SkyWatch Friday: Lace against the sky

Maybe I'm being fanciful but I think that it looks like the sky is covered in lace.

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ABC Wednesday: K is for kilter

This goose was literally and figuratively off kilter. She was standing at the entrance to a shopping area honking at the top of her lungs, several miles from any of the lakes or golf courses where the geese usually hang out. I don't know if it was the cold snap, being out of her comfort zone or some other issue but she was well and truly off kilter.

Rocks and other ornamental features in landscaping are visually pleasing when they are slightly off kilter.

I spend my life slightly off kilter. Click for the home of ABC Wednesday.

The Weekend in Black and White: aliens dancing

I think the shadows on the sand look like aliens from outer space dancing. I considered cropping out the dancers but decided to leave them in context.

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SkyWatch Friday: Days made in heaven

I recall my mother saying "this was a day made in heaven" with reference to particularly beautiful days.

We've had a lot of particularly beautiful days this spring.

Even the clouds seem to join in and made lovely scenes against the sky.

I find myself spending a lot of time looking up at the sky and the new growth beginning on many of the trees.

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ABC Wednesday: J is for Jonquil

Jonquil is a tone of the color yellow and is also used as a name for narcissus (daffodil is another name for some narcissus).

Jumping jilly there sure are a lot of jonquils in my part of the world this time of year.

The center of the narcissus below is the jonquil color.

And below is another juicy jonquil.

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The Weekend in Black and White: don't need a weather man

When I was trying to think of a title for this shot I kept thinking: don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows. For those of you who don't remember the song, or weren't born yet, the line in italics is from Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan.

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SkyWatch Friday: pools of blue

I think blue in the cloud breaks look like lakes and pools and rivers too.

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ABC Wednesday: I is for Iris

I probably won't have any iris in bloom until May. I took these shot in May of last year.

I have a lot of different varieties of iris but I particularly like these dutch iris. They are somewhat irregular and show signs of being past their prime but I cannot deny that so am I.

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The Weekend in Black and White: through the front stairs railing

If any of my neighbors saw me lying down on my front door stairs trying to take this photo at an angle where the flower was seen through the wrought iron, I'm sure they thought I'd finally taken leave of the little bit of sense I have left.

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Skywatch Friday: Afternoon Light

I don't have anything particularly special this week but I like the afternoon light on the tree.

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ABC Wednesday: H is for hydrangea

H is for hydrangea and below is a shot of one of my hydrangea blossoms in last summer's heat.

This time of year my hydrangea bushes only have a few little green leaves.

However, they are beginning to awaken from their wintry state.

The hydrangea in the second shot is a baby I separated from the hydrangea in the third shot.

Above is a shot of the baby I took last summer. As you can see baby Hydrangea grew up to be an adult. Below is a shot of its parent from last summer.

The parent hydrangea keeps shooting out babies that block the entrance into my garden. I wish I was still strong enough to dig them up but it takes strength to separate clingy babies from parents.

I like the way the colors change and are varied through the growing season.

It will be about 3 or 4 months before the hydrangea blossoms are in full bloom but they get green in a hurry. Below is a shot from early May of last year and the hydrangea is the green bush on the right.

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The Weekend in Black and White: Lake Johnson Center

I thought the Lake Johnson Center might be an interesting subject for black and white because of the tin roof.

I had trouble deciding between the first two shots for my black and white entry this week.

Then I thought I would go ahead and show you what the whole building looks like.

But it's hard to show the whole building without showing both sides.

So there you have it, or at least the main exterior. Click for the home of the weekend in black and white.

SkyWatch Friday: Colorful sky

I'm not sure why but the Japanese Magnolia (Tulip Tree) always blooms long before the large magnolia with white blossoms.

Some years the early blooms get zapped by cold weather but so far so good this year.

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ABC Wednesday: G is for geese gulls goons

A gaggle of geese and gulls are harassed by wee ghastly goons.

A gray goose (right hand side below) rises to its full height and becomes garrulous with its great groans and gesticulates at wee goon.

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Disclaimer - I'm writing from the perspective of the animals being chased which is silly, of course, but from my perspective I'm sure the children are sweet little darlings. To tell you the truth, my biggest concern is the children will hurt themselves running with sticks. I have complete confidence in the geese and gulls ability to fend for themselves.