Bloomin’ Cactus at Saguaro National Park

As part of a mini-Arizona state park tour, we visited Saguaro National Park (west side).  This was our second visit, and I am just so taken with these cacti.  They don’t grow in New Mexico, so I have to get my “fix” when we’re in Arizona. We hadn’t planned it, but it turns out we were there when the cacti were blooming – I never knew these particular cacti bloomed!  We all learn something new every day, if we’re lucky, and this was a wonderful learning experience.

Thorny Brilliance

Before we get to the saguaro, there were a couple of other cacti also in bloom.  This one is called a cholla  - the thorns on this cactus almost seem magnetic.  If you get too close to the plant, the thorns sort of seem to leap off the plant and onto you!  Ouch!

Desert Spring Flowers

These blooms can be found on another type of cactus – the prickly pear cactus.  I like this image because it sort of starts out as a pinkish bloom and then changes to yellow.  The thorns on this cactus are a bit friendlier – it doesn’t jump off the plant at you!

Perched on a Blossom

 

And, now we move to the start of this blog post – the saguaro cactus!  I felt very lucky to have captured this image.  This bird (perhaps some sort of mourning dove) just perched on top of the blossoms – the thorns of the cactus would have been too painful.

Blooming on the Side

Here’s a close-up of a saguaro bloom.  I was so enchanted by this, as I had never seen one bloom before.  Notice how they bloom off the sort of spines on the plant.

Dead Saguaro Bark

 

I don’t know if the “skin” of the cactus is actually called bark, but that’s what I’m calling it.  All good things must come to an end, and when a saguaro cactus dies, this is what the bark looks like – and below, check out what the inside of a dead saguaro cactus looks like…

Standing Dead Saguaro

Three Branched Blooms

A saguaro cactus begins as a sort of tube plant, and doesn’t form “branches” until the cactus is around 50 – 60 years old (they can live to be over 150 years old!).  Here’s a cactus that has 3 branches starting and each one of them has blooms on it – how wonderful!

Enjoy!

 

 



 

Desert Blooms

In May, we visited a state park in southwest New Mexico that had several beautiful blooms on display as a springtime show –

Orange Desert Bloom

This vibrant, warm color seems very appropriate for the desert.  The details in the bloom are really quite lovely.

Yellow and Red

This bloom had the longest stamens!  I love the way they sort of create the idea of bursting fireworks or something similar in this image.

Busy Bee

I’m not really sure if this is a bee or some other sort of bug, but he was so interested in this gaillardia bloom!

Skinny Red

This bloom is so interesting – the long stems do eventually get covered with some tiny green leaves/thorns, but they aren’t yet green in the image.

Field of Daisies

It does seem strange to think I’d come across a patch of daisies growing in a desert environment, but here you go!

Desert Daisy

Finally, here’s a great purple daisy!  I don’t know if it’s really a daisy, but it sure does look like one!

Enjoy!



Finding Treasures in the Woods at Denali State Park

 

Of course, we explored around Denali State Park and I wasn’t disappointed in my ongoing quest for beautiful flowers and fauna.  Take a look…..

 

I believe this is a variation of a wild rose.  I was really lucky to be able to capture this bloom just as it was opening – gave me the opportunity to peek inside!

 

This is a flower called a Northern Yarrow, according to a book I have.  I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to capture this image!  I love the meandering look to these blooms – so peaceful and flowing. 

 

We don’t get much rain in New Mexico (altho I do understand we’re at least having somewhat of a true monsoon season back home), so finding raindrops on the leaves of bushes and trees is very uncommon.  The leaves may not be perfect, but the rain drops are!  Actually, I take that back about the leaves – they are perfectly imperfect!

 

Here’s another bloom about ready to burst.  I couldn’t find this in my reference book, so I’m content just to think of it as a mystery flower.  It’s so incredibly delicate and the simplicity of it sort of takes my breath away…

 

Oh, no!  The summer season is short up here in Alaska, and maybe this is the first sign of what’s to come to this area in another few months.  I’m not certain exactly when fall begins to arrive, but I’m sure we’ll be gone by then.  Still, it is a sign that our grand adventure won’t last forever….sigh……

Enjoy!

