A Little Bit of Nature

Photos: July 10, 2016

This groundhog is often seen on the lawn in behind the main lodge at CAMMAC. He feasts on the grass and is not intimidated by the people walking by. Every so often someone gets too close and he scurries to safety.

Sunday is always bittersweet at CAMMAC. We all disperse to our respective homes and although the surroundings remain the same, the site is slowly populated by a new group of participants. A week at CAMMAC is tiring and the thought of a quiet afternoon is enticing - but leaving friends, exchanging country for summer in the city and a sudden dearth of concerts brings a bit of a melancholy feeling. But there is always next year.

Primula

I wish I could tell you that my primula is flourishing and that all the flowers look bright and perky. I wanted a bit of sunshine yellow in my home - that promise of spring. The lady in the flower shop told me to watch for when the leaves drooped and only water it then. I thought I followed the instructions carefully.




Most of the flowers now look like this - wilting, tired... There are some new buds coming up. I am hoping they will open and stay around a while. My green thumb obviously is selective - orchids yes and, so far, primulas - NO!

Faded

Faded, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

It has been a tough week. Last Saturday my father-in-law passed away. Although he was almost 91, there is never a good time to lose someone you love. I have only been with my spouse for 7 years, but I had been made to feel a welcome part of the family right from the start.

His humour, his love of learning, his tremendous love for his family and friends, his compassion all made an impression on me. His time was well-spent, his passing peaceful.


A parting guest

What delightful guests are they
Life and Love!
Lingering I turn away,
This late hour, yet glad enough
They have not witheld from me
Their high hospitality.
So with face lit with delight
And all gratitude, I stay
Yet to press their hands and say,
"Thanks. So fine a time! Goodnight."

James Whitcomb Riley, American poet (1849 - 1916)

The New Year Blooms

Photos: January 1, 2013

 The new year comes at the coldest part of the year here. Outside the temperatures are plummeting. It seems a funny time to start a year, though maybe it is a good time for reflection. The longer nights leave less time for outdoor sports and more time indoors. Now, more than ever, I need my indoor garden to remind me of growth possibilities. While outdoors, the landscape has turned white, inside I treasure the plants and flowers.
 


Winter is a time for dormancy - though that does not mean that growth stops. Plants and animals need that time to recharge and I think we do too. Electricity has permitted us to forget about living to the light of the sun, but I do believe the dark evenings remind our bodies to rest more so our minds can spend more time in thought. How else can we nourish our souls to make the year blossom!?
 

Christmas Cactus in November

Christmas Cactus in November, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I'm cultivating my indoor garden as the dark of November closes in. No more orchids flowering (I had to dispose of a few due to aphids), my Christmas cactuses decided to flower. I need flowers.

They nourish my soul as I revel in their quirky shapes and bright colours. I particularly love it when plants re-flower. It's like winning an award for keeping them. But each year I get seduced by yet another flowering plant. Not a big price to pay to chase away the November blues. Who knows which one it will be this year...

Thunbergia

Thunbergia, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.
Photo: September 26, 2011

They wrap their tendrils around whatever is nearby, grabbing, creeping to the next spot. Flowers pop open along their long fingers. They like the cool days of autumn; the rain boosts them into further rambling. A lovely burst of colour in my fading garden.

Purple Pansy

Purple Pansy, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

This perfectly purple pansy is blooming in a planter along a busy street in Montreal. I love the fact that the city plants flowers - bringing beauty. Our green time is shorter than our white time - so we relish the time the flowers are here, gracing us with their presence.

Astilbe

Astilbe, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

My garden is blooming. delicate astilbe thrive in shady spots.

Columbine

Columbine, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I never tire of taking photographs of flowers - those in my garden or those growing wild. The detail, the structures fascinate me. The columbines dazzle with their spiky, comet-like tails and flashy centres. How could any passing pollinating insect resist the allure!

Purple

Purple, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I feast my eyes on flowers as the variety blossoming changes from day to day. I don't know the name of this one, seen in someone's rock garden. I love the spiky petals. This is a flower with attitude.

Daffodil

Daffodil, originally uploaded by susanvg.

The daffodil's sunny face looked down, turning away from the grey day.
 It's hard to feel gloomy with the bright spring flowers opening. My garden is coming to life.

July 14/10: Bigger than it Seems

July 14/10: Bigger than it Seems, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Daily Shoot: Make a photo from a low point of view. Go for a dramatic effect by changing the appearance of the size of your subject.

This lily seems to be towering over the building behind it. It's all a matter of perspective - and sometimes we lose perspective. Small problems seem to be big ones as we let them take up too much space in our thoughts. Funny how we sometimes let the negativity take over, when there are so many positives to focus on. So my new challenge is to let all the beautiful things in life take over to tower over those negatives - put the negatives in their place. So much to celebrate in life - we need to concentrate on that.

July 12/10: Lily

July 12/10: Lily, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Daily Shoot: Focus on a fragment of an object today. Make a photograph that only shows part of an object, not the whole thing.

As I shot this I thought about how one focuses changes one's perspective. If we want this world to flourish and bloom, we have to focus on both the detail and the whole. When we see only details, we forget how everything is interconnected. Pesticides used to kill mosquitoes to eradicate certain diseases caused other issues, equally negative. There is no useless creature or plant.

Our society is driven too much by economics with a look to short term gain and not enough by a sense of the future. How do our actions now affect the future of this planet? It may be costly to convert to more sustainable energy , but if we don't we will have more environmental disasters on the scale of the BP oil spill. Some risks are just not worth taking.

This may be one flower - it nourishes the bees which pollinate our fruit trees which provide food for the birds around here .... As the human population increases we carelessly slash and burn acres of forest, we pave over living spaces, we extract resources. We need to look at the details - what are we trampling on?

Details or big picture - it is never one or the other to get a full understanding.

Apr 11: A Flower for Jen

Apr 11: A Flower for Jen, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Turning Sixty
Seems last year we celebrated fifty
We both agreed it was a productive decade
building a home
building relationships
Watching our children launch

Jen is paving the way for me
As I follow in a few months
So I'm sending a flower
To my friend Jen
To trumpet the festivities
To smile on the occasion
To celebrate the beauty
Of turning sixty

Apr 4/10 Happy

Apr 4/10 Happy, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Sometimes life gets you down. Some people go shopping for clothes or shoes. For me it is always flowers. They bring joy and pleasure to me. This orchid just joined my collection. It seems to be sticking its tongue out at me, teasing a provoking a grin.

I have many flowering plants in the house that surprise me with their blooms. Their re-flowering is like a gift. The joy they bring is priceless.

Jan 26/10 Amaryllis 2

Jan 26/10 Amaryllis 2, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I love to photograph flowers. It makes me look at them intently, trying to understand their mystery. This amaryllis whose speedy growth is astounding waves its anthers to entice some pollinators. Few insects live in my house in winter. The flower calls to me to admire it; I look, entrapped by its intense colour, I fall under its spell.