Water Droplets

A week or so ago, I posted a black and white image of a cluster of our jonquils growing in our front yard. Here is an open blossom, just after a Spring rain! :) This image was taken in March, 2012. Explored on April 8th, 2012.

This is from my archives, a picture I took last spring. This flower was growing where water pools, and the day after I took this picture, I found it face-down in the water, so I picked it and brought it inside for a studio shot, which is below! It's also the 21st Flower of Spring & Summer!

[best appreciated at full size against black] A couple of days ago I posted a picture of a leaf-droplet animal...on that day I took lots of other pictures. I made two different collages to show the many lovely droplet-covered leaves, and here's the first one! I hope you like it! :D This image was taken in April, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] At the beginning of April I posted a picture of a leaf-droplet animal...on that day I took lots of other pictures. I made two different collages to show the many lovely droplet-covered leaves, and here's the the second collage! I hope you like it! :D This image was taken in April, 2012.

I found this darling Wild Blue Flax blossom peeking out from a tuft of grass out in our front lawn area and I was so delighted because I didn't realize they grew this early in the season. I have seen them from June to August, but apparently they begin blooming in April! These delicate beauties are one of my favorites, growing on their long, slender stems. Wild Blue Flax is also known as Prairie Flax, Western Blue Flax, or just Blue Flax for short, is found west of the Mississippi. Its proper name, Linum Lewisii , comes from Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Expedition! Blue Flax grows about 2 feet tall in dry meadows and ridge tops, from sea level to 3000 feet. These small flowers measure about 1/2" in diameter when open, and are pale blue or lavender in color, though apparently they can be white as well. These delicately striped flowers last just one day! If you would like to know more about Wild Blue Flax, Wiki has a great page here: Wiki: Wild Blue Flax (Linum lewisii)

Yesterday I showed a picture of a Boxelder Bug larva crawling on the wall in our bathroom. Today I'd like to share a picture of a juvenile that I found crawling on my arm one day. It was so docile that I decided to coax it onto my finger for a picture! Isn't it cute?! :D

This is another picture I took of the incredible drople-covered grass I found when climbing up to our ridge on a rainy day. I've been working on a big graphic design project and not able to visit all of you, which has been very frustrating to me. I'm hoping to get some time in the next few days to finally come by and see what you've all been doing! *big hugs to all!* Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two (when I'm not buried in work) and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) Explored on December 19, 2012. Highest position #343.

I know it's fairly easy to make a water droplet refraction shot, but when you find something like this in nature, it's pretty special!! There's a clump of reedy grass on our hillside which repels water so well that perfect droplets are formed all over! I was walking past this grass a few weeks ago when something glimmering caught my eye. I backed up, looked down and saw this grass covered with shining droplets! "OH WOW!!!!" I said, "LOOK AT THAT!!!" When I looked at the pictures on my computer, I was delighted to see that this one shows the grass in the refracted droplets! So cool!! By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

Yesterday I was making my way up our hill for a mushroom hunt between rains when I saw something bright sparkling up at me. I walked past because I wanted to get to the top of the hill, but then I stopped. Anything that shiny must be special, so I backed down the hill a few feet to take a closer look. I found myself staring in amazement at a tufted bunch of grass, completely covered with perfectly round beads of water! I've never seen anything quite like this before! After a crazy day of travel, I'm in San Francisco for a week visiting my dad! I don't know if I'll have much time to put up pictures or comment. I took my Canon SX30 with me, so I'll be able to take pictures, but I'm going to miss my Mark II! Thanks to all of you for your comments, favorites and patience!!

There are some bushes in our neighborhood covered with bright red-orange autumn leaves. I kept seeing them as we drove by without a camera. Yesterday I told Steve that we must go today since the leaves will probably be all gone by tomorrow, and I was right! We had to drive around for a while because the bushes had only a few leaves left. However, I did find a few, and that's all I needed! It was drizzling when I got these pictures and right after it began to rain, but I got my shots! By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

I found these droplet-covered sporophytes a few months ago when wandering around our lower forest.

I awoke to the sound of rain pattering softly on the windows and tapping on the roof, almost as if it were saying, "Wake up, Janet! You have a picture to take!!" I thought I'd be taking my first indoor picture of my 365 because I thought it was raining outside, but when I looked out the kitchen window, I could see that it was now just a faint drizzle. I grabbed my camera and bounced out the door, my destination only about 100 feet away. I saw a boulder yesterday that was brimming with pretty moss and a pretty little mushroom that waved hello as I passed by. And though my little friend posed nicely for me, my attention was taken by tiny blades of grass nearby that bristled with perfect crystal balls of water! Peter Ferdinand Drucker (November 19, 1909 – November 11, 2005) was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation. He was also a leader in the development of management education, and he invented the concept known as management by objectives. Wikipedia: Peter Drucker

The rain was coming down at a steady pace this morning, which meant that I'd be taking my first indoor 365 Project picture! With a skip in my step, I grabbed my camera and went to the kitchen, where my first picture would take place! Lucky's Spa & Luxury Retreat is housed in a 10-gallon aquarium topped by a mesh lid. We spray water into the enclosure several times each day to hydrate the moss, add humidity, and give the frogs a shower! We discovered that we can just spray through the mesh instead of taking it off, and that's when I discovered the wonderful droplets that are formed when we do this! (By the way, I'll be taking plenty of frog pictures to share on rainy days, and yes, they are doing GREAT!!) Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was a 20th-century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle (1963), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), and Breakfast of Champions (1973) blend satire, gallows humor, and science fiction. As a citizen he was a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union and a critical leftist intellectual. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association. Wikipedia: Kurt Vonnegut

This is an alternate image for my 365 project. I had a hard time deciding which to choose, so I've included this one for you to see as well! :) I would be interested to know which of the two pictures you prefer!

In my attempts to capture a picture of a snowflake, I saw that water droplets had frozen on the hood of my blue Ford Focus. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures because I thought this might look interesting and pretty!

This is an alternate to my 365 pick. It symbolizes a frozen tear for the loss of Vivian Brown, who was the beloved twin of Marion Brown, San Francisco icons. Lord Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. Wikipedia: Lord Byron

My head is bowed in this tribute to Vivian Brown , who passed away yesterday at age 85. The inseparable identical twin of Marion Brown, these two spent their lives as San Francisco icons, and I saw them many times, walking around downtown, greeting visitors and being the perfect pair of ambassadors to my home town. They were always dressed immaculately, with exuberant, cheery dispositions and full of bubbly charm. Vivian will be sorely missed but never forgotten. I went out this morning to find a pair of twins, or just a single perfect representation for the loss of Vivian Brown. It's the coldest day this year with a temperature of just 27 degrees (it was 24 last night!), and so dry there was very little frost, but I got lucky with these beautiful frozen droplets! About the Brown Twins: Marian (born January 25, 1927) and Vivian Brown (January 25, 1927 – January 9, 2013) are American identical twins and icons of San Francisco, known for the appearance in media with their signature identical bright snappy outfits with hats atop their meticulously coiffed hair. Wikipedia: Marian & Vivian Brown Lord Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. Wikipedia: Lord Byron

This is an alternate to my 365 pick. It shows the offering of a frozen tear by a colony of moss sporophytes, symbolizing the loss of Vivian Brown, who was the beloved twin of Marion Brown, San Francisco icons. François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate, despite strict censorship laws with harsh penalties for those who broke them. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day. Wikipedia: Voltaire