You Capture - Flowers

Beth's You Capture assignment this week was Flowers and I loved it.  Although many of the summer flowers have started to fade, they're still quite colorful and the fall flowers have begun to come into their own.

Here's a volunteer wave petunia.  I wish I remembered what the variety name is because I'm blown away by the array of colors stemming from one plant.

And speaking of an array of colors, how about the many shades of pink on this sedum.

Obviously I'm not the only one who appreciates the sedum.

Even the geranium shows well when you can't see how much of it isn't blooming. 

And finally the variegated liriope, known for it's foliage not it's flowers, puts on a nice show as we head toward the end of summer.

That's it from my backyard but to see a truly dazzling array of flowers, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry and if you dare, take a picture of your closest flower and join the fun.

You Capture - Green

Beth's You Capture challenge this week was Green and I have to say that 'was' is the key word here since I'm a solid two days late in participating.  I certainly hope the old adage 'better late than never' is true because I pretty much live by it.

I searched for Green at home and away and I think I had more success at home.  I'll start with the away efforts.

There's a drive we frequently take.  It's one mile of curves and streetlamps and green.  

And there's a car I spotted in a parking garage which sported an unusual shade of green.


And now for the green in my backyard.

The water hyacinths incorporate many shades of green.

And I like how the grasses and reeds at the edge of the pond have a predominately green background.

I have three hydrangeas near the pond and one of them has really green blooms.
 
 
 But my very favorite green blooms are those of the sedum before they turn pink.  What a versatile plant the sedum is.  It's hardy and has an interesting and decorative foliage before there are any blooms at all.  When the blooms appear, they are green until they eventually turn pink.

 

Finally, what could be greener than a couple of old pond friends playing board games in the flower bed.

And that's it for Green and this week's You Capture.  To see lots more green, visit Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry.

You Capture - A Photo A Day

Beth's You Capture challenge this weeks was to take 'a photo a day' and I loved it.  It was fun taking pictures of whatever or whoever was close at hand even when, as in the first day, I forgot until the very last minute.

By the time I got outside it was drizzly and almost dark.  I didn't go farther than a few steps out the back door and captured the pond just before fish bedtime.

The next few days were a little easier.  Beth's terribly injured ankle is an awful thing but there was one bright side for me.  Not only do I get to spend more time with her and the kids, but there were many more photo ops than I would have found at home.  Here's Eli on Tuesday being the adorable little guy that he almost always is.

And here's Clara on Wednesday being just as cute as she almost always is.

On Thursday, I drove Beth to her physical therapy appointment and then we stopped by the school to check the class rosters posted at the front door.  The hard thing was that Beth had to take her pictures from the car because it's so hard to take pictures while being supported by crutches.  But I did get a picture of her taking pictures (it's my thumbnail) and this picture of her coming back to the car after double checking the rosters with the kids

Friday I was home so I turned, once again, to my backyard.  It's kind of sad that the Autumn Joy Sedum are starting to turn already.

Saturday we went to our son-in-law's birthday party.  There were many well-behaved children there but I was most impressed by these very well-behaved rottweilers.  Here they are waiting for permission to join the crowd.

And finally on Sunday evening it seems appropriate to close with a sunset picture.

To see quite clearly how lots of other people's weeks went, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

You Capture - Flowers

I thought it was pretty clever of Beth to make her You Capture subject this week flowers now that the flowers are all gone for the season. She really does want us to get out there and work! But the joke was on me. All I had to do was look around and they were everywhere.

There were scads of wildflowers at Striebel Pond - sometimes I just had to look for them.

And sometimes they were right before my eyes.

Sometimes some of them were dead.

And sometimes all of them were dead but they were still flowers and there was a certain beauty to them.

There are still flowers blooming around my koi pond.

And I even found flowers at Beth's in her flower bed.

And in her house - flowers given to her by people who love her.

And these are always the sweetest flowers of all.

For more flowers, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry but don't just visit. Show us the flowers that you found this week.

You Capture - The Feeling Of Fall

It seems like everybody loves Fall.....except me. I do love the crispness and coolness of the weather. That feeling I like. But the following photos illustrate the feeling of Fall that leaves me cold (forgive me).

The lonely bloom amongst all the seed heads waiting to be buried.

The tomatoes that aren't exciting anymore:

The grasses forming seed heads of their own:

The lonely, empty nest that just a few short months ago held so much promise:

And, the koi languishing in the bottom of the pond almost as if they're practicing hibernation. (By the way, Amber, Erin and Nancy, can you spot Alabaster, Fu Manchu and Cubbie?)

But, there's beauty too and lots of it. Otherwise how could we ever bear the closing down of warmth and sunshine to start the dark, cold season of winter.

For more and much much better photos depicting the feeling of fall, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

You Capture - Up Close

Beth's You Capture subject this week was even more interesting than I thought it was going to be. I thought I'd head outside and look for something different to photograph. After all, I've done flowers and fish until you can almost smell them. (Which can be good for one of them but not so much for the other.)

Anyway the first thing I came across was this:


I liked it so much that I had to include it.

Then I came to this:

And this:

But what was so interesting to me is that those were just a part of these:


And I was surprised at what they really looked like "up close".

Then I got this but I have to warn you. Don't get too close or look too long. This one is very sinister. If you come back tomorrow I'll tell you a story that might make your blood run cold. At least it did mine.

So remember this close up:


Could be part of this: