Blooming Irises....

Every March and April, the fields where we live spark to life with great bursts of color from the daffodils and tulips.  When May arrives, those bursts of color come from the variety of irises. I love irises, so I thought I would share a few photographs I took of these dainty, yet brilliant flowers.

 

 

 

 

Happy Tuesday!

Tip Toe Through the Tulips....

Every year there is a tulip festival that occurs in a river valley about 30 minutes south from where we live.  And, every year we attend.  When you arrive, you will be greeted by acres of tulips (and sometimes late season daffodils).  There are two major tulip growers in the area that, for a fee, you can enter their gates and get a front row view of the pretty petals.

In year's passed, we've paid the fee and went snap happy.  This year, however, we didn't.  The reason is this year's festival seems to be over-run with people.  So much so that it is nearly impossible to get any good photographs without someone stepping into view and ruining your snaps. 

So, this year we were a little sneaky.  After a good rain and when the gates were closed to the two major growers, we drove around to the open fields and went snap happy while the sun was setting.

The heavy rains really added a little something to the photo opportunities.

The lighting from the setting sun added a little umph to the shots. 

Tulips dripping with rain drops did little to dampen the spring spirit or the sturdy stems.

And as you can see, there was plenty of color to enjoy.  It definitely got me thinking about my own garden and all the work I need to do there.  But, I'll save that for another day.

Happy Friday!

Peonies... The Girliest Flower of All

The peonies are out in force this year.  I love peonies, but I have to say that I find them to be extremely girlie.  Never mind all the pinks, creams, whites, and yellows... Look at all the ruffles! It looks like all the petals are ruffles (and some could easily pass for bows).

But I love photographing peonies.  They perfect little models - aching to be photographed.

Look at this beauty.  I have no doubt that if she had eyes, she would be batting them at my camera in a coy, flirtatious manner that only peonies can convey.

And peonies have become the big deal flower for bridal bouquets.  It's no wonder!  Did you know that in Victorian times, a peony translated to mean a happy marriage.  Though it also meant bashfulness, shame, anger, and compassion (this flower is a multi-tasker).

All hail the girlie flower... Peonies!

Snapdragons

My garden is bursting with an abundance with snapdragons, which is a good thing because I love snapdragons.  And since the weather has been dark, cold, wet, and windy for the past few weeks, these little velvety pops of color have been a nice treat to stare at through the window in my office.  But today, I decided bring those petals inside.

Look at these babies.  Fabulous, aren't they?  I'm definitely a firm believer in if you can't go outside into the garden - bring the garden inside to you.

Iris Fields...

One of the fabulous things about the area I live in is flowers.  We have lots of flowers.  In March, we have acres of daffodils.  In April, we have even more acres of tulips.  Then May arrives and the fields burst with blue.  Blue irises, that is...

Lupine Love...

While driving around the other day, I saw a hillside bursting with color.  The color of mountain lupine.  I love mountain lupine, so I immediately pulled over, pulled out my camera, and began snapping.

Garden Center Fun...

One of the best places within a 30 mile radius is Christianson's Nursery and Greenhouse.  It's this fantastic place where you can spend several hours exploring building after building filled with all sorts of garden goodies.  And for me, the best place in the business is the antiques shop.

How can you not want to go into this little antiques shop and explore?  The place looks so welcoming!

Daffodil Delights

The daffodils are blooming and bright in Skagit Valley.  There is always a great source of comfort to be driving in that area of the world and see the fields in the river valley brightly glowing in yellow.  I just can't resist pulling out my camera every time I'm there.

A Little Spring in Winter

The other day I took Dawn out and we decided to see what traces of spring there was out there.  It was an interesting experiment, especially since we had just had about 1/2 inch snowfall over night.  While we totally enjoyed the white stuff, we thought our little adventure would be a nice change of pace and give us an excuse to break out our cameras.

Here is what we found...

I love photographing flowers.  They don't complain.  They aren't worried about which side is their best side.  And they aren't worried about whether they look fat or not.  But, I prefer to photograph flowers from different angles.  It's not uncommon to find me, belly-down, in the mud trying to get the right angle in the sunlight.  Or, balancing on one foot while stretching my body as far as possible to get that shot where the sunlight hits the petals.  Often times, on-lookers find my contortionist antics far more entertaining than the flowers.  I don't mind, though.  As long as I get the shot.