Thursday, July 29, 2010

Summer Colours

"The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color." ~ Hans Hofmann



Bright and beautiful in her summer pastels, Lily's visits always makes my day.




A summer sun shower produced this lovely rainbow.




On one of my walks around the pond, I found this happy little mess of colour just lying in the grass, waiting to be photographed.




A few weeks ago, my sister, two cousins and I had lunch together. We shared a chocolate fondu for dessert.




At Frank's place, he found this spider web which was glistening in the late afternoon sun.




So was this one. I love the colours.




On our way to the cottage, this truck was promoting a sixties music radio station. It brought me back to 1967.




This colourful little guy accompanies us everywhere we go. He sits on the dashboard of Frank's car.




Up at the cottage, one of Frank's many boxes of colourful goodies meant to entice a fish.




After a long day of fishing, the colours of the sky bid us goodnight.

57 comments:

Sueann said...

Oh my Hilary!!! The pictures are so beautiful. She is gorgeous!!!
Loved the colored string and those spider webs are awesome. The colors! Wow!
1967...what a year that was! I graduated from high school! Many good memories!
Hugs
SueAnn

Brian Miller said...

excellent shots hilary...cute little one...and i like how the light plays on teh spiderwebs...

messymimi said...

The baby girl looks like she has seen something of great interest, I love the expression you captured.

The tangle of color on the ground was like a pastel rainbow, to complement the one in the sky.

Steve Gravano said...

The spiders web refracting the sunlight is just great, beautiful colors.

ethelmaepotter! said...

That is the best sunset ever - it looks like you could climb a tree, reach up, and pull those glorious clouds right down to earth.

The second spider web - is that a leaf or some spiny critter in the upper left corner?

And I must tell you - there was a time when I loved drawing and painting portraits; then there was a time when I made a living doing just that...and practically went broke and got totally burnt out. Now, you can't BEG me to draw anything.

But that picture of Lily makes me want to dig out my old paints and brushes!

DJan said...

I agree with everyone; these are just wonderful. And you continue to amaze me with your talent with a camera. I LOVE the sweet bonnet and the expression under it.

Daryl said...

You should give Lily's mom that photo to frame ... and the last shot .. awesome

Unknown said...

Hilary.
I always lean in closer to view your photos. They astound me every time.

beth said...

your summer is colorful....
i need to pay more attention to the colors around me and let them soak in before winter comes again....

lime said...

love the spider webs. and the portrait of lily is just so captivating. what eyes!

Kerri Farley said...

Wonderful colors Hilary! I love the dashboard friend ..... and the webs .... well I really just love all of them!! That last one is Perfection!

Shammickite said...

These are all fun photos, and lots of colour involved. Marvellous spider architecture, what clever creatures they are.... as long as they stay well away from me.

ellen abbott said...

What a fabulous picture of Lily. And the others aren't too shabby either.

Tabor said...

You did it again! Wonderful day and I love the whimsy that is always just around the corner of your life.

CiCi said...

I sent this post along to hubby's computer and told him to check out the chocolate fondu thingy. Yeah. I want to do that. It looks so good.
Did you catch any fish?

Reb said...

I love Franks little car friend ;) The rainbow is wonderful and the bundle of colourful strings is very pretty.

Mental P Mama said...

Gorgeous! I would like to have Lily, please;)

Scott Law said...

You really got busy for this one, finding so many colorful pics. Nice job and what can I say about that darling little girl up top? What a cutie.

Bossy Betty said...

Gorgeous images. That baby! Ohhhhh!!! That picture is precious!

Frank Baron said...

Loverly smorgasbord of colours, Hil. Lily's a wonderful model and those spider webs are stunning reminders of the engineering genius of those critters.

There's lots to be awestruck by if we only pay attention. Luckily, you (and your cameras) usually are. :)

Unspoken said...

I have missed visiting so many blogs, yours among them, with my summer classes keeping me offline.

The chocolate here has me :)! mmmm Fondue!

Anonymous said...

Oh my! How precious! How in the world did you manage to get such a large image in there!

I am a color person, too...our house is filled with it!

Rosaria Williams said...

Hilary, that child is a beauty! Your last picture is so evocative!

Karen said...

Hilary, that babys picture is a show stopper!! I love it! Oh, now I want some chocolate. :P

Joanna Jenkins said...

I never know what I'm going to find on your blog but I always leave inspired. You have such a great eye.

And Miss Lily is gorgeous!

jj

Pauline said...

it's like looking through a favorite photo album - I love seeing the world through your eye and lens!

Lori said...

Great photo's...always love seeing your handiwork...little Lilly is adorable and you capture her sweetness well. :) XX

Friko said...

a very quirky collection. Lovely

Dawning Inspiration said...

