewell, NJ, is the setting for this post.
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Photographs – Rainwashed Blooms
We had a hard rain, and afterwards came that splendid late-day light, breaking through the storm clouds, giving the rain-washed blooms gorgeous luminosity.
Cosmos
Dahlia
Zinnia
All three are common flowers, easy to grow, and found in many gardens, but washed in the rain and light they were as beautiful as any rare masterpiece on a museum wall.
Reminds me that while I am common, and really nothing special, I am washed in the blood of Jesus, forgiven, headed for heaven, and devoted to HIM.
Here’s a great old song with some timeless guitar. Are you washed in the Blood?
Thus post is part of Skywatch
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Photographs – Wordless Wednesday/Gulls on Gulf
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Photographs – High Hopes
Anticipation…
Anticipation…
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Photograph – Rainy Day Trio
I ventured out with my umbrella today for City Sonnet’s Umbrella Challenge. It also was the perfect opportunity to take photos for my first time posting on Dutch Goes the Photograph’s Tuesday Photo Challenge of Trio. Here’s my trio of trios for the challenge.
Wisteria Pods
Barberry Berries
Bald Cypress Cones
If the temperatures were colder we’d be covered in a blanket of snow. Locations a bit north of us might be getting their first snowfall today. In the Mid-Atlantic state of New Jersey, my home, we’ve had more rain in 2018 than I can ever remember.
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.
New Jerseyans have been humming that tune to no avail for what seems like all of 2018, a year that is poised to go down as one of the wettest in our state’s recorded history.”
~ Asbury Park Press
Too bad a challenge word today wasn’t ‘doozy,’ because that is exactly what the Farmer’s Almanac forecasts for New Jersey’s Winter of 2019. Oh my, considering the weather pattern of the last months I can easily believe the Almanac is right.
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Photographs & Quotes – Morning Walk, November, Glen Lake
I often walk or bike to a small pond near my home to admire the way the surrounding landscape perfectly depicts the changing seasons. This week the beauty of Autumn was painted there in glorious colors by the Father of all Creation.
“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
~ G.K. Chesterton
“This way of seeing our Father in everything makes life one long thanksgiving and gives a rest of heart, and, more than that, a gayety of spirit, that is unspeakable.”
~ Hannah Whitall Smith
“In almost everything that touches our everyday life on earth, God is pleased when we’re pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our maker’s praise without anxiety.”
~ A.W. Tozer
This post is part of Sunday Trees.
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Place – Mullica Hill in Doors
A photo of a purple door seemed a perfect starting point for Norm’s Thursday Doors. I found this door and several other compelling additions to the post in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, a town near me known for antiques.
I loved the idea this shop used for their open and closed sign. I was disappointed they were closed and I couldn’t look inside, the porch…
…and the yard…
… were full of great ideas and interesting treasures.
Across the way I found a house with a beautifully wreathed door.
A sign named it the Ellis Shivers House established in 1771.
Displayed near one of the antique shops was this acrylic pour pumpkin. I would have never thought of creating the look over a pumpkin. Guess what I’ll be attempting next year? The uncontrolled painting style was the perfect choice for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt/Loose.
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Phlowers & Photograph – Rose of Sharon
My Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) photograph is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.
Today is an overcast day in southern New Jersey…again. We’ve had a very wet summer and it looks like the upcoming Autumn season might bring the same. When I take a walk a little later in the morning, I will be sure and grab my camera to take along. I have found grey days create an amazing background for skyline photographs. The moisture in the air forms a screen of sorts, and shadows magically appear within the mistiness surrounding the plant. You can see this effect in the unretouched photo above.
A few years ago a generous friend sent me seeds from her Rose of Sharon bush. This sweet little tree is the result. I grew it in the house for quite a while, and then, when I felt it was hardy enough, planted it outdoors. It has thrived this summer and grown to about three feet tall. Plants given to me by friends always bring me great joy.
