Photos, videos and docs of Janet Brien, with the keywords: "glowing"

Glowing Ferns at Honeyman State Park! (+6 insets)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 18:18:50 +0000

A Park Featuring Sand Dunes!
How would you like to stay at a campground sitting right next to sand dunes? Along part of the Oregon coast lies a 40-mile stretch called the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, which are especially popular for folks who enjoy ATVs, dune-buggies and of all things, sand skiing! These dunes are also quite beautiful to look at, but I wouldn't recommend walking over them for any distance. The loose, deep and slippery sand is very arduous for cross and not recommended except for short stretches. (By the way, these dunes are only open to vehicles in certain areas.)

Honeyman State Park has plenty of hiking and biking trails that do not go into the sand though, and I fell in love with this wonderful park and its unique habitat. The forest which hugged the edge of the sand was healthy and full of birds and other animals to enjoy, and of course I found lots of flowers and mushrooms to photograph as well!

Today's Picture
One of the trails I love takes me past a small pond and out to a much larger and picturesque lake. Every morning I was greeted by sun or diffused light streaming down through the trees, and in some of the trees, ferns grew. With beds of moss to cling to, the glowing greens and beautiful light was a sight that took my breath away every day. Up in one tree I saw this pair of vibrant fronds which showed the beautiful spores dotting each blade. Magnificent!

Art News: New Doodles!
I'm posting a pair of doodles I drew the other day and of course I have many more to share, which I'll do whenever I add another post! I don't draw every day but still, my linework improves quickly, which I'm very delighted by. It will be fun to see where my creativity leads me.

Today's Insets
One day Steve and I got to watch a family enjoying the sand dunes in their ATVs and it was such fun to get pictures! You'll see several pictures showing them buzzing around and climbing the hills of sand. One also shows the ocean in the distance.

You will also see a picture of huckleberry flowers and a row of shelf fungus I found on the bark of a tree.

Thank You For Stopping By!
Thank you so much for your visits and support! Please forgive my lack of visits, I hope to get back to stopping by as soon as I am able. :) Have a safe and happy weekend! :)

Explored on 1/7/22; highest placement #5.

Pictures for Pam, Day 184: Happy Mother's Day!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 13 May 2019 01:03:16 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+4 insets!) (Please view large for best impact!)

Since we got back from our trip, the floral extravaganza continues to explode here as it does every year. One of the plants that grows in massive carpets all over is Hairy Vetch, which is a member of the pea or legume family. This non-native plant is found all over the US because it is a favored companion crop in agriculture and livestock love to eat this healthy forage. It features lovely sprigs of lavender and purple blossoms that catch the light and glow like beacons.

In the morning as the sun casts its beams across our meadow and road, thousands of Vetch flowers light up and glow warmly. Its wonderful translucent leaves glow as well, and looking closely, the tendrils can be seen grasping onto anything within reach.

I have taken many pictures of these pretty flowers so I did my best to resist. This morning I finally caved to the irresistible beauty of this yearly show. And so I went inside and reemerged with my camera, relieved to finally give in to the calls from the flowers.

I thought it would be a nice choice to share such a lovely sight for Mother's Day, and I'll be posting some of my archive pictures too, and a couple of other flower pictures to celebrate all of you mothers out there! Perhaps I fit in the mix too, even though I've never been a biological mom…I am certainly a mother to all of my companions through the years and nurture them with all the love any doting mother has! :)

Pam, you didn't have anything for "Mother's Day" so I found a picture of a pair of your kids in "Paw Prints on the Heart". You are such a good mama, and this pair of rainbow pups sure did love you! :) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY PAM!!! *BIG HUGS*

Explored on 5/13/19; highest placement #6.

Pictures for Pam, Day 178: California Poppy, A Feast for the Eyes! (+2 insets!)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 06 May 2019 21:50:52 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+2 insets!)

Steve and I are heading out in a few minutes and I have just enough time to get my pictures posted. Excuse my extremely short write-up, I will be leaving in just a few minutes! *SQUEEEEE*!!! :)

We are so excited! Our campground is only about 45 minutes away but it's on a lake that we know and love. It will be such fun to stay there for three days instead of just driving home like usual. We'll be bringing our bikes this time--there's a trail around the lake!! There is hiking to be had as well so we've packed our hiking boots, yay! We can hardly wait to get out of here…the check-in time is 4pm so we've had plenty of time to get our last-minute things packed and ready to go. What's really nice too is that we're so much more relaxed this time around because we've done this once already. :)

Today I'm posting several macros of especially eye-catching California Poppies in orange and cream and an unusual seed pod that attracts visitors with it's incredibly colorful seed pods! I hope you like them!

Pam, I loved your comments about my rusty pictures, I'm so glad you enjoyed them and also, that you love rusty subjects too. :) Thanks for letting me know what your lizard was sitting on! I hope that your day goes well my dear! You'll be in my thoughts as we head out for another adventure! :) *BIG HUGS*

Explored on 5/7/19, highest placement, #3.

Pictures for Pam, Day 78: Magnificent Fire

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 00:32:48 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+3 insets!)

Another cold and drizzly day, I enjoyed looking at the mist crawl around the valley on my walk this morning. I did a lot of thinking about the pictures I took down in San Anselmo and the fun of processing and sharing them here on ipernity.

The San Anselmo photo shoot has a seemingly endless variety of subjects which adds so much interest. Also, I had a lot of luck with usable images so I'll be able to post images for quite a while. For me, this project has been such a delight. I know that our property is overflowing with photo opportunities but change is a nice thing. I'm also really happy that I've been able to process so many of them. I worried that I would be pulled away from the project without getting to finish at least a handful. But as it turns out, I've processed over 50 pictures! I still have dozens of subjects I want to finish up but I'm enjoying every moment I get to work through each picture.

When I got inside today I was very cold. In fact, I was so chilly that I decided to climb into my bed and bundle up under my fluffy blankets while I visited my contacts on ipernity. By the time I got through all of my comments I was so cozy and warm that I wanted to take a nap! Lunchtime saved me from snoozing and Steve cooked up amazing sausages to go with our fried eggs. I also had half an avocado which I heat up, mash into guacamole and add garlic salt. It's fabulous! Steve is totally horrified that I warm it up…lol…I know it sounds odd but it's YUMMY! :)

Since I have been so cold today, I'm sharing pictures of one of the magnificent nightly log fires that my brother Brian made to heat up their beautiful living room. One evening I was admiring how pretty the fire was and it occurred to me that it would make a lovely picture. I ran and got my camera and clicked away! I am including two more fire images as insets along with a candid picture of Brian that I took while he was watching a YouTube video one afternoon. It turned out so well that I just had to show everyone how handsome my little brother is! :)

Pam, I did a search on your photo stream and discovered that you have a fireplace in your home! We do not. When we moved in there was a free-standing log-fueled heater but we hated it. There is a place for a proper fireplace but we never got it going because we have a bird and smoke is an issue we don't want to chance. Do you use yours? They can be the most wonderful source of heat, and so cozy too. When I was looking in your pictures, I found this wonderful collage of your Fire Dragon Dance. It's just terrific!! Yearly burns may be necessary jobs but they are so pretty too. Here's hoping that you are having a comfortable, warm and cozy day my dear! :)

Explored on 1/26/19, highest placement, #2.

Pictures for Pam, Day 12: Teasel Leaf Flag

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 22:31:55 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

My daily walk is more than just exercise to me. By starting the morning with an invigorating march, I energize my spirit for the day and jump-start my body by getting my lymph and blood flowing. These walks are therapeutic and allow me the time to reflect on anything on my mind. They are also a great way to listen to audio books. To top it off, exercise is fun and feels wonderful! Essentially, it's a vital and important start to every day!

Stepping out into a frigid 28 degrees morning, frost twinkled at me as I made my first lap down to the gate. I could see that the frosty filigree was back on the metal tubes that form our gate and I leaned in close to appreciate the cool formations scribed by the frozen moisture. I would return with my camera on my next trip down. Time to see if I could capture that lovely frost for Pam to enjoy!

However, at the very top of the hill I spied the tall stand of teasel and glanced at them as I walked by. I'd been keeping an eye on one in particular because it kept yelling for attention. At the base of the stalk was a particularly large leaf that put on a show, although it was nothing special at first, sitting in the shadow of the hillside. But once the sun crept over the top, rays of light would hit that leaf and turn it into a glowing golden flag, complete with marvelous texture and shape.

I struggled. On the one hand, the artistic side of me said, "Take the picture, it's super cool and amazing!" But the other side of me said, "If I present this image, most people won't have any idea what it is and will not like it!" Every day I saw this leaf and the battle raged on. Finally I decided that this unique and beautiful sight should be immortalized and if people didn't understand it, well, that's just the way it would be.

I did take pictures of the frost! But the frost laughed at me and said, "You silly girl. Trying to take a picture of our tiny, delicate lacing without a proper flash or tripod will be an exercise in FAILURE!" LOL, I got a couple of pictures that were blasé passable, but not at all what I had hoped for. I chucked all of the dozens of images. But of the dozen pictures I took of the teasel leaf, four stood out, and here you see the winner.

Pam, I hope that you enjoy this natural glowing flag! Like you, it is incredibly special, unique and glows with warmth. I hope that your day is a bright one my dear! *big hugs*

Explored on 11/21/2018, highest placement, #17.

Pictures for Pam, Day 10: Glowing Poison Oak Leaves

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 00:24:39 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

I didn't plan on taking any more pictures as I made my way back down the Upper Table Rock trail the other day. I'd already overdone it and the last thing I needed to do was burn out my newly rekindled passion for photography. Of course if I saw something that really got my attention, an exception was in order (The red honeysuckle berries I posted were a good example!).

Have you ever noticed that once you begin to notice photographic subjects, it's really hard to turn this sense off? As I walked along the meandering dirt trail, subjects flashed by trying to get my attention. Countless glowing leaves, interesting bark, trees, branches, plants, moss… This can be a bit maddening and it's exhausting to process the flow of information, continuing to say, "No, I have enough pictures. I can appreciate this for myself but no more photos."

Another flash got my attention and the unfamiliar shape turned my head and stopped me in my tracks. I peered closer…what was I seeing? Why, it looked like a tiny Japanese lantern! Approaching to get a better look, I could see warm rays of light illuminating a pair of poison oak leaves which had dried up facing one another, creating the lovely and unique effect. Ok, now THIS was something worth taking a picture of. In the many years that I've been exploring the woods on our property and here as well, I've never seen anything like this before. I made sure to include the important clue which helped me to identify what I was looking at: a remaining poison oak berry which makes these leaves instantly recognizable.

Pam, I hope that you have had a very nice Sunday! It was very cold but beautiful this morning and the sunshine warmed the day considerably as the hours passed by. I took pictures for the Macro Monday 2.0 challenge and had a really nice time figuring out which would be best to post! Hope you're doing well my dear!

Pictures for Pam, Day 7: Glowing Leaf

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 00:01:36 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam, we would love to have you!
You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley
-------------------------

Yesterday's hike to the top of the Upper Table Rock was great fun, partly because I took my husband's Canon 5D Mark III with me! I told myself to be reasonable with the pictures, but you know how it is…"OHHHH LOOK AT THAT!!!" A moment later, "OOOOOOOOH!!! HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!" And so I made my way up to the top, clicking away and immersing myself in the bliss of photography and appreciating the world around me through the lens of my camera. Do you feel as I do? That your camera is like an extension of yourself?

I am so very thankful that I enacted my idea to take pictures for Pam to enjoy. After such a very long time, my unquenchable passion for photography has finally been reawakened. What a priceless gift. I truly did not know if I would come back to life again…I'd tried over and over again to reignite my inner flame, but it always sputtered out.

Now we're cookin' with GAS!! :D

By the time I got up to the top of the trail, I'd captured over 100 pictures, slightly embarrassed at my lack of control, but pleased that I was having such fun. I walked out from the shady oak forest and onto the brightly lit mesa, adjusting to the full sunlight with a big smile on my face. It's so cool up here! Covered with volcanic rocks everywhere, a prairie covers the top of this flat plain and makes a home to a myriad critters including a rare shrimp that completes its lifecycle every spring.

A few moments later I was at the edge which looks out majestically over the lovely Rogue Valley. What a sight to see! I was perplexed at the haze in the air because I thought the forest fires in southern Oregon were pretty much out. Obviously I was wrong, I sighed. Snickering to myself, I peered through my camera's lens knowing what I would see. Hardly anything of course! That's because my 100mm macro lens is NOT wide-angle, and if I actually hoped to get an image of this view, it wouldn't be with this camera. Awww, poor I00mm…I do use it for everything but there's just no pretending with a huge view like this. So I pulled out my Samsung smartphone and took some pictures, including a corny selfie for my husband, which I sent to him as I always do when I hike up the Table Rocks.

