Dahlia love

When I was out erranding yesterday I spotted some dahlia in the cut-flower section of the market. Dahlias are awesome, the way the petals look like scoops and how they unfurl and form petal pom-poms. I've never had the opportunity to photograph them before. To say I was giddy would be an understatement. ;-)

After spending a bit of time with them, I love dahlias even more.



The yellow areas of the orange/red/yellow blooms just glowed, like they were lit from within.

Peony petals, inside and out

Inside petals on left, outside petals on right. From the garden earlier this summer.

Friday cloud, raindrop and sunset blogging

Some interesting patterns and pretty colour from Wednesday, thanks to the work of M. Nature. A rainstorm blew through quickly (at least in my end of the city; to the east there were power outages and downed trees), breaking up the clouds as it left. The nifty cloud patterns were caught and mirrored in the water drops on the window.



A closer view of the drops (cropped from original) below.



The setting sun hit the remaining water drops hanging on the glass, creating pretty bokeh lights.



And then the sun hit the clouds, colouring the sky gold and pink.

Faraway frogs

Over the long weekend we got a chance to visit the renovated Museum of Nature. The glass structure at the front of the building is interesting - lots of light, neat patterns with the glass and cables. I took a few photos, but they were setting up for a wedding so too many people around. These photos are from the frog exhibit currently on display. The frogs above are Amazon Milk frogs. They were hanging out in groups like shown. Pretty colours.



The Chinese Gliding frogs have huge sucker-like toes, their skin is such a vibrant green with a texture that makes it seem as though they're made of rubber.



Dart Poison frogs - they had blue and yellow and green ones. Little guys, a bit smaller than a golf-ball.

Looking up

Mosaic of some cloud photos taken in June and July.

Stacks of petals

Petals of a pink peony above, and white rose below. Fragrant beauties from my garden. Delicious individually, combined their scent is intoxicating.

Nature has never been silent for me. Nature whispers in my ear all the time, and it is the same thing over and over. It is not "Love." It is not "Worship." It is not "Psst! Dig here!"

Nature whispers, and sometimes shouts, "Beauty, beauty, beauty, beauty."

Sharman Apt Russell
Anatomy of a Rose

Sing, little bird

Red-winged blackbird singing in the swamp at Jack Pine trail.

Butterflies

Can't complain about the weather during the week we spent on the Island. While there were a couple of clear/sunny days, it would often rain for a bit during each day. Not a big problem, especially when walking on the forest trails (all that growth makes for a fantastic umbrella). The one day we had mostly rain we visited indoor places like Butterfly World. Worked well. Actually, the challenge was trying to keep the lens from fogging up due to the sauna-like conditions. ;-)

Finally some rain

It's been a long, hot week. Here's hoping the rain will usher in cooler temps.

Bees and blooms

Some random images taken this morning. Despite the heat, the bees are still busy and the flowers are still blooming.

Mushrooms

Discovered this little clump of mushrooms in the front garden earlier this evening. I think they might be Conocybe albipes.

Garter snakes at Lime Kiln Trail

There were lots of snakes at Lime Kiln today - we counted six. Enjoying the sun, no doubt.