Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Beautiful Reserve

One of the most attractive things about the flowers is their beautiful reserve. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Just a few summer beauties to brighten your day and mine. I haven't been around enough to collect posts for the POTW, this week so all I have for you are some of my usual photos.



thistle 2
Thistle is a prickly plant but it sure does produce a beautiful bloom.




pretty thistle up close
Here's one unfolding to the sun.




unknown flower sprig
I don't know what this is but each sprig produces all these teeny-tiny leafy blooms - each one smaller than the nail on my pinky finger.




pink mini roses
Small, pink roses grew rather profusely on the bush that my boy, Alex gave me for Mother's Day, a few years ago.




clover-
Clover is fresh and lovely in its simplicity.




broad leaf droplets
Raindrops dot a broad leaf in the garden.




purple pansy 3
And more rain collects on the tender petals of the pansy. A plant my other son, Jeffrey gave me for this year's Mother's Day. These droplets are spherical and in the largest one, you can see the reflection of the pine tree we planted when Alex was born.




purple pansey
All that water weighs a poor pansy down.




wet daisy 2
This daisy doesn't seem to mind it one bit.




unripe berry
Berries make a perfect snack for hungry birds. These are in various stages of ripeness.




wild chicory center
Up close and personal with a wild chicory.




tiger lily center
The fiery stamens of the tiger lily.


More photos coming up soon.

69 comments:

ds said...

Beautiful and serene. I especially love the raindrops on the pansy. That reflection is marvelous! Thanks so much for sharing.

Cloudia said...

OMG- Awesome!


Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
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Dan said...

You're a 'photo-artist'. A really good one at that!

Bravo!

ADRIAN said...

Always worth a look are your flowers. Stunning as usual.

Pierre BOYER said...

So gorgeous and poetics pictures...
Best regards from Paris,

Pierre

Anvilcloud said...

What a great set of macro photos! Superb!

Andy said...

Your close-ups make me feel like I'm in another world.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Stunning, stunning macros! I am going to repeat myself until I am blue in the face: "When are you publishing the book?"

Dave said...

Nice photos Hilary. I specially liked the wild hickory flower - dave

Brian Miller said...

beautiful....def love the close ups of the rainddrops but the macros as well on the stamens...very cool....

Kerri Farley said...

~ WOW ~
You sure do know how to make my heart flutter! These are amazing!!

Hilary said...

Tell me please, what lens do you use for these most awesome photos.
You are very talented, you know that, right?

June said...

The perfect reflecting orb brought William Blake to my mind:

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

~Auguries of Innocence

sage said...

The little things seem to be the most amazing. Nice shots.

Leah J. Utas said...

Excellent work. I love the colour of the thistle flower and you've certainly brought out the beauty.

Daryl said...

okay okay I will get the macro out, dust it off and start using it .. cant not after seeing these .. tho whatever I do end up with wont be this good, thats a fact

DJan said...

I am stunned with the beauty you have captured here. I so appreciate your sharing these with me. I am enriched and my day is starting with beauty. Who could ask for anything more? Thank you.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Every one of these is amazing. The reflection in the water droplet on the pansy is perfect. But, my goodness, I loved that macro of the chicory. Thanks for giving us up-close-and-personal views of things we sometimes overlook completely.

stephen Hayes said...

You are certainly a poet with the camera. Beautiful work.

Suldog said...

"... all I have for you are some of my usual photos."

That's like King Midas saying, "All I can do for you is touch a few things."

TexWisGirl said...

as always, your photos are mesmerizing! SOOO gorgeous!!!

Out on the prairie said...

Lovely choices, looks like a bull thistle.

ellen abbott said...

'usual'. as if they are run of the mill and not at all amazing.

Ruth Hiebert said...

WOW!!! Do you give lessons on macro photography? I need to learn some of your skills.

MaggieGem said...

Once again... stunning photos, thanks for sharing these beauties!

Anonymous said...

My favorite is the water drop reflection of the pine tree. Love it!

Rita said...

These are gorgeous! If I could ever learn to paint the way I'd like to, nature is the beauty I would love to capture. Well, one can dream. You can do it with your camera in ways that take my breath away. :)

messymimi said...