I wandered back along the mesa, taking some time to crawl around looking for some sporophytes to photograph or other nifty macro subjects. Drat--I'd neglected to bring my knee pads. Oh well! I did prepare myself with the likelihood that any macro shots would probably be blurry. Hand-held macros are something I'm pretty good at but I hadn't practiced. This meant almost certain failure, as macro photography is totally unforgiving. It takes patience and the willingness to make sets of various apertures and distances to ensure at least one good picture of a given subject will be a keeper. I wasn't in the mood. So I took a few pictures but didn't expect anything useable. I confirmed later that I got close with a few images but none of them were worthy of seeing the light of day. Deee-leeet!

My hike down the trail yielded another few dozen pictures to be excited about. What a great day! How wonderful to be back in the game again! I looked forward to getting home to see how many turned out.

Looking through my pictures on my computer, I was extremely pleased to find that the majority of my images were "keepers." It really does blow me away how much our photography skills mimic abilities such as driving a car…even though you may not have done it for a while, the skills come right back and merely need a brush-up to get back to where you left off! GROOVY!!! :D

Working through the pile of images, I cropped each "keeper" into a pleasing composition in Canon's Camera Raw, chucking duds or unfavorable duplicates and after a while I looked up at the clock and realized I wasn't going to have time to create the collage I'd planned on. The Samsung snapshot came to mind which I quickly copied over and made it my picture for yesterday. The rest of the images I kept could be doled out over the coming days and weeks if I chose. It was a better plan.

Today I sat down and opened up Adobe Bridge. I already knew the picture I would post for Pam to see! I remember walking up the sun-dappled trail and seeing a brilliant flash of yellow catch my eye. Coming closer with my camera, I found this lovely leaf glowing on its branch, with an added bonus of lovely spiderwebs to give it extra character. Talk about a winner of a leaf!! Hooray!

Pam, I hope that you enjoy this beautiful treasure from the Upper Table Rock trail…it is as rich and warm as you are my dear! Feel better and take the glow of this beautiful leaf into your heart! :)

Explored on 11/14/18, highest placement, #18.

Pictures for Pam, Day 4: Glowing Teasel

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 19:55:57 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam, we would love to have you!
You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley
-------------------------

Yesterday began with a rough start but this morning I was happy and looking forward to my day. Just above freezing and without the odd, icy wind, I didn't bother with a second sweater and was perfectly comfortable as I stepped out into the crisp gleaming sunlight. Pausing to stretch my calves and thighs, I noticed that my neat line of little white rocks had been pushed around—perhaps by an investigative nose or beak of some sort? I had my suspicions. The most likely was mulled over in my mind while I put the displaced pebbles back on the slab with the others.

Striding down our gravel road, I was soon met by the suspected critter's calling card on the drive, exactly in my path. I wrinkled my nose and stared down at the small but offensive pile. Our rural property is home to a huge variety of wildlife and one of them is a very rude—in my opinion, anyway—fox. This guy—or gal?—is bound and determined to make it known that this territory belongs to HIM and I'd better not forget it! Since I don't seem to be getting the memo, nearly every day I am faced with yet another present along my path.

Mumbling amusedly under my breath, I returned the joust with one of my own. Clearly aiming for a message of "I have no respect for you!" I gave the old heave-ho to the strategically-placed berry-filled dropping with a side-of-the-shoe fling and sent the poo flying into the weeds. Sheesh.

I shook my head and grinned at the reality: I have been arguing over property rights—with a FOX—for nearly 10 years now!! How ridiculous and wonderful! I couldn't help thinking about the most outrageous message left for me just a few days before. My husband walks laps on our driveway too, and just for fun, he picks up colorful rocks and tosses them in a pile next to my rock slabs. I will often change out some of my pebbles with a few he has found on his walks, but I only need 13 stones so his growing pile of many dozen sits mostly unused but appreciated.

The other day I went to put a pebble in place and suddenly goggled at what I saw. The fox had left its dropping DIRECTLY ON TOP of Steve's pile of rocks!!! I spluttered! I gasped! I may have even yelled an expletive or two in disbelieving amazement! Why, that was the most blatant "F_ _ _ YOU!!" that I'd ever seen a wild animal direct at me. Or…I wondered…could it have been left for Steve specifically? After all, that pile of rocks smelled of Steve, not me. The fox merely nosed my pebbles, choosing to leave its usual present on the road for me. And also, Steve only just recently began walking up and down the drive, so perhaps the fox was trying to say, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! BEGONE!" Who knows. I decided that the best thing to do would be to just remove the message and ignore my mad desire to hunt the devil down and throttle it vigorously before letting it go with a warning of my own, "CUT IT OUT YOU DISRESPECTFUL CURR!"