Lovely and such fun - all those colors. And wow - is Lily a precious doll!!! That rainbow is a beauty as well! I found the name of that plant! I'll be posting about it soon!

Slamdunk said...

Superb photos--Miss Lily is very photogenic.

We live in a valley close to a river and enjoy our spring and summer rainbows immensely.

Hilary said...

• Thanks so much SueAnn. I'm glad you liked them. Peace and Luv! ;)

• Thanks, Brian. They were quite eye-catching in the sunlight. :)

• Messymimi, she quite often has that lovely look of wonder in her eyes. She's a sweetie for sure. That's quite a creative observation about the string.. like the rainbow's entrails or something. ;)

• Thanks, Steve. Nature sure provides great subjects, eh? :)

• EthelMae, I like the way you see and describe things. Wanna be my copy writer? ;)What you're seeing in that second web image is the branch from the rose bush to which the web is connected. The shot is taken through the deck rails a few feet in front of the rose bush and web. Though I sure can understand getting burnt out from trying to make a living with a craft, I would love to see your art. If you ever do decide to apply your paint to canvas, and should Lily's face appear, please let me know. Thanks always for your kind words. :)

• DJan, thanks so much. That face gets to me every time. I'm glad I was able to share. :)

• Thanks, Daryl. I did send her the shot shortly after I took it.. electronically, though. :)

• Thank you, Deb. Such a lovely thing to say. :)

• Beth, you can't quite beat summer for a multitude of colours. I hope you're out enjoying them often before summer ends. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Lime, Lily, her brother and their mother all have beautiful blue eyes. They just stand right out when you look at them. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks so much, Kerri. That means a lot to me. :)

• Shammie, thank you. I quite agree with you about the spiders. I don't mind their webs.. it's the crawl factor which bothers me. :)

• Thanks, Ellen. I'm glad you think so. :)

• Tabor, you have a fine way with words. Thanks so much for that. I like your new avatar.. tres chic! :)

• TechnoBabe, chocolate fondus are a lot of fun and there are so many yummy dip-worthy treats. We did indeed catch a few walleye.. lost a few and returned a few. I'll have a photo somewhere down the line. Thanks for asking. :)

• Thanks, Reb. Frank's little car friend is a cutie, eh? :)

• Thanks, MPM but you're really going to have to stand in line for that doll face.

• Thanks, Scott. I'm glad you enjoyed the pics. I had fun getting them together. :)

• Betty, isn't she just the sweetest thing? Thanks for the visit. :)

• Frank, thank you. :) You know I'm not keen on spiders but there's no denying that they do good work. I'm grateful that there's a lot to pay attention to in our respective corners of the world - and up at your cottage. And I'm especially grateful to be able to enjoy it all with you. :)

• Amy, you've been missed but your busy schedule is totally understandable. Grab a fondue fork and dig in! :)

• Jillsy, the new two-column blog layouts allow for much larger images now. I'm glad you enjoyed the colours. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Lakeviewer, isn't she gorgeous? And she has the sweetest smiles too. Thanks for the kind words. :)

• Karen, thanks. She's a true doll, that child. I have a fondu fork with your name on it... dig in! :)

• Joanna, thank you so much. Such a lovely thing to say. :)

• Pauline, thanks very kindly. You make me smile. :)

• Lori, thanks very much.. she's very photogenic and fun to be with. I'm glad that it shows. :)

• Friko... quirky. I like that! Thank you. :)

• SD, thanks kindly. I'm looking forward to reading about the plant. Too cool! :)

• Slamdunk, thanks very much. I enjoy a few rainbows per year too.. and sun dogs in late winter. Thanks for stopping by. :)

Mage said...

I stop in, and every time I come by this place of yours I'm charmed. Thank you. And how is the fish?

Cricket said...

Aw, cripes... I've missed so many. Just playing catch-up before things get out of hand. Nice rainbow. What is that mess of string? Embroidery thread? Looks like someone got frustrated and tossed it, no?

I have 4.5 days to myself. Untold luxury. Later, I think I'll take a walk in the park (alone) for the first time in years. Yay.

Instead of a soundtrack for you, I'll give you mine: I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash. Jimmy Cliff did a nice version, too.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Hilary: Love all you colorful photos. Looks like Frank is a jigging fool. I love minnows as a live bait.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Hilary: Love all you colorful photos. Looks like Frank is a jigging fool. I love minnows as a live bait.

LadyFi said...

What marvellous colours and shots. And Lily is just gorgeous!

Pearl said...

The tackle box! Really appealing.

