Water drops Photos

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Break time for the farmworker

Another lady bug fresh from work on our epi farm. They are doing a great job, the aphids are virtually gone! So she (he?) deserves a break. This is a rose from our first anniversary. Lasted well didn't it? Well, it helps to buy the bush rather than the cut flowers. :-D

Unlike the Ladybug from yesterday I shot this one with a macro lens attachment and no bellows. This was the closest I could get as compared to yesterday when I was actually at the maximum focal distance of the bellows. This way I can get a little bit of the beautiful surroundings. Oh, and as you can probably tell it's dark outside. I was using a hand-held light to get these shots. I'ts best to release the lady bugs in the evening unless you just want them to fly away.

It was interesting though, they were much warmer and therefore much more active tonight. It finally got to the point where I had to go inside because I was covered in ladybugs. Fortunately these don't bite unlike the apparently carnivorous ladybugs in the farm country where my parents live. When the farmers harvest the fields the ladybugs run... and then they descend upon my parents' house in a swarm.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Pink Petals

When I took the photo a couple of weeks ago I knew what the flower was. But today I'm drawing a blank. Sure is pretty though. When my memory starts working I'll add a note. Of course that could take a while. :-D

Monday, August 20, 2007

Lily of the Rain

The yard is a completely different place in the rain. Unfortunately for my camera I love the look of the flowers when it's raining. It's not just the drops of water. If it was I could just spray them. The soft lighting from the clouds changes the feel of the photo completely.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Calla Drops

The sun was in and out of the clouds when I took this shot. I only had about 30 seconds while the light was interesting.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Poppy Seed Pod

No, it's not upside down! Well, the photo's not anyway, the flower is.

This is the same flower from the Photo of the Day on the 20th. By the looks of things there will be poppies all over the place in our back yard next year.

I like the "cross section" look of the flower. And the ruffled edge of the petals too.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Scentimental

This was taken the on the same hound walk as yesterday's rose. I used to have a Scentimental Rose when I lived in the desert, but I could not keep it alive through more than one summer of 130° temperatures even with an automated dripper.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Brass Band

This was in the neighbor's yard the other day. When we go out to walk The Hound we like to go by his place, there is always something amazing in bloom there. The day I took this was a little gray and rainy, which accounts for the interesting lighting.

Brass Band ₁ | flower ₃₁₃ | Rose ₄₈ | Walkin' the Hound ₄₉ | water drops ₂₉

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Hidden Violets

I'm not exactly sure where they came from, they kind of appeared in the pot of another plant in the back yard. The other day when my wife was working in the plants she found them and I heard "Hey, get your camera, I've got a photo of the day for you!"

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Tropical Swirl

I like how this rose caught that drop of water in the top. This is another shot from the backyard. Yeah, I know, it's a theme lately "the Back Yard". But my hound hurt her foot and I did not get my birthday trip to Monterey yet. Maybe later this month! Oooh the flowers that are blooming there this time of year!

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Lily in the Shadows

I thought this photo went nicely with yesterday's cactus. Nice and shadowy.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Mandevilla Sky

This is one of the plants that recently scored a new pot and trellis. We originally got this vine and one other to feed the butterflies in the back yard. The butterflies (and resulting caterpillars) almost got the best of them. But they have come back strong. A couple of weekends ago I spent about two hours unraveling the two vines from each other and putting them on their new trellises. It was like an elaborate living puzzle.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Friends

When the Epiphyllum get going they really go wild. This blossom (the red one) is from the beautiful cactus that got us kicked out of our last apartment. Well, maybe not that dramatic, but I sure was not going to trim the cactus like the land lord wanted!