Turning my thoughts to my dear friend Pam, I figured she'd enjoy this tale because she has wildlife tales of her own to share. I was pleased that I already knew the picture I'd be taking for her today so after my walk, I grabbed my camera, walked up the hill beyond our house. I came to a stop at the dried army of teasel which began its formation where I stood and marched in a thick column down to our big meadow. What a formidable sight and wonderful to appreciate from seed to dried stalk, at all times of year and in any weather. Teasel never disappoints and is an outstanding photography subject for beginner and advanced alike.

I had a classic image in mind, showing off several beauties with the sun behind to make them glow. Moving around here and there, I looked for background elements at the right distance to create just the right effect. Not sure of exactly what would look best, I took a couple of dozen images with various apertures and different cropping potentials. In the end, one of the first choices turned out to be my pick and not the close-ups of three I'd expected. My choice shows a hint of the massive number of teasel along with a foreground trio, and a background which shows the colorful autumn colors blended with teasel and oak bokeh. It was a wonderful surprise when I cropped this image down to size and was presented by this delightful view. I was reminded of the joy of capturing an image that I didn't consider as an outcome and was so happy I was lucky enough to get it!

Hoping your day is a nice one, Pam, and know that you are in my thoughts with warm wishes headed your way in a stream of healing and affectionate virtual hugs.

Explored on 11/13/18, highest placement: #36.

Pictures for Pam, Day 2: Caught Leaf

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 18:14:50 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam, we would love to have you!
You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley
-------------------------

I began my day with an unfamiliar lightness of heart, and a grin tugging at the sides of my mouth as I stepped outside into the biting cold of this lovely sunny day. I'd bundled up in my bedraggled but favorite blue sweater, knitted brown scarf and its matching scarf, but decided on a heavier pair of gloves today. It was time for my thicker, soft black suede ones to replace the lighter duty nylon ones I'd been wearing to this point. Looking at the thermometer I cringed..."26.5 degrees?! WOW!" I thought it was interesting that I'd donned my heavier gloves without knowing just how cold it was today. The temperature had been inching downwards in the past week and it was definitely getting quite cold. In fact, I've been needing a warm shower to warm up after my walks, because no matter how much heat I'd generated during my brisk 1.25 hr walk, my extremities could not keep up with the frigid temperatures. That's cold.

I stretched my legs for a few minutes and then headed down the drive, taking a look at my pile of white rocks as I passed by. To keep track of my "laps", I have 13 little white pebbles that I move from one large stone slab to another as I progress. I learned long ago that I am apt to forget the exact number because my mind is distracted by my thoughts or by the story or podcast that I am listening to. With my pebbles, I am free to let my mind wander without needing to wonder about the number of laps I have walked.

Making my way down our uneven, gravel road that leads to a chain-locked metal gate, the road beyond ferries an infrequent stream of vehicles back and forth from the secluded hills beyond to the small but growing towns of Medford, Grants Pass, Ashland and White City. I hate the noise of the cars and trucks, but though there is more traffic now than when we first moved here about 10 years ago, it's still very tolerable and not a constant din by any means.

I noticed that there wasn't much frost today despite the cold, which I thought was interesting, since it's been quite frosty on previous days. My breath filled the air with clouds of dragon's vapor as I trooped down to turn-round at the gate and head back up the hill.

Thoughts of Pam filled my mind and I hoped that she was doing ok. I smiled again from ear to ear this time, filled with the effervescent delight of an excited child. My eyes had snapped open once again and as I had hoped, my plan was working--and so quickly too! By picking up my camera again, and taking pictures of images that made me want to share them with my friend, I'd awakened my creative eye again. Suddenly I was thinking about light and shadow, contrast and shapes, interesting sights that invariably showed themselves to me like beacons amidst the drab, dry scenery around me.

