Milka Pejovic

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: moon at the horizon

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal

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Remember you can click on each photo below to see a larger view of it.

I find it interesting, not to say awkward, to choose “renewal” as a theme in November, when everything in nature is dying or falling asleep. So most of the photos I’m displaying here were taken at another time of the year.

Well, expect for this first one, which I took last fall after a rainstorm. The clouds were still quite grey but the sun rays did their best to light up the golden leaves of the poplars that live by the San Diego River. I love to watch the rain do its magic as it revives and replenishes the trees that have been thirsty for so long, giving them one last burst of energy before they go to sleep for the winter.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - after the rain — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – after the rain

The WordPress person who wrote the post on this weekly photo challenge suggested us to stay away from the stereotypical renewal of sunrises. Well, I love sunrises and they are inherently a sign of daily renewal. But I like moon rises just as much, especially when they happen in the daylight. They remind us that day and night work together to bring constant renewal to the earth.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - moon rising over trees — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – moon rising over trees

I used the photo below for another photo challenge theme but I think it fits this one perfectly. This is a small pine tree growing out of the root of a seemingly dead tree. Nature knows best how to renew.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - new tree grows out of a dead tree — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – new tree grows out of a dead tree

Finally, nothing screams renewal more than brand new flowers in the spring. In this case, these are California wildflowers, which are also featured in my 2013 photo calendar.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - California wildflowers — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – California wildflowers

What is your idea of renewal?

Cee's fun foto challenge: all one color - bright pink flowers

Bring some color to your Friday with this selection of bright flowers

I don’t know what the weather looks like where you are today. It’s raining in San Diego, which is a very welcome sight since it will take many more rains to recover from our six months of super dry weather.

I love the stormy weather that comes with the Fall season. The wind giving a little push to the leaves still hanging on to the trees, the sun rays trying so hard to pierce through the clouds, the cloud cover ranging from bright white to dark grey.

But the rain also makes the day look pretty grim, so I’m giving myself, and you too, a little color to look at today. Here are a few photos of colorful flowers I took over the summer. I have absolutely no idea what these flowers are so if you do, please share.

Remember you can always click on the image to see a larger view.

Let’s start with the color yellow. If you look at the larger size, you’ll see some cool water drops all over the plant.

And now, on to the color blue. I love the softness of this blue hue and the lines and tiny dots on each petal, as if someone had painted them on.

Let’s finish with this bright pink cluster of flowers.

Did you see how cool looking these flowers are? Take a closer look at the translucent stigma and the fuzzy center, very neat.

November 9, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Flower Photos, PhotographyTags: blooms, cluster of flowers, flower blooms, flower cluster, flower stigma, photography, photos, photos of blooms, photos of blue flowers, photos of flowers, photos of pink flowers, photos of yellow flowers, soft blue flowers, yellow tropical flower 2 Comments

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Home - changing seasons in San Diego

Enjoy more fall foliage with this American sweetgum

Besides the palm trees, the California sage brush and the many eucalyptus trees around San Diego County, you sometimes have to look a little harder to find some colorful fall foliage. I went back to check on my sumac trees this past weekend and I’ll have a few photos to share soon, but they’re not as yellow and orange as they should be yet. We also have a few maple trees here and there and I need to hurry snapping photos of them before they all lose their leaves.

But today, I’d like to share a few photos of another colorful tree in the fall in San Diego: the American sweetgum, or Liquidambar Styraciflua. My kids were attempting to dig a huge hole in the sand next to me as I was snapping pictures of this tree so I shortened my photo session. I’ll need to go back to get some more photos but here are a few for your enjoyment.

The American sweetgum has gorgeous deep red / maroon leaves and very cute green spiky seed pods. Remember you can click on each photo to view a larger image.

Red leaves of the American sweetgum, or Liquidambar Styraciflua

Fall foliage of the American sweetgum - red leaves and spiky seed pods — Fall foliage of the American sweetgum – red leaves and spiky seed pods

Do you have some American sweetgum trees where you live? Where do you get your fall foliage colors from?

November 8, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Tree PhotosTags: American sweet gum tree, American sweetgum, American sweetgum photo, California pictures, fall foliage, fall in San Diego, fall leaves, Liquidambar Styraciflua, maroon leaves, photography, photos, photos of trees, red leaves, San Diego, trees 2 Comments

Sycamore leaves are beautiful in the fall

Tree leaves are finally starting to change colors in San Diego, at least when it comes to deciduous trees. There are a lot of poplars in the city park behind my house so I hope to make my way there soon. It’s all a question of picking the right time of the day for the best photos. For what I’m trying to do, it might be the warm yellow light of the late afternoon.

In the meantime, I’ll share leaves from another tree we find a lot around San Diego County: the Sycamore tree. To most of us, the Sycamore doesn’t mean much but for the Kumeyaay, the native Americans who lived around here tens of thousands of years ago, it was a life saver. Or should I say a butt saver? Because of the Sycamore leaves’ very soft, almost velvety like, surface, the Kumeyaay used it as toilet paper. Good thing to know if you’re ever stranded somewhere in a forest, right?

I love Sycamore leaves because they are much larger than most tree leaves. They only turn yellow and brown until they come off the tree in late Fall, but they’re still pretty to look at, especially if you capture the light from an interesting angle.

Here are a few photos of Sycamore leaves. Let me know what you think. And remember you can click on each photo for an enlarged view.

Green and brown Sycamore tree leaf in the fall

Green and brown Sycamore leaves in the fall

November 6, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Tree PhotosTags: California pictures, photography, photos, photos of sycamore leaves, photos of trees, San Diego fall trees, sycamore leaf photo, sycamore leaves photos, sycamore photos, sycamore tree, sycamore tree leaves, trees 2 Comments

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Lines on a bottle brush tree flower

Bees love bottle brush tree flowers

I love bottle brush tree flowers. They feature a beautiful red hue and it’s easy to figure out how they got their name. I recently found out bottle brush trees are a native plant of Australia. This may explain why we have so many of them in San Diego, as the weather is similar here as in many parts of Australia.

I chose bottle brush tree flowers for the month of April in my 2013 photo calendar and I had a few pictures to choose from. My final pick was actually not my first choice. The photo below was. I love the angle of the flower, the deep green leaves on the left and the other red brushes in the background. And then, surprise surprise, there are two bees on this bottle brush tree flower: one at the bottom of it and one flying right in front of it. The only thing that stopped me from choosing this photo as my final selection was that the flying bee was out of focus. But hey, it wasn’t even supposed to be on the picture in the first place!

What do you think? Should I consider it for my 2014 photo calendar? Or does the blurry bee bother you? Make sure you click on the image for a larger view, especially if you want to see the bees better.