For many I'm sure the snow is a major irritation. Walks to be shoveled. An endless need to find dry clothing for children. Lost mittens. Frozen limbs and generally unsafe driving conditions. But for those of us that don't get to experience it that often it is pure bliss. A fairyland of white. A place to run and play. We are enjoying a few glorious days in the Oregon snow. I am enthralled by the branches in the snow and my son finds the icicles irresistible.
I love these red flowers. The seem like a great way to enjoy the holidays with something that makes me think of warmer weather. Hope your holidays are wonderful.
I saw this purse sitting on some bleachers and I thought the colors were just gorgeous and I loved the way the sun was shining on it. Some people might think it was just a pile of fabric. I think beauty for the eyes.
I live in California where we don't really have seasons. I've always wanted to go on a color tour of the East Coast in the Fall. I'm sure it must be gorgeous. But unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to take such a trip. So I went out this weekend and looked for fall in California. We don't have a lot of trees turning colors, mostly evergreens that are - well - ever green! But the japanese maple trees and the liquid ambers do not disappoint.
To be willing to wear bright pink plaid boots.
Vegetables as Art? I wouldn't normally think so but Sunday I drove by the vegetable stand and just had to stop for some photos. The folks there buying veggies probably thought I was nuts but it wouldn't be the first time. Look at these awesome onions! They were huge (bigger than my fist). The color was so rich and the paper thin skin was so crinkly. 
And the tomatoes looked like bright jewels. I just wanted to eat them all. 
Last weekend we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I love it there. One of my favorite parts is the Jellies. They are just gorgeous and Monterey Bay has done such a wonderful job of displaying them. They are backlit and in the "Jellies as Art" display, the tanks are framed so they look like paintings. I could stare at them for hours. I just found out that the display will go away on September 15th to make way for a seahorse exhibit. While I look forward to the new exhibit I will really miss the jellies. I'm so glad I got to see them once last time.
Why is it that boats and water are such a beautiful combination? We were recently in Oregon and I stopped by the Marina in the morning before the boats had gone out. The sun was just right casting reflections and I must have snapped 50 photos. It was so peaceful and gorgeous.
There is an incredible flower garden in my neighbor's yard and I go there often to take photos. Usually I photograph all of the beautiful flowers but this last time I became focused on all of the flower buds. I never really noticed them before but they are now grabbing my attention. How can it be that an incredible flower is packed inside this tight little bud just waiting to spring free. It doesn't seem possible.
You know the saying, "as one door shuts, another door opens?" When I was young I really didn't think that was true but as I've gathered more life experience I think it probably is. A closed door is full of endless possibilities. On our trip we saw so many beautiful doors and I thought I'd share this one with you. What do you think is on the other side?
We have been in Venice and seen the most amazing sights. One thing that truly sticks with you is all of the amazing masks in Venice. Some are colorful, some are stark white, some have feathers, or jewels or metal. Some of them are haunting as these are.
Everywhere I've gone in Italy and Croatia they have the most beautiful window boxes. Rather than pick just one for you I have created several. Click on the photo to make it bigger if you want.
The summer flowers have begin to bloom. One of my favorites parts of summer are the flowers that are planted on my block by an organic gardener. You can expect to see many more over the summer.
Friday June 20th is officially the first day of summer. It took me a minute to figure it out - I always thought June 21st was the first day of summer. Turns out in a leap year it's a day early. I learn something every day. 
For some reason when I look at these flowers they make me think of a nice cool glass of pink lemonade. The perfect drink on a hot June day. This is Quince from my neighbor's yard. It is a stick most of the year, gorgeous for a short while and then just sort of a green bush. I'm glad I caught it in the gorgeous stage.
I've been seeing bushes with these goregous pink flowers all over town. I'm sure they've been there in the past but for some reason I've never noticed them. I wonder why that is? Why do you suddenly notice something and then you see it all over town? I'm glad I noticed them this year though - they are gorgeous.