The lilies lived here when we moved in. They are actually in the ground in what we now call "Cactus Corner". They have had to stretch a little taller to see the sun. But they make an amazing contrast with the cactus and they always seem to be intertwined, I like to think they are friends.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Spring Epiphyllum

It's looking a lot like spring around here. We've spent the last couple of weekends working on our yard. New pots and more dirt all around. This beauty now has an automated dripper. Even though it is a cactus, ours are the happiest when they are sitting in a puddle of water for a couple of hours a day. Of course if you have been treating yours like a desert plant, I would recommend making the transition to hydroponics slowly, so as not to shock it.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Backlit Morning Daisy

Even in the middle of winter there are beautiful flowers to photograph here. That's not to say it is not cold. The day after I took this was the windiest coldest day of the winter so far. But fortunately the ocean seems to keep things just warm enough for things to survive. Even if we get frost it is usually mild and patchy.

Aside from these tough daisies, the Calla Lilies are starting to really put on a show now too. Some of our spring bulbs are already coming up that we planted in the fall. So many beautiful subjects! So little time!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Lotus & Lily Pads

Seems like a fitting image. As I upload this it is raining like crazy.

I love the way the water beads on the lily pads, and the ruffled edges of the pads themselves.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Mallow After the Rain

This was taken right after yesterday's photo of the day. The rain had just stopped and the sun came out beautifully. This shot is looking up at a couple of exceptionally tall branches of our small potted Mallow tree. The drops of water are actually on the other side, the top of the flower. It would probably be a good idea for us to prune it. But it blooms constantly and if we had pruned it I would not have had the opportunity to get this shot.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Calla Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

I was trolling the logs and it looks like there have been quite a few people looking for Calla Lily photos lately. (as well as Valentine's flowers) This was the scene a couple of days ago in the back yard, and I thought the shape of the flower was particularly fitting for the day.

Have a wonderful valentines day!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Still Sleeping

When normal people go on vacation they sleep in. Then you have me and my hound dog. Miss hound seems to like to get up early when we are in a different place. Maybe because she knows that is when I get some of my best pictures. Or, maybe she's excited to go out and smell what there is to smell. (She has long since sniffed all there is to sniff at home.) At any rate, she woofs and since she has me wrapped around her cute little paw, we get up and go out. When this started I was not very happy about it, but I have learned that there will usually be a number of beautiful images that reveal themselves during our morning constitutional.

I would write more, but Zoe is sitting by the door right now. She is trying to remind me there is more to life than sitting in front of the strange glowing, humming box.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Daisy in the Morning Dew

This is another photo credit for The Hound. There is no other reason I would be up early taking a walk when everything is cold and dew covered. She always leads me to nice photos though so she is worth it.

Saturday, October 7, 2006

Banana in the Rain

A few weeks ago we found two beautiful banana plants at the hardware store that were looking for a good home. They live right out front now. The other day it started to rain just as I was leaving the house and when I saw how the drops of water collected on the leaf I had to run back in and get my camera.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Rebel Cyclamen

A few months ago we put some new plants in near our front door. Among them were a few white Cyclamen and one purple one. The Purple one was right next to this white plant but it did not seem to do so well. There is not much left of it above ground But it has managed to make it's presence known. (they are tubers, so hopefully it is still down there)

These plants are interesting and beautiful anyway. The flower is actually pointing down and the petals turn around and point up. (called "reflexed petals") But this little addition has made this one of the more interesting plants in the front yard at the moment!

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Mandevilla Buds

We've been setting up new misters in the yard for the plants and that made for some excellent photo opportunities.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Misty Mandevilla

It was hot here today. REALLY HOT! Fortunately we got this little mister thing from the hardware store. We hooked it up to our hose and made our little back yard a little cooler. After it was on for a while I noticed a nice effect on some of the plants near it.

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.

Saturday, June 3, 2006

Icing Rose

This is one of several small roses we got recently. The color of this one reminds me of a nice butter-cream frosting rose. And I would write more but I have to go get a snack now, it's making me hungry!

flower ₃₁₃ | minerature ₁ | Rose ₄₈ | water drops ₂₉ | white ₁₂