05.21.2022 Happy Dewy Saturday Morning

The day started with light fog and a slight mist but no breeze which makes for a happy flower photographer. My first stop was to look for lady’s slippers and more painted trilliums in Shutesbury which was moderately successful.  Plenty of PTs and just one LS.  Tomorrow I’ll look in another location for more lady’s slippers. I decided that I was done for the morning and started toward my usual Saturday errands when I noticed a large field of non-native ragged robins in Hadley on Mill Site Road.  While looking at them I noticed, right at my feet, this nice dewy, or misty, Blue Flag Iris-Iris versicolor intimate landscape.

Of course shopping was put on hold while I enjoyed making an image. I’ll share at least one of the painted trilliums tomorrow.

 

05.20.2022 Happy World Brown-winged Sweat Bee (and all the other bees) Day

05.20.2022 Fog Friday-The Ride to Work

Too bad it’s a work day….

05.19.2022 Learned a New Trick

In the past I’ve ham-handed my attempts at flare removal.  Some have turned out reasonably okay and others not so much.  I recently learned a method involving an inverted curves adjustment that does a nice job.  Of course, this image is fairly clean so less challenging than others might be.  But at least for a first attempt I am pleased.

Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire from The Patten in Shelburne, MA. May 2015

Can you see where it was?

05.18.2022 Wordless Wednesday II-Red Trillium Noir

05.18.2022 Wordless Wednesday

05.16.2022 FOY Painted Trillium

We had a bit of rain yesterday, sometimes a drizzle and others a shower, and in the morning I headed out hoping to find a few Painted Trilliums-Trillium undulatum to marvel at and photograph.

One of the pleasures in observing these is the variation from plant to plant. Some times the petals and leaves line up with each other and sometimes not.  The undulations for which the plant gets its name can be strong or slight, at the very tip of the petal or the entire length. The surface can be more flat or curved, longer or more blunt.  And sometimes the leaves have more rain drops.

Chances are good that I just might post another or two in the coming days and nearby the Lady’s Slippers are starting to bud up.

 

05.15.2022 Who wants to spend a few moments at Dean Brook with me?

I searched and found some Painted Trilliums this morning.  Afterwards I walked down to the water and loved the peace and quiet save for the sound of a rushing brook.

Enjoy 15 seconds of watery serenity. The video plays larger if you click “Watch on >YouTube”.

05.14.2022 Spring Vernal Spring

Sort of like Spring Spring Spring which sounds more like Sing Sing Sing than Spring Sprang Sprung.  A favorite temporary brook flowing from Quabbin Hill to the reservoir proper.

 

05.13.2022 Bird-foot Posey

Bird-foot Violet-Viola pedata is named for the shape of its leaves, a couple of which you can see beneath the uppermost bloom.  Always a favorite spring wildflower.