Sunday, November 26, 2006
Mandevilla in the Garden

This was another one of those "break from my computer" images. I had to go out back and wander around the flowers for a while.

Friday, November 24, 2006
Backlit Calla

I particularly like the glowing edge of this lily on the left. The curves that you can follow in the shadows are interesting too.

Monday, September 25, 2006
Pink and White Bougainvillea

The Bougainvillea are going wild around here right now. This one is in a hanging basket in my neighbor's yard.

Sunday, September 17, 2006
Flutter Bye Rose

Yesterday was a great day to take pictures. We went to La Sumida Nursery, where we bumped into a good friend from church. We were looking for a rose, and after much debate this is the one I chose as my favorite. It is called "Flutter Bye." As the flowers bloom they are bright yellow and almost solid. Then as the blossoms get older they change to this beautiful peach - orange - yellow combination.

Sunday, September 10, 2006
Backlit Grapes

This is another shot from yesterday's trip to Seaside Gardens. The grape leaves are amazing in the sun. Makes it look like autumn.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Glowing Mandevilla

The light was particularly nice in the backyard so I had to take a break from my computer and wander around with my camera.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Glorious Morning

Actually, it was in the afternoon. But it was a really nice day!

This was on a recent "escape the heat" trip to San Luis Obispo. Not that it was that much cooler there. But the hotel had air conditioning. :-D

Friday, July 28, 2006
Backlit Tomato Blossom

When I am busy and I just want to take a few pictures to relax I head into the back yard. These days that usually means taking pictures of tomatoes. But that's ok with me! They really are beautiful, especially when the light is just right.

Thursday, July 27, 2006
Neighborly Rose

One of our neighbor's beautiful roses was peeking over the fence. Actually several of them are. We only have small yards here, in fact our neighbor's yard is actually a patio. But he makes good use of it. It is completely covered with roses in giant containers. This one is about 6 feet tall.

Thursday, June 8, 2006
Agapanthus Buds

Another of my rare morning shots. The light is nice in the morning, and I really try to take advantage of it when I am conscious. But that is a rather rare occurrence in the morning.

Thursday, June 1, 2006
White Rose

Well I am sill not traveling far from home. This is from my neighbor's yard. He has some amazing roses. Perhaps after I finish one or two of current huge projects I can get a different perspective. :-D

Monday, May 22, 2006
Agapanthus in the Rain

It rained heavily last night, and this morning we got to see the SUN! It has been gray for so long I did not know how to act!

Yeah I did, I grabbed my camera!

I was up uncharacteristically early waiting for a ride, but as a reward I got to enjoy the morning sunlight in my front yard.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Ginkgo Leaves

The hound took us for a walk this evening. After much debate we talked her into taking a little different path through our neighborhood. We found a quiet little street that had a nice row of Ginkgo trees. Just as we were passing the last one the sun was peeking through some trees in the distance to create a nice scene.

I did seem to freak one person out who was driving by in a car however, I think she thought I was taking her picture.

Saturday, May 13, 2006
Mexican Evening Primrose

Well they sort of look like a violet California Poppy, and they actually look really good next to the poppies. But, this is a Mexican Evening Primrose.

Sunday, April 23, 2006
Colorful Calla

It looks like I was walking through some deep jungle to find this one. Actually it was the Home Depot jungle. They had an amazing display of Calla Lilies! So many I could not decide which to bring home. But I think I am going to go back and see if this one is still there.

Monday, April 17, 2006
Spring Evening

The hound picked a nice time for a walk this evening. The light was beautiful. Finally a break from the rain and it actually felt like spring. For better or for worse the news anchors were excited about the fact that we should actually have three beautiful days in a row! Not exactly a long run for Southern California, but at this point I'll take what I can get!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Purple Calla Lilies

It's been cloudy and rainy lately but there was some nice sun this weekend. Was a good time to see all the flowers out for spring. These were in a big display at Home Depot. That place is almost like a botanical garden.

Sunday, April 9, 2006
Palm Sunday

We decorated our Church yesterday for Palm Sunday. It was no small task to find nice palm fronds with all the crazy weather we've been having. March was the wettest one on record in California. Fortunately, when something needs to be done at our church it just happens. Someone always comes through.

Thursday, June 30, 2005
Backlit Agapanthus

Last week, when I was loading my Jeep for a show, I was fortunate enough to catch the sun at a great angle on our little front yard area. On a Saturday my Hound Dog and I would have still been quite unconscious at this time.

This is a variety of Lily native to South Africa. It grows like wild around here, and it's beautiful when they really get going.

Friday, May 13, 2005
Morning Rock Rose

Another variety of rock rose, growing around Monterey. This particular variety is a hybrid of two European species. It is supposed to do better here but as far as I could tell they were all very happy.

Friday, April 29, 2005
Sea Tree Mallow

At first I thought this was a variety of Hibiscus [Hibiscus syriacus] called a "Russian Violet". But on a recent trip to Home Depot my friend found a plant for sale that helped us identify this beauty. It is a Sea Tree Mallow [Lavatera maritima].

This is another shot from my last morning Basset walk in Monterey. I was wandering around looking for well backlit flowers. Which worked out well as long as they were in the same general direction of the good smells.

After spending all day yesterday rebuilding my system from a hard drive failure I am missing my vacation even more!

Sunday, March 13, 2005
Flaming Poppy Close-up

It was a wild weekend getting ready for a show, that is my only excuse.

This is the first day I missed a post since I started the site. But, I thought I should put something nice in this place for those of you that have come back to look.

Thanks for your dedication!! :0)

With a little luck you will soon be able to give me feedback on my images too. I'd love to hear what you think!

Saturday, March 12, 2005
Morning Light

Well it's a very late image of the day. I have been preparing for tomorrow, my first time at the Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Show (more commonly known as the Sunday Art Walk on the Beach) in Downtown Santa Barbara. So I am a little behind.

This leaf is one of my earlier photos and it is just one of the prints that will be available for sale at the show and soon on my main site.

Oh and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to... well, you know who you are!!! :0)

Thursday, March 10, 2005
Chinese Lantern

One if my favorite day-trips is to San Luis Obispo. There is an old mill there that has been converted into a hotel they still use the water wheel to make small batches of Ice Cream. Right by the water wheel is this beautiful plant. It is called a Chinese Lantern, Chinese Bellflower or Flowering Maple. The latter because of it's Maple shaped leaves, although there is no relation.

There is another plant [Physalis alkekengi] that is also commonly called a Chinese Lantern, it's closely related to the Tomato and the Tomatillo. It's lantern is closed at the bottom, rather than open like these.

• www.thegardenhelper.com
  More info about Chinese Lanterns.
• www.extension.umn.edu
  Physalis alkekengi and friends