Janet Brien's photos

...There are many butts like it, but this one is mine. :D A few years ago I found a jumping spider on our front porch, and had a lot of fun taking pictures from all angles. I liked these rear angles because you can clearly see the spinnerets.

I grew a couple of different kinds of Cosmos in my raised bed garden a few years ago, and got an interesting picture of an opening flower which I liked. Something different, and with lots of fun bokeh too. :)

Walking through our upper forest one day a few years ago, I noticed a tiny mushroom looking out over the valley below. I crept up close to take this picture and then the two of us shared the moment to admire our beautiful world. Being careful not to disturb my little friend, I tiptoed away with a content smile on my face.

Once I got over my fear of spiders, I began to appreciate them and even to think they are adorable and totally cute. Finding this itty bitty baby crab spider trying to be invisible on a stem of dried grass brought out a chorus of coos from me. I was especially happy because the sun was at just the right angle to make its translucent body glow. Finally, I added a texture to the background to give it a bit more interest.

The past couple of days I've been sharing a few pictures from a photo walk that Steve and I went on a couple of years down at the Rogue River. We'd started the day up in high altitude and quickly found out it was too windy and cold. But down here near home we found a wonderful place for some neat captures. These bugs are nearly invisible unless you are looking very carefully for them! Explored on 10/5/16. Highest placement, page 4.

This wildflower looks like something that would be perfect in a wedding bouquet, don't you agree?! I love the shimmery petals and the frilly center. This was found in a large group of flowers along the Rogue River back in 2015.

One day Steve and I went on a photo hike that turned out to be way too cold, but on the way back home, we decided to stop along the Rogue River. It turned out to be a great place for pictures and I found many wonderful subjects including these unusual flowers. I think they look like people with fancy hair!

A few years ago, I had a raised bed garden and grew many flowers from seeds. One type I grew were Bachelor Buttons, and there was a mixture of blue and pink flower seeds. They sprouted and grew, and finally, buds began to appear! Blue ones opened up and I took lots of pictures. At about the same time, I discovered that some ground squirrels had dug their way into the garden, and I began a war that I would ultimately lose. The first casualty was this flower. That morning I saw that a pink Bachelor Button had opened up and I was so excited! Before I had a chance to go into the house and come back out with my camera, a ground squirrel found the flowers. When I arrived, the pink flower was gone. I was so upset--I had obviously disturbed the squirrel when I came back because at the base of the plant was the blossom. I brought the flower into the house and floated it in a bowl of water for this picture. My fight with the squirrels became an ugly battle that raged for months. At the end of summer I gave up and decided that I would no longer try to keep a garden because it wasn't worth feeling so angry every single day. Especially because I adore those squirrels and it's terrible to feel such rage because they keep attacking my flowers and tomatoes. I would love to have another garden, but the next time I'll have impenatrable fencing where there aren't ground squirrels.

Have you ever had the chance to see this flower up close before? These unusual blossoms are surrounded by feathery, finely divided leaves which is where they get their name. I think they are so alien-like and interesting, and when I was successful at growing them from seeds, I was totally delighted!

(+1 in a note) I got a mixture of California Poppy seeds that I planted in my raised bed garden back in 2013. One day I visited my flowers and found this stunning blossom...what a beauty! I have since gotten seeds of many other colors and hopefully I will see some of them too one day...cross your fingers! :)

Poppies are always enchanting, and on this day, the wind had picked up and made the poppy petals flutter, grabbing my attention and calling me over to take an appreciative look. There are some poppies with unusually beautiful coloring, and this is one of them. Notice that the lower petals are a dark ruby, while the upper petals are pink. All the petals are edged in white to make them all extra lovely! Explored on September 29, 2016. Highest placement, page 4.

There's nothing like a False Sunflower to bring good cheer to a spring day. They are easy to grow and flower profusely! I would love to have these in the next garden I grow. Thanks to Pam for the seeds! :)

Summer has ended and the mornings are starting to get chilly. It won't be too long before we begin to get frost again, and I can't wait! This is what a pine needle looks like when it has frost on it! I captured this unusual frost formation back in 2013 when I was working on my 356 Project! :)

Here is something different! This is called Orange Jelly Fungus, and it grows on moist logs and decaying matter. They often look a bit like little jelly candy, and I thought this one looks like a goldfish's tail!

I love the abstractness of a bud that's just beginning to open. It's hard to recognize what it is at first. They look to me like a hungry monster with a mouth full of teeth! Another thing that surprised me was how cool opening buds look as a close-up. I never realized how interesting the details would be! This is another flower from my friend's garden that I captured a few years ago.

My friend Elaine has a fantastic garden at her home in Ashland, and I spent a day back in 2013 taking pictures. Instead of getting this whole spike of flowers in the picture, I thought it would be nice to focus on just a few of the blossoms to show them off. :)

What a gorgeous pink these flowers are. When I saw them at my friend's garden, I thought they seemed familiar but I'd never seen them before. When I bent down to give them a sniff, it hit me...CARNATION FAMILY! Of course! Since then, I've learned that the Carnation family (also known as dianthus) is quite large, with species of many sizes and shapes as well.

Another picture from my friend's garden, this is a peony that was glowing in the afternoon light. These are such big flowers, and the first time I'd seen them up close. Very impressive!