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“Scars are not signs of weakness, they are signs of survival and endurance.” ― Rodney A. Winters As a continuation to yesterday’s post “Beginnings“, here’s a mature coneflower blossom. I struggled for a title for this and fell back to just the name of the plant. The intent was to come up with a name for the image that reflected the character of the plant. As those who follow my blog regularly would… Read More
“Maybe I don’t have enough beginnings in my life because I fought against the endings that were about to birth those beginnings.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough As I surveyed my gardens this morning, I noticed that several of my purple cone flowers were already in full bloom, a nice change from last year when heat and drought caused them to put out very small, underdeveloped flowers, just big enough to produce some scant… Read More
“It had occurred to her many times that on board it didn’t matter where you were coming from or where you were heading. Each voyage had its own charisma. Like writing a book – word by word – or crossing a country – step by step – each minute had to be lived moment by moment.” ― Sara Sheridan This will likely be my last Tall Ships post. The ship pictured is the… Read More
“We clear the harbor and the wind catches her sails and my beautiful ship leans over ever so gracefully, and her elegant bow cuts cleanly into the increasing chop of the waves. I take a deep breath and my chest expands and my heart starts thumping so strongly I fear the others might see it beat through the cloth of my jacket. I face the wind and my lips peel back from… Read More
“And I wonder if the caterpillar at the threshold of death ever knew that she would get metamorphosed into a butterfly that she could fly.” ― Chirag Tulsiani Our camp area was overrun with these caterpillars this past weekend. We’ve been going to the same location for fourteen years and I can’t recall ever seeing so many tent caterpillars, though I did not actually see a colony in any neighbouring trees. On researching… Read More
“Saepe creat molles aspera spina rosas” – “Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses” ― Ovid This was a mystery plant to me, for a long time. On initial inspection, it looks like a wild rose, but the leaf is not right. It looks like a raspberry, but the flower is too big. So, what is it? Turns out, it’s a bit of both. It’s a flowering raspberry, and a member of the… Read More
“Sometimes people don’t understand the promises they’re making when they make them. But you keep the promise anyway. That’s what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway.” ― John Green There are times when I make and image and do a quick review in the camera display, where the title comes to me and sticks. The title of this image, “Promise” was such a moment. As in the word “promise’ itself, there is… Read More
“The smaller the creature, the bolder its spirit.” ― Suzy Kassem This started out as an experimental shot, playing with the depth of field of my macro lense and trying my darndest to get a crisp hand-held image, as the lens has no vibration compensation. At this depth of field, back to front ‘sway’ is critical. As you can see, only a very narrow band (the size of the ladybug) is in focus…. Read More
“Assuming what people want is about as controlled as using fireworks to start a fire.” ― Criss Jami With all the recent celebrations of Canada’s 150th year of Confederation and the 4th of July in America these past few days, fireworks have been a bit of a theme. Many people have posted images and written about their country’s celebrations. So, when I made this image of a small group of Yellow Hawkweed, with… Read More
“It’s just some instinct as old as fear: you seek the dark when you hide, you seek the light when the need to hide is gone. All the animals have it too. ― Cornell Woolrich Here’s a slightly different composition of the bug that photobombed my daisy images a few days ago. This time it’s a bit closer image, with just the back of a single daisy and its resident beetle. I’m not… Read More
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ― Claude Monet I’ve seen these pretty clumps of pink flowers along the roadside before. Many times. I’ve just driven by, last year I saw some and turned the car around to make some photos, but they turned out to be quite disappointing, a bit out of focus, and not showing the characteristics of the flowers well. They are quite pretty and really stand out because… Read More
“Don’t hide yourself from the world and don’t let the world hide himself from you!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan Photographing anything in or from the wild almost always offers a surprise. In this case, as I was photographing some daisies, a small beetle decided this would be a good time to come from its hiding place and see what all the commotion was about. For a while he was careful to put the… Read More
“I am so grateful to be here on this awesome planet with it’s diverse life – everything we need to not just survive but to thrive. I am excited to continually learn more about it, and always curious to see what is going to come up next.” ― Jay Woodman What better image to post for Canada’s 150th Birthday? I have several, but this Canada Thistle seemed quite appropriate. Despite its name,… Read More
“He imagines a necessary joy in things that must fly to eat.” ― Wendell Berry A final look at this fleabane plant and accompanying wildlife. The Crescent butterfly, now satisfied, flies off to its next destination, while a small bee arrives to repeat the cycle. I like the movement in this image. It nicely illustrates the activity that goes on, even around a single plant, all day long. Each visitor, in its… Read More
“The miracle is that the brilliance of the miraculous can live in the blandness of the mundane. The greater miracle is that we have enough brilliance in our own blandness to see it.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough I’m finding even common items fascinating lately, as I get ‘close’ to them. The image above is of a common wildflower, or to gardeners, an invasive and prolific weed. I’ve seen entire lawns infested with… Read More
