Wonderfulicious Wednesday

The Agave bloom stalk continues

to enthrall me.

Buds have started to develop.

When the Agave sprouted the bloom

stalk right outside of the bedroom window

I felt blessed to have a front row

seat.

The base of the stalk.

Fun bloom stalk facts are here:

Wonderfulicious Wednesday - Happy Thanksgiving

Wonderfulicious Wednesday end of 

November nuggets.

Gotta love cloud shapes!

On my desk.

For the love of blooming Cereus.

Agave blooming Stalk.

This is the first time a blooming stalk of

this stature has bloomed in the yard.

The variegated Agave is in a pot

that often falls over from the

sheer weight of the Agave. 

I hope that it's weighted 

down well enough

while the stalk

blooms.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wonderfulicious Wednesday - Memories of Paris

It's been awhile since I posted a Wonderfulicious Wednesday . . . Health has been

precarious, nuff said.

Like many Paris has been on my mind lately. The first time I saw Paris it was instant

love! How can it not be? Even though it's been 15 years since I was last there the 

memories haven't faded. In 1997 after a delayed flight that involved my luggage missing

the flight from NY, I met Paris and discovered that the Eiffel Tower is truly a treasure!

The Seine at dusk.

First sight of Notre Dame.

Place de Vosges where Pierce Brosnan was first

sighted. I was working on altering an SX70 Polaroid when

I looked and met his eyes. He nodded and walked on . .. 

I admit that I  had to have a photo of

Pierce Brosnan; he was gracious.

An altered SX70 Polaroid of Notre Dame

Wonderfulicious Wednesday

Macro photos of 

a Hibiscus.

Last Thursday we took a 50 minute trip to Palm Springs.

 Destination,

Quiltfest. 

It's been a long time since we did

anything other than run errands. The 

Art Date was much needed!

Reflections in the Palm Springs
Convention Center captured
my attention before we even
entered the building,

We arrived in time to sit in

on a Hand-stitching talk by

Laura Wasilowski. 

Her approach to her work and

life in general was the inspiration

I needed.  She is absolutely delightful!

A few of the quilts that

spoke to me. I forgot to jot

down most of the names of 

the artists.

 Bush Fire, by 

Christine Seager, UK 

Wonderfulicious Wednesday

Not clear about why I didn't post last week . . . well, maybe I am

but who needs to hear about more health issues?

Anyway, the Red Super Moon/eclipse was amazing!

Most likely I'll be too old to care the next time there is an eclipse.

Though, I plan on photographing right up to the end!

The camera caught things I couldn't see! 

Love that about cameras!

West Nile alerts here in the CA desert aren't something

I ignore! Especially being that I'm allergic to plain mosquito

bites, but ones carrying West Nile . ..  I sprayed the yard, twice, 

and myself, said a prayer of protection and stood out in the

backyard with the camera and enjoyed the event! 

The moon and landscape lights made for an 

interesting image of the yard. 

More Macro images. 

A seed pod that had dropped

off of a dried stalk decided to

sprout.

Love it that I continue to find so

many things in the yard

to photograph.

Every year a clump of ornamental grasses

pops up through the dry hot earth 

an suddenly the tiniest of delicate

white flowers appear!

The flowers are as magical fairy-like 

as the effect of floating stamens are!

Stem of a Sea Urchin.

More gifts from the garden.
My love of Sea Urchin Cactus
is never-ending. One bloomed
in the garden on the same day that
the gardeners were
scheduled to do their maintenance.

This particular bloom of the  Echinopsis family only

lasts a few hours. I usually leave the bloom on the

plant to allow it to go through its natural

cycle. This time I saved it from the miserable leaf 

blower and heat and brought it inside. 

And then of course had to play with the

macro lens.

Sea Urchin end of cycle.

Wonderfulicious Wednesday

Oh my! I decided to treat myself

to a macro lens for the iPhone. 

I do love close ups! 

Decades ago when I

had a Hassleblad camera 

and did darkroom work it was

all about landscapes!

I don't know if it's that I'm older or what, but

now I prefer close-ups and a more intimate 

view of the world. Landscapes rarely interest

me anymore.

The macro lens caught what I

didn't even see on the Begonia, 

a few brown spots. 

I do love the combination of sharpness against blurred

areas. 

Shells on the worktable waiting to be photographed

became perfect candidates for the first few photos

with the new lens. 

There is a bit of a learning curve with 

the new lens, mostly because

my vision is wonky. 

Happy Autumn! I'm looking

forward to cooler temps and 

time outdoors again. 

Wonderfulicious Wednesday - some nuggets for this week.

Saw this Begonia as I walked into Trader Joe's yesterday.

I haven't had a plant call out to me in

awhile; seemed apropos on

my birthday week.

Finally, a little rain yesterday. While

 some areas got enough rain to flood, the

rain here was a mere surface wetting.

I discovered the leaf, above, dried in a book.

I don't know where the leaf came from or

why I stuck it in a book but when it showed

up in my life it felt like a gift from the past.

I had to photograph it. 

This morning the yard was full of 

gifts from yesterday's wind. 

The beautiful bunch of leaves, above, is from

the Calliandra vine. And below . . .

a mystery leaf.

The cluster of leaves, above, is from 

the Tipu tree that has

quadrupled in height this

year, much to the dismay

of the gardener who recently

told me he wishes he'd pruned

more off it last year.

The growth of this tree in

8.5 years is nothing short

of phenomenal,