Category: photo

lantana, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

This sunshine-y flower greeted me this morning in the garden. Just lovely!

peachy!, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: green peach hanging on a lone branch surrounded by tree leaves.

My peaches are still a few weeks from ripeness, but I can hardly wait! This year my dwarf peach tree has gone crazy–so much new growth and so many peaches. Woohoo!

lantana, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

It’s Monday morning of Finals Week. It will be a busy one. I can’t believe the schoolyear is nearly over!

When I was younger I always had such big plans for the summer. This summer I am looking forward to the family reunion and some time with faraway friends. Also anticipating the long summer evenings (those are the best). And, of course, time in the garden. But I don’t have any HUGE plans. What about you?

berriez, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Yesterday we picked two pailfuls of blackberries from our garden. The kids report that they are the sweetest ones ever. I am going to try my hand at jam again. It’s been a few years….

emerging, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Photo: closeup photo of some small daisies. The daisy in focus is just barely opening up its petals.

“On [Friday] she woke up and realized that she’d forgotten the definition of the word ‘Impossible.’ She decided that it must not have been important.”

~From The Persistence of Being Yellow: Book of Recipes for Life”

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matched set, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Photo: Closeup shot of two white honeysuckle blossoms.

I’m not sure why, but I really like the way the lighting on this photo turned out–how the background is in shadow and the white blossoms contrast with that. Honeysuckle are such oddly-shaped flowers, don’t you think?

mystery flower, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Photo: A close-up picture of a funnel-shaped purplish-pink flower calla lily.

This plant recently emerged in the middle of my flower bed. I’m not sure where it came from or what it’s called, as I didn’t plant it and I’ve never seen another like it in the past 5 years of gardening the same plot. I’m not complaining, though–I love garden surprises! When my kids were smaller they would always attribute such serendipitous blossoms to the work of the faeries that inhabited our garden.

Any guesses as to what it is? Perhaps it has an unusual 5+-year life cycle?
:)

honeybright, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: Row of three white honeysickle blossoms against a backdrop of blue sky.

I love this way this photo turned out. It was a tough one to take–it was really hot outside and bees were annoyed that I was disturbing them as I traipsed around in the honeysuckle vines. The smell of these flowers was so strong that it was impossible to resist sampling a few. The taste of honeysuckle always brings me back to those days in Oklahoma when we would run around the neighborhood in packs and sip on honeysuckle nectar until the ground was thick with spent blossoms.

Note: Can you find the ‘hidden’ bugs in this pic? :) Click on the photo and it will take you to flickr. Then click on “All Sizes” and look at the photo in the largest possible view. You migh just be surprised at what you see…

lamb’s ear and rock, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: a small cluster of lamb’s ear leaves adjacent to a rough grey rock. [Note: The lamb’s ear was a gift from a woman in Cambria–a few years ago our family was walking to the Tea Cozy for a cuppa when we passed the most charming all-purple cottage. The owner was in her yard gardening and we struck up a conversation and she generously offered a cluster of plants to add to our own garden. :) }

One of my favorite birthday gifts this year included this quotation on the card:
“Ah, how short a time it is that we are here! Why then not set our hearts at rest, ceasing to trouble whether we remain or go? What boots it to wear out the soul with anxious thoughts? I want not wealth; I want not power: heaven is beyond my hopes. Then let me stroll through the bright hours as they pass, in my garden among my flowers, or I will mount the hill and sing my song, or weave my verse beside the limpid brook. Thus will I work out my allotted span, content with the appointments of Fate, my spirit free from care.”
~Giles, “Chinese Literature”

dragonfly on clematis, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: closeup photo of a dragonfly–green body with translucent wings–perched on the deep green leaf of a clematis vine.

This little guy greeted me this afternoon by perching on my rapidly-growing clematis vine. If you click on the image it’ll take you thru to the flickr page. Click on the “All Sizes” link above the photo and you’ll get to enjoy him in greater detail. If you look at him at the largest possible size you can see the fuzzy little hairs that emerge from around the area where his wings connect to his body. Amazing. Who knew that dragonflies were so complex and fascinating?

moulin rouge, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: closeup photo of a sunflower with yellow-reddish petals.

This sunflower is from a seed mix called “Moulin Rouge.” the name charmed me (being a Francophile) to I had to try it out. So far the flowers are quite small compared to the typical Mammoth varieties that I usually grow.

Did you know this?:

“In the head of a sunflower, the tiny florets that turn into seeds are typically arranged in two intersecting families of spirals, one winding clockwise and the other winding counterclockwise. Count the number of florets along a spiral and you are likely to find 21, 34, 55, 89, or 144. Indeed, if 34 floret (or seed) rows curve in one direction, there will be either 21 or 55 rows curving in the other direction.”

This fascinating article explains the mathematical patterns found in sunflowers. Interesting, indeed!

lanterns, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Picture: Underside view of a tomatillo bud hanging from a plant.

I picked and ate my first tomatillo yesterday. Having never grown my own before, I wasn’t quite sure if it was ripe yet (how do you tell if a green fruit is ripe?). It tasted both sweet and salty. Different, but not unpleasant.

Soon enough, I will have enough of a harvest to make some salsa verde. Do any of you have a favorite recipe to share?