“You lift your head, you’re on your way, but really just to be walking, to be out of doors. That’s it, that’s all, and you’re there. Outdoors is our element: the exact sensation of living there.” ― Frédéric Gros By far the most common of local meadow butterflies are skippers. Once you spot one, you suddenly see dozens. The name skipper is so appropriate too, as they move quickly from flower to… Read More
“Like all sweet dreams, it will be brief, but brevity makes sweetness, doesn’t it?” ― Stephen King Much of the conservation land surrounding my home, including parks and hiking trails, was, at some not too distant time, farmland. It’s difficult to visualize, as I walk through now forested areas. Every now and then though, evidence of former use makes itself known. On one particular site, many perennial sweet peas can be found… Read More
“There are 365 days in a year and you will meet all the colours of life throughout the year: The blue, the black, the pink… Only blue is not a life, only pink is not a life, only black is not a life! Life is all the colours!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan The outdoors is filled with unexpected gifts. As I set out to photograph the Lady Slipper Orchids last Saturday, that… Read More
“She glitters like she walked out of a Klimt painting” ― Jandy Nelson I came across this Emerald Jewelwing, who was resting briefly on a leaf just below eye level. There are time where they just sit and pose for long periods, but not today. This brief pause lasted only a few seconds and it was fluttering madly about once more, in the warming air above me. It also provided me a… Read More
“Time is for dragonflies and angels. The former live too little and the latter live too long.” – James Thurber Here’s another companion from my orchid hike. A beautiful yellow dragonfly, sunning itself in the warm trailside sunshine. If someone could help me out with its identification, that would be appreciated. I’ve had varying luck photographing dragonflies, and this is my first shot of one using my 90mm macro lens. I’m quite… Read More
“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about and don’t understand. […] There are always new things to find out if you go looking for them.” ― David Attenborough There are moments in our lives that leave us breathless. For me, one of those moments occurred last year, when I came across this small cluster of… Read More
“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” ― Joseph Addison Yesterday morning, my son and I went for a hike to see how a patch of Showy Lady Slipper orchids were coming along. More on that in a future post. On the way into the forest, the wildflower lined path was abuzz… Read More
“Waiting for you is as delightful as waiting for sunset.” ― Kamand Kojouri Hey, will you look at that, a flower that is not pink for a change. The seasons are turning, and as my lovely peonies fade into memory, yellow has returned in full force. This flower, which we mistakenly named ‘moon flower’ when we first got it from my mother-in-law, who also called it that, because it opens at dusk…. Read More
“Everyday can be extraordinary And ripe, Like a flower burst, If the will is there.” ― Scott Hastie As a follow up to yesterday’s post, I revisited the bud I photographed the day before, titled “Opening Soon“. Well. it did open and I’m still amazed at how all this pomp and frill can fit inside such a small bud. The peony season is beginning to wind down and we had a torrential… Read More
“You get peace of mind not by thinking about it or imagining it, but by quieting and relaxing the restless mind.” ― Remez Sasson Alas, the next wave of peonies is upon me. All the varieties are now in full bloom, some already spend and the buds of the second generation of flowers is beginning to open. These secondary blossoms tend to be a bit smaller but no less beautiful. I spotted this… Read More
“Ants always eat sweet food … but none of them haven’t diabetes ?” ― Ali Ghasaby Among the residents of peonies are, of course, ants. Ants of all sizes and shapes thrive on the sweet nectars the peonies offer from bud to blossom. It would be a rare occasion when I bring a peony blossom indoors that an ant does not emerge at some point. It’s a given. As I photographed my… Read More
“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.” ― Pablo Neruda As I came outside yesterday, I was filled with the sweet aroma of Peony. Our walkway is bordered by two enormous peony plant. They stand nearly five feet (just under two meters) tall and are now so big that an extra large peony ring will not hold them. I’ve taken to using rope… Read More
“As I leave the garden I take with me a renewed view, And a quiet soul.” ― Jessica Coupe This lovely purple flowered plant was given to me by my grandmother many years ago and is well established in the garden. For years I called it Bee-Balm, being uncertain of what it really was. It always reminded me a bit of nettle or overgrown Creeping Charley. One of the joys of photography,… Read More
“A fleeting moment can become an eternity. From a past encounter everything may disappear in the dungeon of forgetfulness. A few furtive flashes or innocent twinkles can survive, though. Some immaterial details may remain marked in our memory, forever. A significant look, a salient colour or a unforeseen gesture may abide, indelibly engraved in our mind.” ― Erik Pevernagie It continues to be dull and cold outside and I’ve been feeling under the weather… Read More
“Sunflowers, Not Facing the Sun” (A Poem) I stand tall As gracious as one could be Blooming to my best As slender as it touches my being Everyone else is facing the sun Bending towards its unfathomable galore They and I are both undoubtedly Grown on the benevolence of life’s essence The brighter side mercilessly feeding desires unbound By daunting the “courage to know” with each spin Though, I am not able… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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