Lily, In Abstract

A Lily close up with rain drops gives the feel of an abstract

I probably wouldn't have gone out last night for photos with lighting so heavy and gray after the rain today,but I've been waiting for a certain Magnolia to open up any day now. How lucky to find not only the Magnolia had started to open(and it was gorgeous by the way-more on another post), but this sunny beauty was also fabulous with remnants of rain still left on it's petals.

Photos In The Rain

 Green Milkweed-a famous Monarch host plant is poisonous to most creatures however, in the Monarchs' case this works to his favor as the host plants' toxicity acts as a deterrent to birds.

Pink Honeysuckle

It wouldn't be the South without a Magnolia

Spent Magnolia

It was a rainy day yesterday, but I managed to get a few shots in between the rain showers. I did get wet, but it was worth it. ;-)) The light was of course filtered as the sky was predominately heavy and gray with even a few reported funnels.

Whew! Finally we're caught up! That was quite the ordeal-things will be much easier from here on out.. Thanks for staying with me here. ;-)

Flower Power

Love in the Mist or Devil in the Bush

Crimson Hollyhock

Baby Poppies

Poppy Pods

Lamb's Ear-silvery softness

April 28, 2012 my brilliant husband reminds me of the Annual Garden at our local Garden and Art Center, so we head out into the glorious evening to see what we can see. Upon our arrival, we are greeted by an abundance of poppies in full bloom, hollyhocks just opening up for the season, and a host of indigenous wildflowers. Ahhhh, a photographer's delight.

It was this evening that we bumped into another photographer getting in on the action as well. He knew where all the good stuff was. ;-))

Scenes From My Walk

Lupines in the morning sun-Tech Terrace Park

"Warning-Drains to Waterways"

A bit of whimsy

A little lady on happy yellow Forsythia

Tech Terrace happens to be my old stomping grounds-we moved into that neighborhood right before my Freshman year in high school and the park just feels like home. This particular morning April 25, 2012 was beautiful the morning sun filtering through the trees left dappled sunlight on the green morning grass-it was a picture perfect morning in terms of lighting, but a gusty breeze almost persuaded me to leave the camera in the car-so glad I found a window of opportunity and took it. What a beautiful morning.

How It All Began

To begin,we have to travel back a few weeks to April 23, 2012 to an experience that would end up being a catalyst for change when I realized I needed to reconnect with the world around. I needed to reconnect with nature, to take the time to see the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary.

The following is a blog post excerpt from my thoughts on that day.

So, this past weekend (well part of Friday and Saturday to be exact) I attended a retreat intended specifically to provide tools for women and girls to assist them in leading a more congruent and empowered life.

One of the activities was yoga at sunrise. Yes, for those of you who know me it was pretty incredible that I was up that early, but boy am I glad I was. If you haven't taken the time to sit quietly (and seriously you could hear a pin drop amongst the chattering of birds, and the whinnying of horses-that's how amazing it was) you need to take the time out to do it you'll be glad you did. The location was outside of town in a slightly rolling, but open landscape where the horizon is 80% sky and 20% open plain, and just when you think the sun will never arrive you begin to see the first hint and then all too quickly the sun is up to announce a new day. What a sight, what an amazing experience-sitting in the chilled morning air a hot cup of tea in hand in bare feet so as to feel the earth beneath you. AMAZING! If you haven't taken the time to do this lately I highly recommend it. What a miracle that each day is new, a fresh new beginning, a "do over" if you will-a chance to move away from mistakes, bad days etc. or a vehicle to move towards goals and milestones.