Yesterday's photo turned out as I'd hoped and I was tickled that, even though I hadn't taken pictures for quite some time, my abilities were truly like that of riding a bike. How fortunate I am to be able to pick up my camera and take pictures that please me, even after a long break! :)

After a few laps, I approached our gate and I noticed some lines on the metal. Looking very closely, I could see a very fine filigree of frost, so delicate that the mere touch of the sun would melt this beautiful etching. I exclaimed out lout how lovely and unusual this subtle frost was, and thought about trying to get a picture. I could see that the sun was making its way upwards and rays of brilliant light were about to touch the gate. Yes, I would get my camera, but no, I doubted I would get that picture, even if I ran all the way up to the house and back. That special sight would likely be just for my eyes today, but I was so grateful that I noticed, for the memory of that delicate filigree would stay with me.

Grabbing my camera at the end of my lap, I returned to the gate, but I could see halfway down the hill that the sun had indeed lit up the slate-grey pipes and I would not see any frost there when I arrived. No matter--because I believe that things are meant to be, and it was for me to have my camera with me, but frost on the gate was not my subject for the day. I did confirm what I already knew--the perfectly dry gate hid any signs that a fairy's wand had touched the bars in the early hours.

Heading up the hill, camera in hand now, I opened my eyes with the alertness of a hunting cat. I looked for that sparkle of light, a silhouette that caught my eye, the magic of early sunbeams passing through the leaves and casting warm light upon everything it touched. I saw a few leaves that got my attention, but gazing through my camera lens, could see they were not quite right.

Then I saw a leaf suspended on some weeds, and though it was not lit up by the sun, I knew that if I walked around off the road and to the other side, that leaf might very well explode into an image of nature's stained glass. My face beamed as I made my way around, and sunk down to take the picture that you see here. As luck--or meant-to-be--would have it, that leaf was suspended on weeds that were just far away enough from the grass and weeds nearby to give me the most gorgeous bokeh in the background. Lovely separation without any need to remove anything from the background! In fact, this image is about 99% Straight Out of the Camera! How lucky is that?! :)

Pam, I hope that you like your picture today, it was a wonderful find and because of you, I have once again found my light. Loving you muchly and thinking of you so frequently! May this day find you feeling better than the day before my dear!

Explored on 11/10/18, highest placement #54.

349/366: Canna Leafling

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 03:30:08 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

The bed of canna plants I found at the Harry & David garden were exceptionally beautiful and the light was perfect to show of the lovely colors.

344/366: Luminous Canna Leaves

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 04:35:52 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Canna plants are native to the tropics and are popular in gardens for their lush and colorful foliage. I found a bed full of these stunning red and green striped plants at the Harry & David garden and loved the opportunity to photograph them to my heart's content! :) I really loved the way this image turned out for so many reasons...the light, the bokeh, the lines, the colors, the texture, and the abstractness!

341/366: Glorious Striped Canna Leaves

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 04:59:22 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

The Harry & David public garden may be known for its roses, but there are countless other flowers and plants to appreciate there. I found a bed of striped canna plants and lost myself in the beauty of the colorful leaves and the way the light made them glow. I took so many pictures and in the end, I got a series of images that have made me very happy! This is a close-up of the stunning colors shown so vividly with sunlight shining through a leaf.

61/366: The Magic of an Opening Poppy

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 04:00:12 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Growing poppies quickly became a mad love affair to me because they give so much and require so little in return. From happy seedling to freaky looking hairy bud, and then to breathtaking blossom and finally to their alien-like seed pods, these flowers are a feast to the eyes! I discovered the Poppy Game soon after they began blooming in my garden the first year, which is where you try to catch a poppy blossom opening up before the outer casing falls away. It happens fairly rapidly so you must be outside as the sun hits the flowers or you will likely find blossoms opening with the outer husk laying on the ground below.

Sometimes the flowers seem to want to pose for me, and this particular June 1 morning in 2014, I managed to find an opening poppy with its casing AND a lovely poppy bud in the background fading into soft bokeh. :)

60/366: Sugar-Frosted Mushroom

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 05:23:58 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

The year 2013 was a special one because that was when I decided to do my 365 photography project. I'd thought about it a lot before I committed to this challenge because I didn't want to fail. I was successful but I didn't expect to end up with so many pictures I was happy with. In fact, I wasn't able to show lots of the ones I finished, and there were and are still hundreds that need my attention. It was during the year that I became unhappy that I had so many unfinished pictures which really deserved to see the light of day. And now, every day I post a picture for my 366 Archive project, it makes me so happy! Here is a picture I took in January that year, a beautiful mushroom covered in frost in lovely morning light!

