Morning, Glorious Morning - Rachel

I just loved the way the sunlight was radiating from the center of this Morning Glory... how appropos a name! What a glorious bloom!

Butterfly Love - Rachel

Seasons of the Windows - Rachel

When we visited Filoli in April we found this lovely window - I for one couldn't resist it with its elegant tulips filling its frame. I really like the image - the colors and shapes, that snaking vine. I also happen to know that if you look back to mid-April in this blog you will find Lori Singer's photo of this window, but taken from the interior of the room, a great capture. So upon our return this month I sought to photograph this window again. Now, midsummer, the graceful tulips have been replaced by impatiens, and upon further inspection (placing both photos in my view) I see that I have gotten the spring window's sibling, not simply its summer incarnation. Still, it's a nice window... I'll have to visit it again and see who graces it in fall.

Behold, Summer - Rachel

I adore summer with it's long, bright, lazy days and happy children. Marigolds, the bright orange of the blazing summer sun, warm me; I bask. Cool blue of the pool, it

beckons me to dive in, revitialize and refresh. I wish I could live the summer life all year.

gardenia sketch - Amy

Colored pencils


Emma had a great idea this morning - "let's set up some chairs in the front and do some art!" I could not pass up this opportunity (despite having not had much sleep this evening due to partaking in a sleep study).This was such a welcome way to start the day.

Spring Springs, At Last - Rachel

It was a fine warm spring weekend - heck, it might have even qualified as a summer weekend given the lovely warm weather of Saturday and Sunday. Just the kind of weather that inspires me to post a pretty flower and dream of basking in the sun and enjoying the breeze. I am guessing that this is a California native flower, but I couldn't tell you the name... Lori?

Feeling Springy- Rachel

It's such a lovely spring day today that I couldn't help but post a flower. I'm not sure what flower she is, but I like her.

Morning Cup of Sunshine - Rachel

I meant to post this yesterday, but it didn't happen. Here's a little cup of sunshine from my weekend.

doing something - Amy

Oil pastel on velum paper. I wanted to capture the colors of the photo. I'm not feeling it in this one.

eternal seductiveness of life - Amy

 

I have a case of being in the doldrums artistically. My soul, essence, core is telling me to do something, anything! But that old brain and body is saying "WTF? This place needs some straightening out! When you're done, park yourself on the couch and watch some TV." or, "Go ahead and spend a few hours mindlessly surfing the web, read the news: oil spill, Arizona, clean coal, derivatives, reform, deficit...." 

I know this is a trick, but I find myself getting duped, once again. My heart wants to go out to Mississippi and clean the oil slime off some birds, counsel the families of those who lost their life on the rig or in the mine, give some legislator, smarmy executive  a piece of my mind. Do something, anything! 

In lieu of booking a flight to the gulf or writing an angry letter from some communist-socialist-bay-area-tree-hugging-liberal only to be viewed by  blind eyes and deaf ears (no offense to people who are actually blind or deaf), I will do art. It is something.

In the Maw - Rachel

Peony and Bee - Rachel

Spring has sprung and the gardens are abuzz with bees collecting pollen and ensuring the next generation of flowers and fruits. While my children often squeal in terror and dash away at the first hint of a striped abdomen I'm drawn in by their gentle buzzing, delicate translucent wings, brash color and swift, efficient attention to the duty at hand. Bees, awash in yellow treasure visiting each flower, gathering all they can before returning to the hive. At once a symbol of both individual and society, the bee amasses its treasure for the sake of its hive, but in doing so gives to all of us.

Gateway View to your soul...step inside, your soul awaits...

Inside each one of us is a beautiful flower garden.
This is the garden of the soul. With each lesson
we learn, the garden grows. As we learn together,
our individual gardens form a tranquil paradise.
- SC Step inside, your soul awaits...

Fioli Gardens have many magical carefully planned views leading to the next garden area.
Fioli is an example of a formal garden which we don't see often. It is a neat and ordered garden laid out in carefully planned geometric and symmetric lines with beautifully planned every blooming beds behind perfectly manicured shrubs and hedges. It's a real treat to peek into the next area to see what is coming into view next.

Forget-Me-Not ~ Rachel

Forget-me-nots hold a tender place in my heart. Small and delicate but plentiful in their abundance, they can light up a field or planting bed, filling it in and making it whole. Likewise, memories fill the holes in my heart, the spaces left by those who are gone and will never be again but who always live brightly in my heart.

Giant Red Poppies

Ok, these Poppies were amazing! Giant balls of crape paper like ruffled chiffon magic unfurling in the golden sunlight, to expose midnight black cross centers and thousands of blueish black anthers. Like many things in nature very difficult to capture its true essence and beauty. I believe these are same type of oriental poppies that Georgia O'Keeffe captured so eloquently.

I'm hoping Rachel was able to capture the color more precisely. The color is far more vibrant and rich. Just a sign of my inexperience in photography. So much to learn...


We saw so many beautiful things in the gardens yesterday. Robin and I had a conversation about how some things must be viewed by the eyes and not the camera lens and how that makes the world magic. We gazed up at vinatage oak like trees that had been crafted and grafted for generations and stood in awe in their beauty, but I would not dare to even attempt to capture it's beauty. It"s really cool because it shows how a photo is just a photo and it is never reality. The photo is often just the shell and cannot attempt to capture the true essense of an object. Perhaps a photo is just a kernal of some of the essential parts of an object or being. The most essential most vital part of something can never be captured in a photo.

Enjoy these large orange red cups of pure beauty. If you love gardens you should really visit Fioli if you haven't already. www.filoli.org

Oh my darling, Clematis - Rachel

What a stunning day at Filoli (www.filoli.org for those of our followers who might be unfamiliar)! Anticipate flowers for the next couple days... out of 1186 photos taken, I'm sure I'll have at least one or two to share. Great day for flowers and friends! Thanks!

Pelargonium (not Pansy)- Rachel

Ms. Lori, our horicultural go-to-girl has let me know that this is not a pansy but rather a pelargonium... it's a pretty flower even if I'll never remember its name.

Camelia of the Day - Rachel

I'm still figuring out what I'm going to do with this dead bush, but I can't bear to part with it until I investigate its photographic modeling talents. Here I've got it posing with a camelia. The image reminded me just a bit of the images of the Sacred Heart.

Apple Blossom - Rachel

Just a quick backyard picture of my apple tree's promise of fruits to come.

Parking Lot Blooms - Rachel

At risk of posting too many flowers, here's a bloom I found in my local parking lot. I had several trees to choose from but liked this bloom because of the funky yellow truck serving as background. If I'd had a ladder I SO would have climbed up and gotten a full yellow background!