Beauty

Columbine

 

“Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.”

~Amit Ray

 

 

sharing with...

TODAY'S FLOWERS   

 I HEART MACRO  

MACRO MONDAY 2
NATURE NOTES

 

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Grab Bag -4

 sharing with...lots of memes. Scroll down to the photo that matches the meme ;)

CAMERA CRITTERS  SATURDAY'S CRITTERS   I'D RATHER B BIRDIN'  I HEART MACRO    TODAY'S FLOWERS   PET PRIDE  THE WEEKLY TOP SHOT   

MACRO MONDAY 2  BLUE MONDAY 

 

Sweet Stoney Braveheart always insists on two peanuts at a time!

(He has the most magnificent tail I have ever seen on a squirrel)

 

Male House Finch, a common bird, but one of my favourites.

 

Nigella damascene (Love-in-a-Mist) 

Last week I featured the same flower in pink.  I was thrilled to have some blue, and some white ones bloom from the same seed packet.

Merfy, I just love this sweet little face and that cute nose!

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Against All Odds

 

Nigella damascene (Love-in-a-Mist)
belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

 

I fell in love with this flower when I saw it on someone's blog last year. I just had to have it in my garden. It's native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia. So, my chances of finding it in Canada were slim!

 

 

I managed to locate heirloom seeds, 'Persian Rose', online. I ordered them and planted them in June. I didn't have high hopes of them growing (considering our climate), but, against all odds...they grew and bloomed!

(The bloom is about the size of my thumbnail)

 

sharing with...

PINK SATURDAY

CAMERA CRITTERS  SATURDAY'S CRITTERS  

I HEART MACRO   MACRO MONDAY 2

 TODAY'S FLOWERS 

THE WEEKLY TOP SHOT 

 

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Guts And Glory

Guts, as in glutton.

 

Yep, it's Stoney Braveheart,

He visits the yard at least 5 times a day, 

and always takes two peanuts at a time.

 

 

Glory, as in astounding beauty.

 

Centaurea cyanus, or cornflower, bachelor's button.

Beep, my granddaughter, grew these from seed in my garden.

In herbalism, a decoction of cornflower is effective in treating eye ailments.

 

Many thanks go out to all my blog buddies that have stopped by, left kind comments, and encouraging words, during my recent health dilemma. Your support means a lot to me!

 

sharing with...

CAMERA CRITTERS  SATURDAY'S CRITTERS  

I HEART MACRO   MACRO MONDAY 2

 TODAY'S FLOWERS  BLUE MONDAY 

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Purple Passion

Wild purple columbine

 

This little beauty has sprung up under my cedar tree for a few years now.

 

sharing with...

I HEART MACRO   TODAY'S FLOWERS  THE WEEKLY TOP SHOT  

MACRO MONDAY 2  MAKRO MONTAG

 

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A Few Of My Favourite Things

Some favourites in my yard from this week, to share this weekend,

with some of my favourite memes.

 

sharing with...

CAMERA CRITTERS  SATURDAY'S CRITTERS   I'D RATHER B BIRDIN'    I HEART MACRO  

TODAY'S FLOWERS  THE WEEKLY TOP SHOT  MACRO MONDAY 2  MAKRO MONTAG

 

Grey squirrel (Nick)

 

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Beaker)

 

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Beakette)

 

Aquilegia "Bunting" (Columbine)

 

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Grab Bag -2

sharing with...TODAY'S FLOWERS and NF BLO-MA

 I couldn't resist bringing this "Aztec Sunset" dahlia home, to put in my garden.

 

sharing with...CAMERA CRITTERS and SATURDAY'S CRITTERS 

 Black squirrel (Coalter)

 

sharing with... I'D RATHER B BIRDIN'   

Oh, what have we here? It's a lifer for me.

A little teaser of what's to come. (Baltimore Oriole)

 

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Textures, Mud And Bubbles

1. I found Kim Klassen's  Textures In Ten (free) texture tutorial. I have been joining in on her "Friday Finds" meme for a couple of weeks. I always admired the textured photos, but didn't know how to achieve the look. Well now I do! Thanks Kim! If you are interested in fabulous textures, click on over to Kim's site.

 

 

2. These are my first attempts at using "real" textures, which is quite different than having an online photo editor overlay one on top of a photo. It's not much more difficult though, and you have a lot more control over the final result of your finished photo.

 

 

3. There are subtle differences in the two photos. I like the second one the best, as I was trying to spotlight the main flower.

The original

4. In other randomness today. It's raining, the snow is melting and the backyard is a muddy, seedy, peanut shell MESS. Wow, spring yard work is going to be heavy duty this year.

5. I am addicted to acquiring useless interesting iPad apps. Bubble Explode is the latest. As if I don't waste spend enough time on the computer already, now I have another techno gadget to play with! Ah well, I'm sure the novelty will wear off in a few weeks!

sharing with...

FRIDAY FINDS

TODAY'S FLOWERS

RANDOM 5 FRIDAY

where you share 5 random facts about you, your day,
your pets, your kids, whatever


Beep (my granddaughter) is joining in on some memes this week.

She's thrilled when people drop in to Beep's Blog (Click here)

Faux Painting

1. Hubbers got me an iPad mini for my "it's not my birthday" day, which is actually on Saturday.

2. The mini is the perfect size for me. Smaller than the regular iPad, but with exactly the same functions, it fits into my purse perfectly!

3. Of course the first app I bought was 'Waterlogue', which will convert your photos to a watercolour like painting. I love it!
 
4. I think the app really appeals to me because I used to paint, which I can't do anymore, due to some disabilities from Multiple Sclerosis. My vision fluctuates from day to day, and I have intention tremors.

5. I picked up the camera when I had to put down the paint brushes. Photography became my new medium. 'Waterlogue' is obviously not painting, but converting some of my photos with it is fun, and makes me happy!

 

 

sharing with...

FRIDAY FINDS

TODAY'S FLOWERS

RANDOM 5 FRIDAY

where you share 5 random facts about you, your day,
your pets, your kids, whatever

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