Macro Monday: pretty light purple flowers

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m taking part in the Macro Monday photo challenge. You can click on each photo for a larger view.

If you like what you see, I encourage you to subscribe so you can enjoy the new photos I post a few times a week.

I photographed these flowers earlier today while walking around San Diego’s Balboa Park. They grow on a small bush and the bees seemed very happy to find these blooms in early February. I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of them, even though I have no idea what these light purple flowers are. If you know, please enlighten me in the comments!

Light purple flowers with red and yellow stamen
Light purple flowers with red and yellow stamen
Macro Monday: light purple flowers
Macro Monday: light purple flowers
Bush with small light purple flowers
Bush with small light purple flowers

Floral Friday Fotos: red bird of paradise flowers

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in Floral Friday Fotos. You can click on each photo for a larger view.

If you enjoy my images, I encourage you to subscribe and receive updates when I post new photos, usually 3 to 5 times a week.

This bright orange red flower with long stamens is called Caesalpinia pulcherrima, or red bird of paradise, or Mexican bird of paradise, to name a few. It grows on a shrub and I photographed it last summer at the San Diego Zoo. It was making red seed pods in the middle of the blooms.

If you’re still experiencing a lot of snow, ice or gray where you are today, I thought you could enjoy a little ray of sunshine and some bold colors. And to make you feel better, we’d had two straight days of rain showers in San Diego so it’s not all sunny here. But I won’t complain, we’re having a severe drought and any raindrop counts. Happy Friday!

Floral Friday Fotos: red bird of paradise flowers
Floral Friday Fotos: red bird of paradise flowers
Caesalpinia pulcherrima blooms - Mexican bird of paradise
Caesalpinia pulcherrima blooms – Mexican bird of paradise

Macro Monday: fuzzy pink snapdragon flowers

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m taking part in the Macro Monday photo challenge. You can click on each photo for a larger view.

If you like what you see, I encourage you to subscribe so you can enjoy the new photos I post a few times a week.

Some of the snapdragons I planted in the fall seem to have finally recovered from the cold December frost and are blooming again. I never noticed how fuzzy snapdragons can be. Here are a few pictures of pink snapdragons, either in full bloom or in bud form, featuring a good amount of fuzz on each picture. It almost looks like a fuzzy blanket to keep the flowers warm.

Macro Monday: pink snapdragon flower
Macro Monday: pink snapdragon flower
Pink snapdragon flower buds with fuzz
Pink snapdragon flower buds with fuzz
Pink snapdragon flower fuzzy buds
Pink snapdragon flower fuzzy buds
Close-up of a pink snapdragon flower
Close-up of a pink snapdragon flower

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Walk 100 Steps or less and take new photos

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge and her theme is “walk 100 Steps or less and take new photos”. I encourage you to click on each photo to see a larger view. If you like what you see, please subscribe to this blog to receive updates of the new photos I post, usually 3 to 5 times a week.

I decided I’d step into my backyard and share with you what’s going on in there. My pink snapdragons seem to have survived the freezing December nights and are blooming again. I’m not sure about my yellow snapdragons yet. I love the fuzzy hair on the new plant growth.

Close-up of a pink snapdragon flower
Close-up of a pink snapdragon flower

After getting my produce eaten over and over by the various critters that live beyond my backyard, I’ve decided to give it another try by using greenhouses this year. The advantage of a greenhouse is that the plants should be protected from most critters. The downfall is that it can get very hot in Southern California and even hotter inside the greenhouse, so I could bake my plants if I don’t aerate often enough. But I can’t do that if I’m not around, or the critters will get in and eat it all. It’s a constant battle but I haven’t thrown the towel yet.

My kids and I have been planting a bunch of seeds and the seedlings are starting to come out. The problem is, I didn’t label most of the pots and I can’t remember what I planted where. So I’m not sure what’s coming out in some of them. Like these little guys. I believe they are Swiss chard but I’m not 100% sure yet.

Seedlings of Swiss chard
Seedlings of Swiss chard

Hey, look what’s growing in my potting soil! A freeloading white mushroom…

White mushroom growing in my potting soil
White mushroom growing in my potting soil

Oh, look, there’s more of those little white mushrooms in another pot…

White mushrooms growing in potting soil
White mushrooms growing in potting soil

My kids insisted on watering the seeds after we planted them. I think they were a bit overzealous and the soil has been very wet. I actually haven’t needed to water in almost two weeks. Inside the greenhouse, the humidity has only helped grow these mushrooms so I won’t water until the soil gets dry.

For this last photograph, I actually recognize the plant. This is a green bean seedling. Watching new plants grow is always fun and we’re looking forward to seeing new growth every day.

Green bean seedling coming out of soil
Green bean seedling coming out of soil

A Word A Week Challenge – Undulate

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in the A Word A Week Challenge. This week’s theme is “undulate (wavey/ripple)”.  I encourage you to click on each photo to see a larger view. If you like what you see, please subscribe to this blog to receive updates of the new photos I post, usually 3 to 5 times a week.

Of course water ripples are the first thing that came to mind when I saw the word undulate. But I wanted to share this photo of pine tree bark first, because it undulates in its own special way.

A Word A Week Challenge – Undulate - pine tree bark
A Word A Week Challenge – Undulate – pine tree bark

Most of my photos showing water ripples happen to have another subject in the frame, like this great egret.

White egret with water ripples and reflections in the water
White egret with water ripples and reflections in the water

The water ripples around this duck, along with the shadows on the lily pads, are very interesting too.

Brown mallard female duck swimming in a pond
Brown mallard female duck swimming in a pond

Some ripples can be small and others can actually be big waves about to break in the Pacific ocean.

Ocean wave about to break
Ocean wave about to break

On this last picture, I photographed the water because I love the reflections and the ripples in the water. The four ducks and the light breeze happen to be the creators of those ripples.

A Word A Week Challenge – Undulate, water ripples
A Word A Week Challenge – Undulate, water ripples