This is a photo from the gorgeous Alisal Ranch near Santa Barbara California. I t is so beautiful and peaceful. I wish I was hanging there right now.
As they say - "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." My roses are in bloom and they are so gorgeous. I'm very excited as they haven't done so well in past years. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
I think this crab is pretty gorgeous so maybe being crabby isn't so bad! This little guy was at the Pillar Point tide pools when I chaperoned my daughter's class trip. It was so a gorgeous day and I'm glad we got to see this crustacean.
Just to prove that anything can be beautiful in the right light here's some sea weed from San Diego. I like it - how about you?
I love carousels. I would love to do a whole photo study on them. I like the modern ones, I like the antique ones. They are just so gorgeous. This cutie is from the one at California Adventure. It is a sea horse.
In general I'm not a big fan of daisies with the exception of Gerber Daisies. I'm not sure why they are called that but I think they are gorgeous. They are so big and bright. I went to the nursery last weekend and bought several for my front porch. They are the perfect welcome to spring.
Thinking about our plans for this summer has made me think about how much fun we had last summer in Alaska. Here's a photo of a Pine Martin we saw in Skagway. He was a cute litte guy. Not something you see often.
We live fairly close to the ocean (maybe 30 miles as the crow flies) but rarely make it out to the beach. Whenever I do I'm remined how truly awe inspiring it is. Recently we went to a beach just north of Monterey and enjoyed a stroll. It was a very windy day but the beach was fairly sheltered so it was not so bad on the beach. However there were lots of kites in the sky which was beautiful to watch.
I am so proud that my cymbidiam (sp?) orchid is blooming again! I have such a hard time getting orchids to bloom and when I saw the buds on this little guy I was just thrilled. Aren't they gorgeous?!
Spring blooms again and again these days. Everywhere I turn there are gorgeous blossoms on the trees. It is so odd to me that many of these will simply becomes leaves of no interest. I think Spring is truly one of the most magical times of year.
Last weekend I went around out town looking for spring flowers to photograph. I drove around and as soon as I saw a pretty flower I jumped out of my car and snapped a photo. I'm sure more than one person thought I was nuts. But then a few days later we were driving down the road and there was a woman standing in the middle of the divider snapping photos of some iceland poppies. "Look Mom - she's just like you," yelled my kids. Yes, I said, yes she is! Thanks to Mom for identifying last weeks photo - it is called a Tulip Magnolia tree.
I've heard of Steele Magnolias but pink magnolias? Is that what this tree is? Does anyone know? At first I thought they were called crepe myrtles but I looked those up on the internet and that is a different tree (which I also love). There are several of them around where I work and they are just gorgeous. I love the fact they are one of the first trees to give us flowers and color as the winter nears its end.
It has been very cold and rainy around here lately so I've decided to dwell on summer memories. This is a photo of the vegetable stand that exists every summer by our house. It is such a beautiful sight and always brings a smile to my face.
What is it about the beauty of a fountain? The sound of rushing water? The sweet smell of falling drops? I love fountains and this weekend when we went to Southern California our hotel did not disappoint. They had beautiful grounds and several fountains. This little beauty was in the courtyard below our balcony and I really enjoyed watching it and listening to it's peaceful sounds.
We took a trip to the now imfamous San Francisco Zoo last weekend and had a wonderful time. It was a bright sunny day, the zoo was not very crowded and there were many beautiful animals to be seen. They have peacocks just wandering around and this little guy was clearly proud to strut his stuff for us.
I don't know what kind of flower this is but I love how it is so simple yet exquisite. The color, the veins, the simplicity of it all. I have seen these flowers in red but not sure if they come in other colors. I'll have to keep my eyes open.
So what's with that saying any way? "Don't be a Pansy?" Why not? As far as I can see pansies are pretty darn special. They are so beautiful, so perfect and most of them have multiple layers of color that make them really interesting. I think I'd be happy to be a pansy!