Flowers and Fauna in Denali

There are some wonderful wildflowers growing in Denali.  I thought I’d share just a few with you…

I love the image of the lupines growing on the side of the road and the pine trees right there.  The mountains in the background, of course, add just the perfect touch from my perspective!

 

In this image, the 3 phases of flower “life” as I think of it are shown.  The lupines are definitely just coming into their glory!  The yellow daisies like flowers, however, altho still blooming, seem to be getting tired already and may be on their way out.  And, the dandelions have already gone to seed.  The growing season up in Alaska is incredibly short, which is part of the reason you have the 3 phases living their lives right alongside each other!

 

This little yellow gem is a sort of wild rose that grows here in Alaska.  The tour guide told us that this is her favorite flower because it seems to bloom throughout the entire (short) growing season.  When the winter is as long and cold as it is in Alaska, one is glad for something that takes full advantage of the summer months!

Enjoy!

 

Flowers along the back road at Wells Gray Provincial Park

There were all sorts of wildflowers in bloom in the park.  It was really just the time when the spring wildflowers were starting to bloom, even tho it was summer per the calendar.  In fact, up in the flower meadows at the higher elevations, we were told the spring wildflowers weren’t blooming yet because the meadows were still under snow!  You know you’re up high and up north when someone is telling you that in the latter part of June!

 

I believe these are marsh marigolds, and we saw them on a trail that would lead up to a flower meadow (altho we couldn’t quite reach the meadow).  When I saw these flowers, I had to chuckle because they reminded me of another photo expedition I was on a number of years ago with a dear friend.  These flowers are called marsh marigolds because they grow in the wet, marshy ground.  During the photo expedition, I was quite pleased that the boots I had waterproofed were holding up so well.  I was slogging along in the marsh, and I was totally dry!  I had just commented on that when I saw some marsh marigolds and, clearly without thinking, I dropped to my knees to get up close to photograph them!  Needless to say, that was a time I proved I was a natural blonde!!  LOL!  (I’m wiser now, tho – stayed out of the marsh and let my zoom lens do the getting up close part.)

 

I love the simplicity of this image.  As we walked along, I noticed some bushes and shrubs were just starting to bud, and captured this image of a bud. 

 

This is what some photographers refer to as an intimate landscape.  It’s up close and personal to a piece of nature that just happened to be there.  I didn’t rearrange anything, just captured the perfect positioning!

 

These Indian Paintbrush flowers were just blooming like mad along the roadsides!  I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it was that no one was doing any mowing along these back roads.

 

I have no idea what these orange/yellow blooms are, but I thought they were very interesting in that they seem to bloom upside down!

Enjoy!

Bloomin' Cle Elum !

Of course, one of my favorite subjects for photos are flowers (in addition to deserted cabins!) - and here are some of what I think are the best from the area around Cle Elum!

 



 

The thing I love best about the above image is the shadow reflecting the simplicity of the bloom.  I really like it.

 

 

The images above and below are of the same bunch of flowers in the area around our campground.  The wind kept blowing on and off and I thought it would be appropriate to capture both to give you a more realistic impression of what it was truly like!  The above image is obviously when the wind was blowing & is finished as a painting (and I love that you can really get an idea of the motion of the flowers), and the image below was capture in the instant that the wind wasn't blowing (much), enhanced by using my HDR (high dynamic range) software.  I love both images!

 

 

As we drove to and from town a couple of times, I noticed this sort of meadow of wildflowers blooming in front of some pine trees.  One time, Jeff & I explored a bit after we got off the highway to see if we could find the little road that cut thru these 2 little meadows.....and we did!  Both images were enhanced with my HDR software, and they truly do reflect what my eyes saw.  The purple lupine and yellow and white daisies were just a treasure that doesn't come along every day!

