my garden and i are tired today.

all twisted up inside.

worn out.

and definately in a funk.

i've been thinking about what i might do for the SPA challenge which is "BONES & SKELLIES" . . . when i went out in the garden with my camera i ended up finding lots of both~!~ i suppose if i could master something (anything!) within photoshop elements 7 i could do something creative and postcard-like with one of these shots but have been totally frustrated trying to figure out the simplest stuff within that program. ~aaaaaarrrgh~!!~

doesn't this look like part of a dried up old finger bone?

and this stick looked like a bit of bird skull . . .

black and white felt right for these shots . . . can you tell that i'm missing summer already~!?!

i'm also missing my daily photography discipline. i don't seem to find myself with camera in hand nearly as often and really wonder if i shouldn't still be doing it . . . if i do the photography than i have to let something else go as i just can't juggle too many creative "balls" at once.

is anyone aware of photo blogs and or challenges that i could check out? maybe a group getting through a particular book or set of photographic challenges . . . or maybe some sort of BEGINNER photoshop elements type of exercises being done as a group . . .

the magic of macro makes this tiny mushroom appear ginormous but in fact it was only about a quarter of an inch tall. it was accidentally uprooted when weeding the pea patch.
lift it up and put some blue sky behind it and voila~!!~it's the stuff of faiery tales~!~

i have some of the rudebeckia flowers picked and in a small vase on the dining room table. i spent a few minutes framining them up in different ways and did a few in black and white. they are such a pretty flower that it's hard to stay away from them with the camera.

while out in the pea patch, i snapped a couple of shots; one of a new little pod growing and one of a larger pod that i opened up so the peas could be seen. btw: these are quite tasty~!~

i put the finishing touches on my Sunday Postcard Art challenge card today but won't show the card in it's entirety until tomorrow.

sealed with a kiss

in the icy moonlight.

a refusal to speak

of implied promises.

hope lingers in long shadows.

Introspection

trying to make a bit of a come-back here . . . seems like i've had very limited time for much creativity lately. . . and i really am missing it~!~ i have managed to keep up with my daily photo, but just by the skin of my teeth and by the time i finish that race every day i'm just not up for more of anything so the blog has suffered.

this afternoon i had a bit of unexpected alone time which i really needed and so have added my daily photo and a few words to the blog. my apologies for not keeping up very well with all of you creative souls out there. please know that i really miss the shots of inspiration that i get from visiting you and hope to be back at some normal pace soon.

Drifted Petals

it's raining petals . . . as all but one of the fruit trees finishes up their blossom cycle.

a caterpillar in the lilac bush at the end of the day.

early this morning, while getting the dog out for a short walk, i stopped and shot some of the flax (that were just starting to open up) growing on the edge of the property . . . i love this color blue~!~ these flowers open early and are closed again by mid-day. they grow on long grassy stems forming clumps at the ground.

For my Textures File

For my Textures File

daffodills in black and white

the bugs are out~!~ today while i was out in the yard i noticed that there are bugs out everywhere. the pond has several different forms of buglife swimming about with the goldfish. the ant hill where the wood ants live is crawling with feverish acitivity as they all rush about to remove the extra covering that they added right before Winter set in. there are spiders jumping around in the rock mulch and flies pesking around here and there . . . lots of bugs are up and actively about~!~ it was so warm out today and there was no cold wind blowing. and the bugs are coming out so it must be Spring~!!!~

green and growing~!~after a brief wander in the yard i found this growing out from under the compost pile. Spring is getting here slowly but surely.

i found these sweet little furry buds on a tree down the street yesterday when taking a walk. so i snipped off a tiny bit and brought it home to put in an ultra tiny glass vase and enjoy. there they were this morning when i got up and once again they made me smile . . . just the beginning of a very sunshiny day with more smiles to come . . .

of course i had to photograph them (in black and white). i hope they make you smile as well.

SOOC

a continuation of my practice with black and white shots.

i'm missing color but it's interesting what one has to pay attention to when the color is not there to "supplement" an image . . . it seems that attention to form and shadow are critical . . .

this photo has been cropped slightly but is otherwise SOOC.

i have decided to do black and white shots for this week. i usually avoid it or don't even think about it but feel that i need the practice and challenge of working with no color. so i really jumped in today with a shot of the gorgeous golden primroses. i did add some water drops for interest though . . .
this photo is SOOC.