Pearl

photowannabe said...

Color me Happy looking at your amazing photos.
Lily's shot is mind blowing. I just wanted to grab her and give her a huge smootch.

Unknown said...

I love Summer color. Love. Love. LOVE! That baby is pure deliciousness!

Sandra said...

Wonderful photos, as always. And of course, you immediately drew me in with the adorable Lily.

Shrinky said...

What a gorgeous portrait of Lilly! That last, dusk sillouette is enchanting. The rainbow colours caught in those spiderwebs are also amazing - what a beautiful collection you have gathered together (smile).

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Colors found and recorded now will be such a blessing in the monochromatic months of winter.
I love the serendipity of the tangled mass of color found on a walk, the iridescent spider web, and the portrait of Lily.

Cricket said...

p.s. - There's always The Who, Pictures Of Lily. Not lyrically perfect, but the title works ;-)

Redbush said...

Ah, but doesn't Lily make a cute flower! I can just taste that strawberry covered with chocolate. Love the sunset picture!

Cloudia said...

You make me wanna be a better photog!



Aloha from Waikiki

Comfort Spiral

SandyCarlson said...

Beautiful, colorful, fun, happy! Just wonderful, my friend. Thank you. Thank you for all your comments. I am away on vacation and blogging on the fly, and it was really good to stop in Canada for a few minutes!

Hilary said...

• Maggie, thank you so kindly. Such a nice thing to say. Oh and the fish was delish, thanks. ;)

• Cricket, I know what it's like to play catch up. I seem to be doing it all summer long. I'm not sure what the threads were exactly. It seemed to be from something which unraveled.. that's how fine many of them actually were. Others less so. Some of it was far too delicate to be embroidery threads. So nice for you to have some time to yourself, at last. I hope you enjoy that walk. I'm sure you will. Sounds like a good song choice to me. It's often how I feel when I'm out walking - alone. :) And thanks for the PS musical choice. It works for me. :)

• Thanks, Fishing Guy. Frank is not just any fool.. he's a jigging fool. ;)

• LadyFi, thanks kindly. I'm glad you liked them. :)

• Thanks, Pearl. I'm sure Frank will be happy to read that. Nice to see you stop by. :)

• Sue, thanks kindly. She sure is a sweetie, isn't she? Lucky me - I get to see her fairly often. I'll give her a big smooch from you next time I see her. :)

• Thanks, LWK. I so agree about Lily. She's scrumptious! :)

• Sandra, thank you. Imagine how drawn in I am when she and her mom come to my front door and Lily is all smiles for me.. I'm captivated! Thanks for stopping by, my friend. :)

• Shrinky, thank you. I'm so glad you liked them. :)

• KC, you're so right about summer colours and winter blahs. I'm so enjoying this season. I tired to find colours that seemed to repeat.. the pastels of the ones you mentioned plus the rainbow and sunset, and the brighter colours of most other images. I had fun playing with these. Thanks for noticing. :)

• Redbush, she does indeed. And the chocolate fondu was quite lovely. I love chocolate with strawberries.. and with raspberries even more. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Cloudia, you're a wonderful photographer but I thank you kindly for the sentiment. :)

• Sandy, thank you so much. I feel honoured that you stopped by north of the border while on your vacation. It would be lovely if you were able to do that for real one day. :)

Dave said...

I love bright-coloured photos too Hilary. These were great! - Dave

Dave said...

P.S. Loved that photo of little Lilly. it would make my day too! - Dave

Zuzana said...

Beautiful summer perceptions. I love the variety in the subjects and objects you choose to capture. You do so well with animals and kids; both very hard to photograph;))
xoxo

L. D. said...

Your photos are all so fun. I am glad I went back and found them.

Hilary said...

• Thanks, Dave. She is such a day-brightener. :)

• Thank you kindly, my dear friend, Zuzana. They sure make great subjects, don't they? :)

• Thanks very much, Larry. I'm glad you did too. :)

VM Sehy Photography said...

Love the colorful photos! I think the tackle box is my favorite. I like looking at all that kind of stuff at our sports store. So does my son. I'm hoping his interest in fishing takes. We'll see. He's getting a new fishing pole this weekend for Boy Scout camp. Didn't want to take his cars one with him for some odd reason.

abb said...

That Lily is just beautiful! What a wonderful portrait you took.

Cheryl Kohan said...

These are spectacular photos, Hilary. I love them all...rainbow, spider webs, sunset...But that beautiful little Lily is the cream of the crop.

Indrani said...

A colorful post, with such lovely shots. Some great memories too. Happy times ahead!:)

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Oh! The first photo and the last photo just took my breath away...Summer Colours for sure!