Daffodil. (Macro) (Click picture for larger view) 
"Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon:
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attained his noon."
~ Robert Herrick (1591-1674), British poet.
The daffodils are almost spent. I don't think Spring lasts long enough to enjoy all the beauty. So this year I picked the daffodils, but not for a bouquet. They are captured in my camera and now; in the heat of Summer, in the crisp mornings of Fall and in the cold howling winds of Winter, I will have a neverending Spring. So don't be surprised if other daffodils show up here throughout the year.
Submission for Tuesday's Photos topic "flower". (end of post)
It's that time of year again. (Click picture for larger view) "Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity." ~ Joseph Addison (1672-1719), British essayist.
The horrible storms that tore through the Midwest and South made their way here tonight. The most severe hit just around 9:45 PM with massive cloud to cloud and cloud to ground lightening. I sat on the front porch and clicked off 50 pictures just at random as my trigger finger is not "as fast as lightning."; this one is the only one to capture the light show.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost loved ones and their homes in Tennessee, Illinois and elsewhere. Janie (poopie) checked in earlier to let us know she is OK. (Big sigh of relief) I'm sure her hospital is overwhelmed with storm victims and the ever faithful and caring Janie will be right there taking care of them.
The power of Nature, so beautiful and yet so deadly. (end of post)
Yankee Candle Company, Williamsburg, Virginia. (Click picture for larger view) "“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities." ~ Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)
Walk into the front door of this massive complex building and you enter a time past. This is mainstreet, shop fronts open in all directions and at the center, town square. Flags fly atop the tall flagpoles; streetlights flicker along the way and at the far end, a courthouse with working clock. The mysterious tower opens at the given time and animated figures sing and dance as the toy train makes it's trip through the toy store and Christmas shop. The sky is painted with wispy clouds but there is no rain, no cold, no baking heat. Here the small child can gaze in wonder and the adult becomes a child again....the magic of fantasy.
Submission for Moody Monday topic "fantasy". (end of post)
First there were the buds. (Click pictures for larger view) Silently a flower blooms,
In silence it falls away;
Yet here now, at this moment, at this place,
The world of the flower, the whole of the world is blooming.
This is the talk of the flower, the truth of the blossom:
The glory of eternal life is fully shining here.
~ Zenkei Shibayama
Can you see the future? Can you see the potential in this bud? Can you see potential in your child? In others around you? In a flower the potential is quickly realized and all too soon completely spent. With children and humans in general, the journey leading to a mature bloom, to success is long, winding and often fraught with roadblocks and pitfalls. But the flower they become? It's worth the wait.
Continue with "Life Cycles"........
Pale pink, the early bloom.
A bloom, partially open, the center still tightly closed.
Almost complete, do you know this flower? (Answer below)
The full bloom, a macro shot. Pink Camellia: delicate pale pink petals, dark green leaves. "Camillia" means: Admiration, perfection, longing for you.
Too soon, the petals loosen and fall, the cycle complete.
(end of post)
Mr. Rhett: "Grandpa's desk is messy; it's hard to find a place to sit with all these papers and books." "A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse state, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys." ~ Barbara Holland
Mr. Rhett slips through the partially open sliding door into the study, unnoticed. Then he checks everything out; the sewing table, the computers, the treadmill and finally the desk. He sniffs all the books and papers, then makes himself at home on the desk. His grandpa must be working at the computer or he wouldn't be here. It seems that only Maggie can lounge on the desk and swish her tail in Dad's face while he's working. Rhett knows this but he's having too much fun posing for the camera to care.
Submission for PXITE topic "desk". (end of post)