38/366: Magical Poppy Scene

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 02:24:53 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

My front garden was where I first tried to grow poppies. I had a 5-year old packet of red poppies and thought, "These will NEVER sprout, but certainly not if I don't plant them!" So I walked outside and went to my small flower bed and promptly flung them all over the bed without care! I hoped that maybe a few would sprout.

I was not prepared for what happened in the coming months. Instead of just a few, I think there must have been over 100 that sprouted and grew into a veritable WALL of red poppies!! Every morning I would come out and my jaw would drop at the incredible sight before me as new poppies opened! It was incredible. I fell madly in love with these flowers and watered them every day through our hot and unforgiving summer, and all the way until the first frost of winter killed the last of them. What a show! What a gift of beauty that continued month after month.

If that weren't enough, the next spring, without any input by me, these flowers had reseeded themselves and put on ANOTHER show!! I added a mixture of poppies that year and soon the red ones were joined by a rainbow of lovely blossoms of different types of poppies. Even without care, they put on another show last year. Not a speck of water from me and still, these prolific flowers greeted me with another glorious springtime show! They didn't last as long, but still, I was happy to see them blooming until June!

This picture is from May 2014, the year I had my raised bed garden, and here in my front garden I had irises and hyacinths and different kinds of allium (onion ), and others too. Seeing the poppies as the sun peeked over the hillside was a sight I relished, and I would be there with my camera to see the first rays of warm light shine through the crepe-like petals of these flowers I so adore.

30/366: Glowing Manzanita Leaf

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:50:02 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

On the afternoon of October 1, 2016, a fire broke out on our property. It raced across one of our meadows, completely destroyed our shop, and roared up to the top of our ridge before finally being put out. One day, when I could bear to witness the aftermath, I wandered up onto our hillside and captured some of the things that I saw. This is a dying leaf on a Manzanita that was burned too badly to survive. Even still there is beauty as it glows warmly in the late afternoon sun.

28/366: Glowing Campion Pod

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 03:33:51 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(1 picture above in a note, and a link to others)

Steve and I went on an photo outing a year ago that took us to a trail that meanders along the beautiful Rogue River. I was delighted to find Campion flowers there, because they are such wonderful subjects to photograph. In the past I have only studied the blossoms, but it was later in the year and the flowers were all going to seed. In the late afternoon, I turned to see this pod glowing with the sun's last rays of the day.

Harry & David Garden: Glowing Golden Rose

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 02:52:21 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

If you can believe it, there were countless blossoms like this everywhere I turned on my visit to the Harry & David garden. This was also my first opportunity to visit a garden with such a vast array of roses to appreciate. Every single plant seemed special and covered with extra beautiful flowers. My question is: do you think anyone could take a bad picture of a blossom that looks like this?! :) It is such a treat to be able to share some of these images!

Explored on January 26, 2015. Highest placement, #4.

Heart of a Red Anemone

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:11:14 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

These flowers have such lovely centers, don't they? :)

R is for Red Ranunculaceae (Anemone) (+3 insets)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 23 May 2014 17:01:21 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+3 insets above)

Note: I have a series of blog posts about my new garden! My New Adventure: A Raised Bed Flower Garden! (More posts are there now!)

A couple of years ago, I got a really nice deal on end-of-season spring bulbs, and Steve and I spent many hours digging holes and planting them out in our meadow around the beloved Oak tree which stands guard there. We didn't have much soil to contribute, so we dug in the clay dirt, plopped in some potting soil, added the bulb and covered it up. We set up sprinklers and watered every day. In the end, not a single bulb flowered. We were so disappointed.

Last year in April, I looked out into the meadow and saw something blue. No. Could it be? I ran out to see, and yes, it was an anemone!!! I got my camera and took many pictures because I expected that it would be eaten by the next day, and it was. It was the only flower to bloom. (See the insets above).

This year, April came around and I looked at my anemone pictures to get the exact date. A few days before, I began making rounds, but the blue anemone didn't come up. Discouraged, I almost gave up the hunt, but decided to check the next day, just in case.

As I approached, I saw something red and held my breath. Shouting in happiness, I bent down to look. "Ohhhhhh!!! A RED ONE!!" Again I ran for my camera and took pictures. Even though it lasted just a day, I am so happy I captured images of this lovely red de Caen Anemone!

Explored on May 24, 2014. Highest placement, #1.