Silent Sunday

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Eliza Waters

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WPC – Close-up

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Eliza Waters
Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

“Macro photography allows us to see the world in a new light. Some of the best macro subjects may appear mundane at first — things you’d normally pass by without giving a second glance — but get just a little closer and there’s often a hidden beauty to be discovered.

So this week, get up close and personal with your subject — whether it’s the pollen on a newly bloomed flower, rust on an old fence, or water droplets left by a storm — and capture those tiny, fascinating details that might go unnoticed.”

WordPress Photography Challenge: Close-up

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Eliza Waters
Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

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In A Vase On Monday – Red & White

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Eliza Waters

IMG_6091For this week’s vase, I’ve used a simple combination of only two flowers – scarlet IMG_6098beebalm (Monarda didyma) and white gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides). IMG_6102The white helps cool down the red-hot beebalm. A few Christmas fern fronds (Polystichum acrostichoides) were added for a green accent. An unadorned, Chinese-style, black glass vase compliments the simple design.

IMG_6096Polystichum acrostichoides and Monarda didyma are native to the eastern United States from Maine to Georgia, and west to the Mississippi River. Beebalm leaves can be made into a paste to soothe bee stings or drunk as a flavorful tea.

Lysimachia clethroides is native to China and Japan and can be aggressive in the garden, but I find it fairly easy to curb by pulling the stolons back in early spring. It makes an attractive planting in en masse, and is a long-lasting cut flower.

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Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden,  who hosts a weekly meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens by creating arrangements to enjoy inside our homes. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week. Feel free to join in, sharing your own weekly vase with a link to Cathy’s blog.

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Silent Sunday

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Eliza Waters

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This is the summer of your life

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Eliza Waters

I simply loved this! Thank you, Frances Trussell!

francesmindfullyhappy's avatarmindfullyhappyblog

mindfulness, summer

On childhood summer evenings I would sit by the breeze of my open bedroom window listening to the symphony of the season. The laughter of those children still allowed to play out, the kicking of balls in the park and shouting to friends. Birdsong soared high amongst the barbecue smoke whilst the clinking of glasses accompanied grown-ups chatter below.

How bittersweet those balmy nights, a loveliness and still a longing. A longing for a time when the days would be mine, the laughter my own in a no-bedtime, no-rules, me-time-all-the-time kind of way.

So now, I have arrived. And you have too. Here we are, exactly where we wanted to be back then. This day is ours, this night is ours and it’s us who makes those rules. We made a promise to ourselves that when we got here we would embrace those evenings with all our being, feel the…

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Eliza Waters
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) fledglings

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) fledglings

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In A Vase On Monday – Daylilies

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Eliza Waters

IMG_6072For this week’s vase, I’ve used yellow daylilies (Hemerocallis ‘Happy Returns’), white flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) and purple ladybells (Adenophora confusa). IMG_6068Daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) is used as filler and a few lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) leaves are the green.

IMG_6073One of my favorite vases is this cobalt blue one that complements just about anything I choose to put in it. My mom had a similar one when I was growing up so it carries a bit of nostalgia for me as well. It is set upon a vintage Jean Vier Basque linen napkin.

IMG_6074Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden,  who hosts a weekly meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens by creating arrangements to enjoy inside our homes. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week. Feel free to join in, sharing your own weekly vase with a link to Cathy’s blog.

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Silent Sunday

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Eliza Waters

IMG_5973“Choose your thoughts carefully. Keep what brings you peace, release what brings you suffering, and know that happiness is just a thought away.”  ~ Nishan Panwar

Posted in Inspirational Quotes, My Photos | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

WPC: Symbol

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Eliza Waters
Red-wing Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

“Symbolism is uniquely human. We use symbols to represent intangible things like our beliefs and emotions, and to convert the abstract into something understandable. We may also use symbols to simplify and convey information.”

To me, the Red-winged Blackbird is a symbol of spring. I eagerly await the arrival of the males in early March, listening for their unique “Conk-aleee!” territorial call that tells me the long winter is over and warm days will soon follow.

WordPress Photography Challenge: Symbol

 

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