Wonderfulicious Wednesday - September my Birthday Month

This weeks nuggets. 

Seems that most of the Wonferfulicious posts

have been of birds and flowers, so why change now?

Finches at the nearly empty bird feeder.

More Photo therapy at work here; Vintage effect.

Blended layers. Oak limb and rust. (Perhaps I should 

have saved this one for Oct.)

Near the front door are 2 pots of cheerful.
Flamboyant-de-jardin aka
Mexican Bird of Paradise.
They bloom from spring
to Fall.

From the tiny Hibiscus plant that has never grown much and

normally only has one bloom a year. This year I was

gifted with two. 

Night blooming Cereus. At around midnight

for a few nights last month I photographed

the magical flowers that by dawn had withered. 

It seems only fitting that I end this post with 

another bird image. This black bird had

dibs on the fountain. Or, maybe he was

just cooling his feet on a brutally

hot day. . . .

Wonderfulicious Wednesday

Photographing what presents itself in the yard continues . . . .

Night-blooming Cereus photographed at midnight.

Definitely Queen of The Night!

For the next 7 blooms 

 I need to find the tripod!

The image below was taken with the iPhone. 

And of course I have to blend

and manipulate  . . .

Backyard residents. 

I have been known to venture outside

of the backyard. 1997, Arles, France.

Wonderfulicious Wednesday

First, photos of backyard birds

blended with textured layers

of rust fabric and for the

one below, a tree.

And then  . . .  finally, some studio play!

Sun prints on cotton/poly sheets. I had

read that cotton/poly sheets wouldn't work well.

Really?

Leaves from my yard. 

And of course, something from

birds. 

More Studio play.

Rust dyeing. Above, a wrapped can.

Below, wrapped around a piece

of metal.

In need of ironing, below, 

wadded fabric on metal 

with coffee. Used a cotton/poly

sheet again. I'd say using an old

sheet works well . . . 

Happy Wonderfulicious (nuggets of joy) day to you!

Vignettes from the garden

Often I dream about leaving the house with the camera and driving to

new places, but then reality sets in and I once again find that it's 

better if I stay home; safer that way.

I'm a believer that photos are everywhere if we look at our 

surroundings with "new eyes." Some times it takes looking through

the viewfinder to see the ordinary in a new way. 

A pot of Agave is interesting enough

but what if the image is layered with a photo of barrel cactus?

Two daily visitors in the yard are more interesting with

multiple textured layers subtly done.

A blending of various cactus and textures.

Every spring a few Orioles arrive. They're particularly fond

of the hummingbird feeder and let me know when it's 

empty. I've probably photographed around a 100 shots of them

and finally got a different one today. Eureka! Getting a side

view this good has taken years. 

Extracted from the boring background of

the hummer feeder and layered with a succulent image followed

by texture layers and my Saturday has gone from

bleak to one full of Joy!

End of the Year

And the skies lit up!

Love of trees and iPhone apps.

A tree outside of a Palm Desert pizza place caught my eye.

In this area birds on wires are becoming a rare sight.

 I do appreciate the tidiness of under-ground wires so

I have no idea why I'm enthralled with the

sight of birds hanging out. Nostalgia? 

Wonderfulicious Wednesday

 Two of my favorite visitors to the garden. The hummingbird is perched on a branch of

the grape-less vine. No grapes this year.

The Yellow Oriole prefers

the Hummingbird feeder. In this shot

he's waiting his turn.

 Two feather sun prints.Umber and black paint on the print above.

Turquoise and brass paint on the one below.

 Five years ago in Positano. Straight shot above.

Love the reflection. 

Waterlogue app below.