Sunshine’s Macro Monday #43
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My newest plant is an easy-to-care-for Phalaenopsis or “moth orchid.” The directions indicate watering every 2 to 3 weeks. Indirect sunlight. I think I can handle that.
I am hoping this orchid…which does kind of look like a moth…or human kidneys or a face or one of those Rorschach tests…joins the small group of long term survivors amongst the elderly plants I have nurtured through the years. So far, so good.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #42
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Sunlight streaming through a living room window offered a unique peak through the beautiful blooms on my Mother’s Day hydrangea plant. A gift from my daughter and her family.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #41
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The buds are coming!
Or…more accurately…the buds keep coming. Every walk in the woods reveals a new set of leaves or flowers in the making. Hanging somewhat precariously from tree branches both high and low.
I no longer wonder too much about what kind of tree they originate from.
Right now…this stage of its life…is where the beauty lies.
No matter what happens next.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #40
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As my late father-in-law used to say…
There is no such thing as a weed!
Keep in mind that his life’s work was a business that involved searching deep in the woods – spade or hook in hand – digging up and collecting a wide variety of wildflowers and plants. Which he shipped across the country and overseas. I worked for him one summer while I was dating his son, my future husband. It was back breaking hard work. Under a cloud of bug spray, I was determined to keep up. I had no idea what plant was what. But my father-in-law did and I was continually impressed at his expertise and memory.
So if there’s no such thing as a weed, then why all the weed killers for sale in hernia busting bags at the garden supply store…that happen to include “dandelion” on the list of what gets eliminated?
Is it because dandelions sprout up on their own…uncontrolled…independent…not easily contained in a neat boxed off garden bed? A splash of yellow appearing uninvited in the middle of an otherwise well tended green lawn?
They look like flowers to me.
I used to enjoy the grubby handfuls of dandelions my smiling young children would bring to the kitchen door. Carefully collected from various surprise appearances throughout our half acre…Mommy these are for you!
Yesterday, I spotted a dandelion that survived the condo association’s weed killing efforts.
It was all alone in the sunshine.
Three cheers!
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #39
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So, here’s the thing…
For the first time in years – many years – I am gravitating towards a (so far) unfinished 750 piece jigsaw puzzle spread out on one end of our dining room table. Almost every day.
As our new viral reality marches on, my mind (or actually my overly active imagination…) flies off in so many different directions that…sometimes…focusing on anything in the here and now becomes practically impossible.
That is…until friends offered us their new…put together and then taken apart…jigsaw puzzle. Which they’ve owned for at least 15 years and never opened until now. Who had time to do puzzles?
They assured us it was clean…
We wiped it down with a sanitizing wipe and let it dry after we finished it.
The sight of all those shapes and colors and patterns that Will Fit Together…
I realized it’s something I Can Do. While Staying Home.
Hence the gravitating…all it takes is a glance at the disordered mess of puzzle pieces…spread out on an old tray. Right next to a picture beginning to take shape. It pulls me over. I sit down…just for a minute…I’ll find that corner piece. I think I see it. No. Maybe for the other edge. I’ll try this one.
An hour later…two sides done. I’m exhausted. In a good way.
Interesting fun fact: putting a puzzle together can clear your head.
I highly recommend it.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #38
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The buds are coming!
I was excited to capture signs of spring during a (warm!) breezy day last week…and I am most grateful to report: Mother Nature marches on.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #36
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As I was finishing up a walk in the woods last week I almost walked past these milkweed pods…before I noticed them camouflaged in the fallen leaves.
Somehow staying intact through winter’s rain and snow.
Looking down has its advantages.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #35
Photo a Week Challenge: Changing Seasons
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Here in the northeastern USA, the comforting signs of spring are still hard to come by. And, believe me, I am looking for them. Those vibrant splashes of yellows and purples as hibernating bulbs push signs of life up through the cold ground. Surrounded by trees and bushes newly dressed with greenery.
However…as I discovered this past weekend…if you look closely…Mother Nature is making her presence known..little by little.
A welcome – and hopeful – sight.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #34
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Brave souls go out on a limb before the last snow falls.
As winter marches into spring.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday #33
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I don’t know if the warmer than average winter (so far) is the cause of this larger than average (as far as I know) growth on a fallen birch tree.
All I do know is it seems to mirror how life has been lately.
Mushrooming – everywhere – out of control.
At least that’s the way it feels.
How about you?
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 