 

 

Here's a closer image of the white daisies and purple lupine in the meadow I mentioned above.  This was finished as a pastel painting, and again, it's something I just love!  I don't feel like I'm being stuck up or complementing myself - it's nature that's amazing.  I'm just lucky enough to capture it!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Valleyford Special Effects

This morning, while walking around taking images of some wildflowers here in Valleyford, WA (near Spokane), there were some images that just seemed prime for playing with them and some special effects.  Take a look –

This bloom is actually purple, but when I played with it, the colors turned out to be so crazy and neon like, I just loved it.  Such a happy, happy image! 

 

I loved the image of the Queen Anne’s Lace with the shed in the background.  I cut out most of the background and made it blurry.  I then applied a painterly effect that seemed to make the flowers look special……and I’ve always thought they were – maybe it’s about the name!

When I looked up from photographing the flowers, I noticed this scene of the countryside.  I just thought it would make a very cool painting.  Well, I don’t know how to paint, but I can apply a painting effect to my images!  There’s something so peaceful about this – I really like it.

This last image really evoked the farm type countryside around.  The tall grasses in the foreground were the focal point, with the barn in the background.  I decided to go with a crayon type effect because it just seemed to match the casual feel of the image.

Enjoy!

Wildflowers in Valleyford

We’re visiting Jeff’s brother, sister-in-law and their son for a few days.  One morning, I wandered around the yard area at their place (they have several acres), and discovered some great wildflowers around:

 

This wildflower is really pretty.  It had the most different petals that I’ve seen.  I love the above image since it reminds me of a cup, just waiting for some rain to capture it.  The image below is one where the petals are open.  Isn’t it cool?  I really love the detail in the center of the blossom as well.

 

 

I love the above image as well.  The two-toned petals are so unique!  The color of the green (from the leaves in the background) end up being a design element in the bloom, too!

Enjoy!

Vivid Flowers among the Grey Bones at Dinosaur National Monument

 

Right outside the visitors center at Dinosaur National Monument were a collection of beautiful flowers.  Their vivid colors were in stark contrast to the brown/grey tones of the bones in the exhibit area.

 



The above image is of a bloom called a Brillan waterleaf, I believe.  In addition to the fabulous color, I really like the sort of spiky tendrils that radiate from the bloom.  They remind me of those fiber optic  tendrils that I see on my artificial Christmas tree!

Such a pretty sunflower!  I love the detail that is reflected in the center of this bloom.....and the soft feel to this image!

I really like the color of this variation of a hawksbeard bloom.  It's both vivid and almost pastel at the same time.  Hardly seems possible, but that's Mother Nature for you!

 

Enjoy!

Flowers Along Christopher Pond

 

The same hike along Christopher Pond had some lovely wildflowers (or remainders of them!) for us to enjoy along the way, too!

The above bloom is a Canadian Thistle (I believe) - I really liked the color of this one and the pattern of the petals.  Against the background, it really reminds me of fall.....

How lucky could I get to see another perfect "fuzzy head" of a dandelion?  I really like the color of this one in the morning sun.  There are some advantages to getting up early - seeing things like this!

 



I really liked the way the morning sun lit up just the tops of this bloom/grass.  I'm not sure what it is exactly, but the colors just seemed to calming and yet invigorating, I had to share.

 

And finally, isn't this just a luscious shade of purple?  Again, the detail in the bloom itself is what drew me to this. Perfection in nature....

 

Enjoy!

Morning Walk

We took Miki on a morning walk, and just enjoyed our first full day on vacation (and not driving anywhere!).  Check it out -

The above view is just gorgeous - from the campground.  I just loved the green of the trees and the blue skies above the mountains.  Check out how the clouds are low and hugging the mountains in the lower right corner of the image.

I just loved the way the sunlight reflected off the wildflowers growing close to the ground.  I think this must be a variation of Queen Anne's Lace, altho I really don't know!

Here are a couple of sunflowers growing along the road in the campground.  I just loved how happy they looked.  Matched my mood perfectly!!

Enjoy!