Snow Daisies
Little daisies from summers past.
Roadside Fog
It’s that time of year for those misty, cool mornings that slowly introduce us to autumn. So of course, my camera and I rolled out for an adventure with some roadside fog on one of those mornings.
Next door neighbor, a longhorn cow, having her breakfast.
Field of sugar beets.
Red Angus are grazing in the background. They weren’t visible when I set up for this shot. So I waited for them to get a little closer.
This road runs alongside an already harvested corn field.
Flock of blackbirds “swimming” in the thick fog.
Sunflowers started blooming early this summer and are still popping up in our yard. They are a bright spot on such a gray day.
Intersection on the way home. Our mailboxes are enveloped in the dense fog up ahead.
These views are seen daily from the windshield of our cars and trucks but it looks completely different when it’s underneath a heavy fog.
Taking time to notice our everyday surroundings can be very soothing and even inspiring. I encourage you to the same. Hope you’ve enjoyed these images and may they bring some peace and quiet to your busy day.
Cheers!
Delicate Snow Caps
The sun is out today and the snow is deep in some places. The wind whipped the fluffy stuff into drifts and I’m hoping enough has moved out of the road so I can make it down to the cattle. They want cake!
Summer of the Sunflower
This is the summer of the sunflower. They are livening up roadsides and fields everywhere you turn. They even grown in the cracks of sidewalks! One evening I was sitting on the deck and after the sun went behind Laramie Peak, I noticed the sunflowers in the yard were dancing. The wind was still so upon closer observation, I saw a yellow finch just going to town on sunflower seeds. Happy Monday everyone!
Castilleja
Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja, a genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas.
I was lucky enough to be called upon to photograph portraits of a sweet couple I’ve know for a few years now. We roamed around their ranch in the hills and shot portraits in shady spots among pine trees and rock piles. Later on, we went further into the hills at sunset where we found a patch of Indian Paintbrush. It was a beautiful evening and these colorful flowers, our state flower, makes the hills look like a painting.
Abstract Study
This past Saturday was our monthly Art Guild meeting and we had the pleasure of having the Art Mobile come and educate us on Abstract Art. Our teacher challenged us to stand in front of a piece of abstract art of our choice for 5 whole minutes and then we’d discuss how that piece made us feel. Many of the artists were deeply opposed to this kind of art and made it very known in the beginning. But everyone sat and wrote or drew their thoughts on their work of choice and we had a lively discussion afterwards. Some pieces made people feel frustrated, others felt happy and whimsical. Some found a piece told a story from their childhood. I focused on one that made me feel comfortable and reminded me of Polaroid photos. Anyway, it was a real treat and we all enjoyed it very much! It inspired me to re-visit my freelensing and reverse macro techniques yesterday while shooting landscapes for a client. Because of all the moisture we’ve had lately, wildflowers are popping up like crazy.
Sunshine Friend
Even though her time is done this year, this sunflower still stands tall. Even though her petals have mostly fallen, she still reaches toward the sun. She fed the birds, spread her seeds and now it’s time to go to sleep for the colder months. I will miss her…until next year my sunshine friend. 🙂
Wildflowers of Late Summer
When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. ~Georgia O’Keefe
Flowers ’cause I Miss You
I have been blog weary lately. I am sorry. My business has been keeping me occupied and on the go like crazy and I just haven’t had time to blog about it. While I’m not caught up with delivering to my wonderful clients, I am happy to bring you some happy sunflowers. 🙂
…and a happy ladybug!
After we brought a few calves home to wean last week, Patrick pointed out this REAL sunflower by the calving barn. It gave me an idea to throw seeds for a sunflower patch next summer. I love the contrast against the tin.
This is how it looked this morning. It was a wet and rainy morning but I think the sun might be coming out. I wouldn’t know because I am to be locked in my office ALL DAY to get my work done.
Happy Monday friends! Matilda and I have missed you. xoxo
Wildflower Moonwalk
I took a drive over to Guernsey, WY this weekend for an evening walk around the park with a local botanist. We hiked around the beautiful grasslands and learned about native and non-native grasses and flowers. It was a beautiful evening and a real treat to learn about plants that inhabit the Wyoming wild-lands. And yes, I asked her about my Bouquet of Poison and she confirmed, like most of you all, that it is indeed Yarrow. Phew! What a relief. 🙂 Happy Monday folks!
Bouquet of Poison
I picked a bouquet of beautiful wildflowers while working on a project for a client this past weekend. I came home and Googled these wildflowers and realized that 90% of what I picked were poisonous to livestock and humans. But only if you ingest them of course. So here we have a ladybug hanging on Poisonous Hemlock. Hemlock was used in ancient Greece to poison condemned prisoners. It is said that Socrates was given this after being condemned to death for impiety.
I still have the bouquet on my porch. Patrick has been real nice to me lately. Probably out of fear that I may boil hemlock in his tea. I would NEVER….or would I? (Que dramatic Law & Order chime and spooky laugh) 🙂
Happy Hump Day folks!
a Gentle Summer Breeze and Hope
Needle and thread grass and mini sunflowers in June are a sure sign of a wet summer. Can you feel the breeze blowing through the grass as the scent of sage whirls all around you? That’s exactly how it was in the moment I took this image. It’s just another beautiful day in paradise here in wonderful Wyoming. I wish you all a beautiful weekend my friends!
My heart is filled with hope as I got word this morning that a family member who was in a horrible car accident is doing well through her surgery. With a broken pelvis and dislocated leg, she is in for a long recovery. And so, with the help of her wonderful network of friends and family, her 2 little boys and dedicated husband, she WILL pull through. I love you Christine!
Sentiments of Summer’s Past
skeletons of last summer’s sunflowers
As the snow begins to fall again today, I’m feeling sure that I am ready for spring and summer. And so are the sunflowers!
Smelling the Flowers
This week, scratch that, this month, no wait. Let me start over.
Since January 2013, life has been full of extreme highs and low lows for us. But I always try to remember to slow down and smell the flowers. And we’ve got a lot of beautiful wildflowers popping up all around us.
Here’s to slowing down and good news for Monday. We sure could use it. 🙂
Sultry Sunflower
Lately it’s been too hot to go far from the back door. So I grabbed a shot of a close-by sunflower blowing in the hot, dragon breath wind and added some texture.
Have a great weekend friends. Here’s hoping for a cool snap for our weekend adventures. Doubtful, but hopeful.
Soft Abstracts
More close-ups.
These abstracts of sunflowers were shot by removing my lens, reversing it and shooting through it backwards. It is not attached to the camera so your focus is by physically moving closer to the subject. My focus is a little soft because I was dealing with the wind moving my subjects all around. I think they are still pretty interesting though.
Free-lensing macro is pretty fun but if you are uptight about dust on your sensor, it’s not the best idea. I enjoy taking chances. I’ve done it before with fun results of snowflakes.
Scarlet Globemallow
Also known as Copper Mallow and Cowboy’s Delight.
These beautiful little red flowers act as a ground cover in very dry and gravely parts of the land. They aren’t much to look at until the sun is low and they sparkle with a bright copper glow.
I shot this with the freelensing technique yesterday evening. I feels like I’m channeling Georgia O’Keefe and I’m okay with that. 🙂
Uprooted Magnolia 
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