Just one

I've been meaning to stop by the Kubota Gardens for a couple of years but never got around to it. Our new house is only about 4 miles from it, so finally today B and I stopped by for just a little bit. What a beautiful and serene place! I can't even begin to describe how lovely it is, so I won't even try. You'll just have to take my word for it.

I hope to stop by many times this fall. I think as the leaves start turning it will just become even prettier.

Just one from today, an immature pinecone:

Do you see a color cast?

I'm seeing cyan in her shirt which makes me nervous that I'm not seeing a color cast on her skin, do you?

Isn't she a cutie-pie? And she's got the personality to match her cuteness :)



I think this looks like an "I'm a serious actress and this is my headshot" photo. Don't you? *giggle*

Just playin' while avoiding work

Done while I was trying to avoid getting started on a painting project ;)

SOOC:



And after playing a bit. SO not my style but it was fun doing it just the same:



Then I went way, way, WAY overboard and added some butterfly pics of mine. Obviously this technique needs some serious work!



And with some other Dahlias:



I'd love to play with this idea more and see what comes of it. As they are I am unimpressed, but I bet if I worked at it it might be something worth keeping.

Somebody asked what the background was for the picture I posted in my last entry. It's a 1 yard piece of fabric. It's an abstract batik pattern with a lot of different colors in it, and it just so happens that one area of it matched that flower almost perfectly!

Yummy

Doesn't this color remind you of sherbet?

Just one

There is a lovely Dahlia farm about 45 minutes away from me (it's out in North Bend for those of you in the PNW and it is definitely worth a visit). Here's a link if you're interested: DAHLIA BARN

I went out there this morning for a bit. The owners are such lovely people, I spent more time chatting with them then I did shooting! They have such a love for what they do and it shows! It was heavily overcast and misting out, and I just wasn't "feeling it" so I didn't take many pictures, however I did bring a BUNCH (as in dozens) of them home, so hopefully tomorrow I'll shoot them here instead.

Just one for now. To me this resembles a pinwheel:

Just a couple

Did ya notice, this is my FOURTH entry this week? Go me :)

Loved the way the light was shining through this leaf:



And a detail from a cactus, I like the repetition of pattern here:

Cranky?

...or are the Sun Bears just playful? You decide:

Butterflies - photo overload

Had to catch them before they disappear for the winter....I hope that insects don't creep you out! Love the eyes on these first guys:





This next guy was just resting, warming up for the day until....



His buddy came in and started pestering him (see him in the lower right?):





It still amazes me that a camera lens can capture such minute detail as the fuzzies on the back of a butterfly:



This poor guy has been around the block a time or two, dontcha think? Look at his poor wings and his one antenna.







I love shooting these guys from the side but wish I had stopped the lens down a little more to get more of his wings in focus.

We're good little empty nesters :)

A week ago last Saturday B and I headed out to the Kitsap Peninsula for the day. We'd really never spent any time over there and it was a beautiful day to go exploring. When we were on the ferry at about 9:30 am, C called us from the football game at Michigan. When we told him what we were up to, he called us "good little empty nesters." LOL! So then he proceeded to tell us about some guy at the football game that was so drunk (at noon their time) that he was getting sick in the stadium a couple of rows behind C. All I could think of is what a quintessential "college" day that C was having as well!

Anyhow, we ambled about for the day and did a lot of driving. One of the places I mapped out for us to go to was a Dahlia Farm. It was definitely off the beaten track, but we managed to find it (yay Yahoo driving directions), only to find a sign on the gate that said: Closed tell Wednesday. Bummer. And dontcha love the spelling of TILL?!? Oops on someone's part!

So onward to Gig Harbor where the scenery was beautiful and there were several interesting shops to wander through. By the way, it was a picture perfect day. Probably about 75 degrees and the most beautiful blue skies ever. I wish the weather could last like this forever. I am dreading the change to our 6 months of gray and wet which will be starting pretty soon. I think I should be a snowbird and fly down to S. California for 6 months of the year!

Loved the stone wall on this building, so I asked B to sit for a sec so I could shoot a couple of pics of him.



Eventually we ended up at the Tacoma Museum of Glass and the Bridge of Glass. I love that place! The bridge is absolutely spectacular. Unfortunately with the sunshine casting shadows and glare on it it was difficult to get good pictures. I think I'd need to get there as the sun was rising to have it lit well. Anyhow, try to imagine a hundred foot bridge with Chihuly's work displayed on one side behind glass, and completely covering the ceiling (again behind glass). It is spectacular!

Details on a couple of pieces:





And a couple of details from the ceiling, can you imagine how beautiful these would be properly lit:





The building that the museum is housed in is a very modern cone shaped building completely in glass. I love the contrast of it in the midst of all of the very old buildings in that area of Tacoma:



At one end of the bridge is a pair of Chihuly sculptures called Crystal Towers. They are HUGE, maybe 30 feet high! The light behind them lit them up so nicely! They were much more interestingly lit from this angle then from the side the sun was on (like the second picture):





And lastly. There is a gorgeous infinity edge reflecting pool. It is VERY large and has a flock of some sort of bird sculptures in it in a V shaped flight form. I wish I could have figured out how to shoot the whole formation without getting a bunch of extraneous stuff in the picture, but I couldn't. So, this detail will have to do:




On our way out, B spotted this shop near where we parked the car. The name just tickled me (and still does). HELLLLLOOOOOO, Cupcake! Doesn't it sound like a bad pick-up line? Of course we had to try them out, and to be perfectly honest, I don't think they were worth the calories. Live and learn. Cute name though!



Coming soon to the blog, butterflies!

Dahlias

I know there are a lot of gardeners who don't care for Dahlias. They think they're too big and gaudy looking. I happen to like them a lot. The colors are always amazing, and to me they are absolute show stoppers. I also love that they bloom late, by the end of August/September, most flowers are pretty well done blooming here. I don't grow them myself as they tend to take up so much room in the garden, but thankfully there is a small public garden with them about 15 minutes away.

I stopped by for the first time this summer the other day (finally)! It was a sunny day so I was very limited to what I could shoot (I try to only shoot flowers in the shade). I'm hoping for an overcast morning sometime soon so I can go back before they die back for the winter. I know, I know....HOW can someone who lives in Seattle WANT overcast?!? It's not like we don't get enough of it during the winter and spring!!!

I converted a couple of these, wondering what your thoughts are about the B&W's? You can be brutally honest, in fact I would definitely prefer it!





Don't the colors on this next one say "springtime" to you?



Not sure what this little bug it, he was about 1/2" across. If Pat is reading I know she'll know ;)







more soon I'm sure....

Seattle from the ferry

B and I went over to Bainbridge Island this weekend just for the day, it's nice to take a mini-vacation now and again :) We just wandered around the town of Winslow and window shopped a bit. Just a snap from the ferry as the cloud cover was finally starting to burn off (at 5 in the afternoon). Pretty typical fall weather, though it's a little early in the year for it to be behaving like this!