Red Hot

I swore to myself that I was not stepping foot outside today.  With temps hitting 102, and still at 99 at 8 p.m., I knew I'd melt as soon as I opened the door.  Unfortunately, the trash and recycling cans do not return themselves to the back patio after being emptied, and the plants were getting pretty darn thirsty.

Being so good at procrastinating (and practicing it ALL day long), I managed to wait until 8:30 to get out of the pajamas and into real clothes so I could go outside to retrieve those darn cans and water the plants.  Fortunately in that extra half hour, the temps dropped another 10 degrees, so I'm not nearly as sweaty as I was Thursday evening!

I had absolutely no intention of taking any pictures, but then I saw the mandevilla blooming nicely and remembered I hadn't gotten a good shot of the re-blooming lilac in re-bloom mode.  So, whether my intentions were solely artistic or not, I forced myself back into the nicely air conditioned house to retrieve the camera.  Forcing myself back outside again took every effort known to man.

But, I'm pretty happy with the pics I got . . . no drama, no extremes, just a couple of nice flower shots, and a bit of speculation at the end.

This is my first try with begonias, and they're in a pot near the hummingbird feeders, which is why they have water on them.  Seems the feeder was right over the A/C unit and was dripping sugar water all over the A/C unit, which in turn attracted ants.  Of course I had to hose down the unit, which ended up spraying water everywhere!

First time trying to grow verbena, too.  It's in the same pot w/ the begonia.  The dahlia in that pot isn't blooming right now, or there'd be a pic of it, too!

One of the Crimson Mandevilla blooms.  There are a lot of buds just waiting to open up.  I think I'm liking this plant, although I wish I'd read a little more about it before I put it in the ground.  Apparently SW Ohio winters are too harsh and it needs to be brought indoors, even if it is a perennial.  Hmmm . . . will think about it when the time comes, I guess.

The overly abundant trumpet vine.  It too, likes the heat and is growing like crazy.  I'll have to get out in the next couple of days and do some more pruning . . .

I like Queen Anne's lace.  Ever since the days of putting them in a vase w/ food coloring added to the water . . .

More trumpet vines; these by the back fence where I'm TRYING to get them to grow over the top of the clothes line.  It's an on-going process, so IF it ever gets to a point that I'm happy with, I'll take a pic.

And now for the speculation . . . this is one of the blue jays, and he's looking a bit worse for the wear.  I'm thinking he probably had a tussle with one of the local feral cats (one of the neighbors feeds them, but she and her daughter also trap them and have them spayed and neutered so I'm not complaining too much).  I'm hoping he makes it.

And what I just noticed?  The pictures I posted tonight are all red, white, and blue (jay).  I tried again to get a good pic of the re-blooming lilac, but I am having a heck of a time with it.  I don't know if I need to try earlier in the day when I'm not tired, or what, but it's NOT getting the better of me!

Wegerzyn Gardens

I visited one of our metro parks today that I haven't been to in about 2 years.  It was nice to go back, and I'll have to make sure I go back in another month or so; it will have changed again by then.


It was really nice to have a relatively fresh perspective, as well as new material to photograph!  I was in no hurry (well, at least until the reality of drinking Diet Pepsi all afternoon hit) and just strolled along, looking for the birds I was hearing (owlthingsfirst.blogspot.com's Jenny is a good influence on me!) watching for butterflies (after I scared off 3 of them), and looking for the names of the plants I was shooting.  Alas and alack, I don't have a clue as to the name of the plants!  If you do, please comment to edjimicate me.


I'm trying to pick only the best of the photos I took today - but when taking over 200, it's really hard to pare it down quickly.  I managed to pick 80+ for facebook, then got it down to 40+ initially for this post, but you're stuck with 17 (if I counted correctly!). 

I'm not a huge fan of lavender, but I did like the contrast of the colors and how it looked waving in the breeze.

I thought this looked as if the wind was blowing the plant; it wasn't when the pic was taken.  I liked the curves and the imagery of flow and movement.

When I first saw these, I wondered who had dripped paint all over the leaves.  Upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn't paint at all, but the way the plant was naturally.

 This, I do know, is a rose.  Yellow roses are my favorite, especially when they are still in the process of blooming.

This was an experiment, and I like the outcome!  I used the trunk for balance for the camera, shot straight up, resting the camera against it.  This doesn't quite give the full impact of how tall the tree is, but it is better than the other shots I took.

 I have a thing for textures.  I like to do extreme close-ups and I like pictures that make me think I could  feel the texture of the photo subject if I touched the photo.  I liked the different textures here when I took the picture, but now, when I look in the upper left corner, all I see is an alligator or crocodile head . . . go figure! 

I don't have a clue what this is, but I loved how it seemed to be almost magically changing form.  Initially, it looked like a pinecone, but I've never seen a purple pinecone before . . . 

I liked the contrast of the dark purple bud with the light purple of the flower. 

I like small flowers.  These were VERY small, so I must like them a lot.  Plus, they are a very pretty shade of blue.

This tree was blooming like crazy!  It was absolutely beautiful, but this was as close as I could get to the blossoms.  

Loved the color, and the detail of this flower.  Initially, the color caught my eye, but as I zoomed in, I found the structure of the flower more interesting.

 Beautiful butterfly.  I'd moved too suddenly several times before I finally caught this one.  Honestly, this doesn't do it justice.

More small blue flowers.  Like, like, like!

Love the look of the plants growing out of the wall, as well as the contrast between the rigidity of the rock and the fluidity of the plant; the sharp lines and edges of the rock/wall and the curve of the plant.

I saw this and immediately thought it belonged in a Japanese garden; the bamboo helps give that flavor, but the whole scenario just about screams oriental.

The pansies looked so sunny and inviting on my way out that I almost apologized to them for leaving.  The brightness of some of the colors was astounding, and I'm always a sucker for contrast.


Just getting out and walking around is a good mood enhancer, but seeing these beautiful plants and breathtaking blossoms has me thanking God for the beauty he provides in so many ways.  It's all around us when we decide to look for it.  Amazing what happens when I keep my eyes, not just the camera lens, focused on the beauty.