Flower Power

The hubs bought  me flowers for our anniversary. Awww, what a sweetie.

It seems odd to me to see bright colored flowers at this time of year when it's cold and white outside. I decided to "tone them down" a bit...just photographically, of course.

I left just this one with it's original vibrant colors so you could see how brilliant they were...zowie!! So pretty!

Love These Mountains

I went hiking this morning with my friend, Kelly. It was perfect for me... a beautiful morning, good conversation with a friend, and a slow leisurely pace that allowed me to see things I don't see when my only goal is to get to the top.

 I haven't done one of these abstracts for a while... the light was just right on the rich green forest floor.

The trail was lush...so many different leaves, so many different flowers. In California I would have known the names of all of them...a gift from my mother...here I know almost none of their names. 

I've never seen these before, but as you'll soon see, I was a bit obsessed with them...little fuzzy curly things...as good a name as any, no? (VK, I need your mountain boy to help me!)

On the brink of fall, there are interesting seed pods everywhere you look.

The first tiniest signs of fall colors on the maples.

And yet, there's still lots of summer color in them thar hills!

It's a steep trail for hikers, and even steeper (in my opinion) for bikers! Some people get all bent out of shape that dirt bikers use the trails, but so long as they are respectful of the trails and the hikers on them, I don't mind. If I were a slightly more skilled rider, I'd be right out there with them. 

 This purple gem...

...and this one...

  ...and this one are all the same plant in different stages...AND what's even more interesting is that when mature, the blossom looks like a tiny white daisy. Who'da thunk?

Kelly holding up the Wyld ale bottle that someone dumped on the trail ... and it's organic beer ... so much for keeping the environment pure ... pick up your trash, people!

Thanks for hanging with me, Kelly!

Snoopin' Around

I'm kind of fascinated by a number of old rickety barns in the area. Lately, when I've been out for my morning run, I've begun to notice them more and I'm determined to get inside a few of them and photograph. I've even knocked on a few doors to try to get permission. It's not always obvious who owns the barns, so my door knocking hasn't been entirely successful...yet. I'm not giving up.

I did manage to get permission to photograph at least one barn, so far. The results weren't quite what I had hoped for, but it's a start.

I gathered some more texture shots so I can continue experimenting with layering my photos.

I love finding old rusty things to photograph...here are a few "discards" I found in and around the barn...

And finally, today's experiment with adding texture to the outside shot of the barn... click on it to enlarge it enough to see the detail.

Oh, and I suppose I should keep shooting flowers while they last... their days are numbered. :(