Can’t you almost smell them? Lilac shrubs are very long-lived, I understand, so sometimes there’s a bit of a wait before they will flower, even if conditions are good. I know they can get huge, as I once saw clumps of them in Maine that were the size of small apartment buildings. Here in Seattle the acid soil can be a problem, so a handful of dolomitic lime in the fall and spring has really helped. Finally, the flowers are beginning to look like something this year. They bloom on last year’s growth, so I’ll wait until next year for a bouquet.

You might check out Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday, Color Carnival, Outdoor Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Try a new category or tag, perhaps My Garden or Close Up, just for fun?

Here’s some round food in some squarish bins. Photo fun at the Farmer’s Market yesterday!

This photo qualifies for SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday (those potato skins look awfully pink), Ruby Tuesday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. I sure miss that Color Carnival meme, as this would be a perfect entry. Anyone want to start that up again?

Please follow this blog with the widget on the right if you enjoy your visits here. Thanks so much!

Happy Mother’s Day! Everyone had a mother who gave birth to them, and we thank you. In honor of this day, I am pleased to post a photo taken by my daughter, who is the reason I am a mother, on her recent trip to Northern California. The vineyards were filled with not just orange, but red poppies also!

Please visit Scenic Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Ruby Tuesday 2,  Skywatch Friday and Outdoor Wednesday, lovely entries all, for more great photos. If you’ve arrived via a link, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the entire collection here. Thanks for visiting!

Air travel seems very magical to me. As much as I understand how the air thins out over the curved top of the wing and creates lift, or think I understand it, the fact of a huge metal structure flying through the air is something to wonder at, no matter how many times I have flown. And the opportunity to see our earth from above the clouds is one of my favorite experiences. This photo was taken somewhere over the midwest, in late March. I bet it’s greening up now!

Skywatch Friday has many other sky photos from around the planet. Visit Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, and Scenic Sunday if you have a minute or two. Be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the latest post here if you have arrived via a link. Thanks for visiting!

I love anemones. They are low to the ground and have no scent to speak of, but their brilliant contrast with those black centers just float my boat. I think I like them especially because I remember them in a still-life painting, by Redon (in google images, type in “redon artist anemones”) and was entranced. Somehow the fact that these flowers existed a long, long time ago adds to their allure.

You might want to check out Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Today’s Flowers, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Macro Monday, and Outdoor Wednesday, just for fun. If you’ve arrived via a link, clicking on the curly letters above of Sara’s Fave Photos Blog will bring you the latest and complete photoblog experience here. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon.

Here in Seattle we’ve had just fabulous weather the last few days. I wasn’t able to get to the tulip fields, but I did get a few wonderful photos in my garden yesterday. That lovely late afternoon light! They call it the Golden Hour for good reason. I hear it’s also beautiful at dawn, but not being an early riser naturally, I wouldn’t know about that. Late in the day for me! These bleeding hearts or dicentra are very happy in our acid soil up here, as are the sweet forget-me-nots you can see on the left. Behind the bleeding hearts is an old-fashioned red azalea bush, all just coming into bloom. I love springtime, and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

You might want to visit Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Today’s Flowers, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2, for some great photos with a theme.

Author Appearance Alert! I will be meeting fans and signing books at the gorgeous shop Martha E. Harris Flowers & Gifts in Madison Park in Seattle on Friday, April 27, 1-4pm. And we’ll have jewelry made from the book to check out! Please come and say hello.

We went to an event at Pike Place Market yesterday on my birthday, and forget all about the artisanal food and wine going on—there was a scenic sunset moment that got all my attention. With a seagull!

Other places for interesting photos around the blogosphere are Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera),  Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday, A Piece of Heaven, Skywatch Friday, and Weekend Reflections. Please follow this blog on the new widget to the right if you enjoy the photos. Thanks for visiting!

This spring scene of a tree near a pond was taken on my recent trip to Connecticut. Don’t you just love the pattern of shadows? The reflection of the spring flowers on the water surface isn’t too shabby, either. What a lovely day that was. I am so glad I always have my camera with me! Speaking of which, don’t forget to download the “7 Secrets to Better Flower Photos” at the right. You don’t need more than a pocket camera to take really nice pictures, is how I feel about it.

You might enjoy Mellow Yellow Monday, Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, A Piece of Heaven, Skywatch Friday  Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Reflections, and Wordless Wednesday. Please follow this blog on the new widget to the right if you enjoy the photos. Thanks for visiting!

My daughter is staying with us for a bit, and here is a photo of the pink calla lilies I got her for Valentine’s Day. I knew when I bought them that I would want to photograph them. What heavenly, sensuous curves and colors these flowers have. Wish I could grow them, but so far, no luck.

You might want to visit Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and Pink Saturday. And using the search field in the upper right could be fun, too.  “Bouquets,” perhaps?

Daffodils have such great buds. I love the way they look like tapered fingertips with green fingernails. Maybe? Anyway, their strong reach towards the weak late winter sunshine is so much appreciated. They are promising springtime!

Lovely places to visit include Scenic Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and  SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera). Thank you for visiting!

Browsing through the archives for a water photo for Watery Wednesday, I found this photo of the pond at Highline Botanical Garden (north of SeaTac Airport) taken exactly two years ago. We had sun like this today but it was super cold out, with actual snow decorating the lawn this morning. I was so happy that I had this fresh-looking scene to share with you today.

You might also enjoy Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, A Piece of Heaven, Weekend Reflections,  Shadow Shot Sunday 2, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Skywatch Friday.

I invite you to become a follower of this blog with the new Linky Followers widget to the right, now that Google Friend Connect has been discontinued for non-Blogger sites. On with the new!

Some plants are just photogenic, and primroses are a prime example. Maybe it’s the shiny leaves, maybe it’s the simplicity of the petal forms, but if the light is good and the flowers are pretty, you are going to get a good photo of these cuties. I just want to take home the entire nursery-full.

Google Friend Connect has been discontinued for all non-Blogger sites. I am trying a new Linky Tools followers widget to the right. I hope you will use it to follow this blog, and I apologize for your trouble of doing it twice for all those who have previously followed.

Be sure to visit Today’s Flowers, where I have the honor of being Guest Host on Sunday. Other lovely places around blogland are Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and Ruby Tuesday 2. Thank you for visiting!