22 March 2011

Super Moon

Were you able to see the Super Moon in your area?  The clouds cooperated and cleared up so I could photograph it.  This photo has been cropped and sharpened but other than that, it's straight out of the camera.  I used my 75-300mm lens on a tripod {aperture 8.0, shutter speed 1/500 and ISO 800} and just about froze out on the porch.  Brrr!!  But it was worth it.

18 March 2011

Shades of Blue

Blue hydrangeas are in the top five of my favourite flowers. I have two small hydrangeas that I moved last Fall, hoping that they would survive the Winter. They did! Today I noticed small buds on both of the plants.

Warmer than normal temperatures this week have melted all the snow.  It's nice to see the grass again!  I'm watching daily for signs of Spring in my garden.

Maybe this year my hydrangeas will be big enough and I can have huge bouquets of them.  I'd like to recreate these photos using real hydrangeas instead of silk ones.

This weekend we not only welcome Spring, but the moon is going to be closer to earth and bigger than normal. I'm hoping the clouds will stay away so I can see it.

Happy Spring!

11 March 2011

Pussy Willows

Another sign of spring ... pussy willows!  Tucked into a container with a bit of water, they'll soon start to grow roots.  They can then be planted in a pot with earth and later transferred to the garden.

My garden isn't large enough to accommodate them ... they'll grow as tall as 20 feet!  Instead I enjoy them indoors as long as I can.  You can also put them in a dry container and let them dry out on their own.  They'll keep for several months this way.

Once the soft furry catkins begin to drop off, leaves will begin to develop.  Hopefully by that time, there will be signs of spring outside.

9 March 2011

Dreaming of Spring

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. ~ Emma Goldman

It's no surprise that I love flowers.  If I could afford them, I'd have fresh flowers in every room of my home all year long.  During the summer, it's easy.  I pick whatever's growing and even if it's just a single rose or a stem of lily of the valley, it has the power to completely transform a room - at least in my eyes.

It's snowing once again as I'm writing this but looking at my tulips, I can imagine that spring is just around the corner, patiently waiting to make her arrival.

I still prefer simple compositions of flowers.  I like photographing them in vintage pitchers and mason jars, or paired with vintage books and tea cups.

Maybe it's the contrast of old and timeworn with fresh and new that I like.  These are two of my favourite vintage books.  I adore their blue cloth covers and they're worn just enough to make them interesting but are still in very usable condition.

Who doesn't love blue Mason jars?  They're so versatile and I love the combination of the soft pink tulips against the aqua blue glass.

A little bit of spring from me to you.

4 March 2011

Scones and Jam

Simple pleasures ... freshly baked scones with homemade strawberry jam.   

2 March 2011

Winter garden

My garden in winter.  A soft fluffy snow fell the night before, blanketing everything once again in a layer of white.

The snow clings to the branches like bunches of cotton, so soft that you're tempted to reach out to pick them.

In less than an hour, the sun had melted the snow from the branches ... but for a short time, my garden looked magical in the early morning light.