The leaves of the Rose of Sharon are glossy and green and don’t appear to be tempting to many garden pests. Hooray. Thanks again to the kind lady who sent me these seeds. You can find excellent growing and pruning tips for Rose of Sharon at The Spruce.
These photographs are part of Skywatch Friday. Thanks for stopping by today.
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Photographs & Perspective – Autumn Bound
My family often gathers together for Thursday evening dinner. The conversation last night turned toward summer’s end, and the finish of fun activities, picnics, and warm weather. The swimming season at lake and pool is over, school is starting next week, and coatless weather will soon be replaced with jackets and hats. Since my sons have been working in high heat and humidity outdoors, they aren’t sorry to see temperatures in the 90’s disappear, but we all wish the freedom and fun of summer would never vanish. The calendar might proclaim summer not ending for twenty-two days, but Labor Day weekend in the U.S. always seems to announce Autumn.
Although they bloom all summer, sunflowers are commonly associated with Autumn. I recently found these beauties growing in the front of a neighbor’s home. The day was overcast, the sun still rising, and the grey of the sky created an unearthly backdrop for these beauties. I think they will be perfect to use as the September header image for the blog. Good-bye August…Hello September.
This post is part of Skywatch Friday and Fandango One Word Challenge (FOWC) – Bound
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Photographs & Phlowers – Poppies and a Weather Vane on the 4th of July
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
Beautiful fringed poppies are growing in my garden. I don’t know what’s prettier, the flower or the pods they develop after blooming.
Today’s 4th of July Weather Vane Wednesday.
I miss the WordPress Photo Challenge and thought an interesting alternative would be to offer one of my own on Wednesdays. Weather Vane Wednesdays is just what the title implies, a photo of a weather vane.
Create a weather vane post, the name doesn’t have to be in the title. If you would like others to see your post leave a link to your blog in the comment box. You can also tag the post #weathervaneweds. If you place a link to my post in your post you will create a pingback that will appear in the comment section. Thanks so much for taking part in my challenge
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Photographs – Summer Creativity
A seashore or bay town is usually a boon to the creative spirit of its inhabitants. This horizontal line-up of birdhouses on the porch of a trailer in Fortescue, New Jersey, is a testament to creativity, and also a good photo for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Horizontal Lines.
I was surprised to find CREATIVITY listed as a virtue by Virtues for Life. This virtue, for me personally, is a lot easier to achieve than some of the stickier virtues…such as ‘Flexibility or Detachment,’ two virtues I have trouble following at times.
Another good example of horizontal lines is this flat-bottomed boat appropriately named, ‘The Greenhead Hotel.’ If you’ve ever been to the Delaware Bay or another New Jersey salt marsh in summer you won’t need to be told what greenhead implies. Once bitten by a greenhead fly you will never forget the name or the big pinch of the bite.
I’ll close this post with one of my favorite quotes on creativity.
Background – Elephant Ear leaf.
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Photographs – Swampy Security
We took a bike ride this morning on the local trail. The ride takes us past a swampy area. Today we noticed a pair of ducks in the water. They are probably a nesting pair. What a perfectly secure spot to raise a family of ducklings. The soft ground keeps large predators away, making it easier for the ducks to raise their family to adulthood.
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Photographs & Pheathers – After the Storm/Skywatch Friday
It’s rainy and overcast again. In our area ‘April Showers’ are usually a reality and not just a cliché. I took a few photographs of the sky as the sun came out and broke through the storm clouds. I enjoyed the way the light illuminated one side of the trees with the backdrop of grey sky still behind them. The birds looked a little rain-weary, not really moving around too much, giving me a chance to zoom in and get a few interesting photos as they dried off.
If you have a chance take a peek at the Skywatch Friday BlogSpot for some stunning sky photographs. My photographs were taken within a half hour’s time, the storm cleared out quickly, the sun and wind are miraculous at breaking the clouds up and blowing them away.
