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, 

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. . . .