You make me see through new eyes, thank you.

Ruby said...

Spectacular pictures!!! These are like flower art! The best is the pine tree reflection on the droplet :)

Kerry said...

"Your usual photos?" Oh my gosh Hilary, are you kidding? These are all so splendid. Magical. Your "usual" is just so fantastic.

Tabor said...

Macro shots are stunning...do you have a macro lens? Love the rainy drops...you got rain? So jealous.

CiCi said...

Nothing like seeing flowers up close and personal. These photos are wonderful. And you know the names of each plant and flower.

Birdie said...

The pansy shot is amazing. Job well done on all the photos.

Gail Dixon said...

Such a gorgeous collection of flowers. Especially the chicory! I miss the rose bush in Texas my son gave me a few mother's days back. It had gotten huge - growing wild - kind of like him!

Unknown said...

oh, so beautiful!! I just love the first photo but all the rest are wonderful too!!

momto8 said...

wow...amazing!!! you give us all an appreciation of the beauty and miracles of nature!

Frank Baron said...

Very nice. Great detail on the stamens of the chicory and the lily - can see the pollen awaiting a bee's attention.

cheshire wife said...

You do take amazing photos and it is some consolation to know that you are also having rain.

Lynne with an e said...

Sweet, tender, luscious images.

Lisa Gordon said...

These are stunning macros Hilary.
I especially love the third one.
Simple and beautiful.

Gillian Olson said...

Gorgeous images!

Red said...

Awesome photos when you can see the pollen!

yaya said...

I love it when you capture God's world close up and personal! So beautiful..the tiger lily looks so grand!

CorvusCorax12 said...

just gorgeous

photowannabe said...

Stunning and gorgeous...what more can I say?
The macro of the wild chicory is spectacular.

Unknown said...

These images of summer are absolutely vivid, Hilary!

Unknown said...

These images of summer are absolutely vivid, Hilary!

Rob-bear said...

Truly delightful, HIlary.

Gayle said...

I never cease to be amazed at your wonderful talent. Not only photos but delightful prose. You are such a gift! The second photo: it is in the rhubarb family. Check out rhumex crispus, curly dock. In the fall ours turns to a glorious red/brown dried flower. Does yours?

Thank you so much for sharing your glorious self1

Mental P Mama said...

Just as beautiful as ever...

Dianne said...

more wow moments!!
I love thistle
and the raindrops are so beautiful
everything is

lime said...

you have so stunningly captured the texture of the thistle and clover. just gorgeous.

Bob Bushell said...

Absolutely smashing, the macro has been at it again. The flowers with droplets on are amazing, you're the best.

Claudya Martinez said...

I love all the purples.

Anonymous said...

Pure awesomeness!

Tammie Lee said...

yes, each so lovely and beautiful! lovely to see through your eyes and lens.

Unspoken said...

I love the one up close with the water drops.

Ohh, sorry you missed Jane's post! I leave picts up less than 24 hours whenever I post of her.

SandyCarlson said...

These were a feast and an adventure. Those thistle photos...I wish I could be Tinkerbell and fly around them! Wow!

Laura~Pretty Pix said...

These are so beautiful.. Love your close-up work!

holdingmoments said...

Superb macros Hilary.
A lovely post.

Linda said...

I love these closeups of the flowers, some you can even see the pollen on them. That large water droplet looked like a little crystal ball.

s.m. said...

You are a great poet with the camera.Thank you for this lovely blog share with us!

Jo said...

Beautiful!...I can almost smell the dirt and water, your photos are so alive. Especially love the unidentified spriggy leafy pink-green something. Poetique.

Pauline said...

Hardly "usual" Hilary - these are unusually stunning, each one! You sure do have an eye for beauty.

Hilary said...

Thank you everyone for your always-kind, warm comments. They're so appreciated. :)

Anita said...

You captured the reflection of a pine tree in a rain droplet? Awesome! :)

All great photos. I like the wild chicory; it reminds me of the salted rim of a martini... and I don't even drink. lol

Indrani said...

Whoa the details! They stun me.

Christine said...

beauty ✻ filled

Unknown said...

There were so many pix to love in this post! The thistle was probably my favorite.