



Archive for the ‘Nature Notes’ Category
Mushrooms in a Nearby Wood
Posted in Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Chelmsford, fungus, Lime Quarry, mushrooms, nature, Photography, photos, pictures on July 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Feathers
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Boston, Charles River, feathers, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, Public Garden on July 6, 2011| 1 Comment »

Between meetings today, I was able to stroll through the Boston Public Gardens. As I rested in the shade of a willow tree by the pond, mallards waddled by on land while a majestic white swan glided by on the water. My hands were busy stuffing lemon ice down my throat (so hot here!). By the time my hands were free, all that was left in my vicinity were feathers.

Vertical Symmetry
Posted in Branches, Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged horizontal symmetry, landscape, nature, perception, Photography, photos, pictures, reflection, vertical symmetry, water on July 5, 2011| 2 Comments »
Recently Steve shared pictures from a trip abroad. Dreamy images of a Canadian landscape with narrow strips of land separating sky and water. Beautiful images to be sure, but what made them truly fascinating was Steve’s perspective as he shared them. He suggested in terms of their display the images should be rotated 90 degrees thus highlighting what he had been trying to capture — the reflection of the landscape in (often) still waters creating perfect symmetry, i.e. use the vertical line, not the horizontal, to heighten the viewer’s experience of the reflection. See what you think. 😉
I must admit, as I viewed some of these images at their new orientation, I began to “see” complex and rich structures that had nothing to do with their actual subject matter (trees, water, sky). I especially thought of the green man in the woods figure with this one.
What do you see?
The Sunflower in the Garden
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged garden, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, Somerville, sunflowers on July 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Rainbow Ripples
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged colors, digital alteration, Photography, photos, pictures, reflection, refraction, sunlight, water on July 2, 2011| 1 Comment »



So one day sunlight came through a window and shone through a glass of water that I had left on a table. A scientist friend of mine explained that what I captured were caustics and that the ripples in the water were acting like lenses refracting the light around. I think I understand most of that. Mostly I appreciated the simple beauty of the lines on the paper and the opportunity to play around with the images later on the computer.

Green Day
Posted in Branches, Nature Notes, tagged green, life cycle, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, plants on July 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »
A single plant. Several stages of development. An unexpected find in a local park while out for a stroll.



Silhouettes
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged nature, Photography, photos, pictures, shadows, silhouettes on June 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I have a good friend who is working on assignment out west near the Grand Canyon. Occasionally, she will call in to describe the wildlife that she is seeing at dusk and dawn and all hours in between. This morning she left a message about five large elk silhouetted against the evening sky. Later, as I went through my image archives, I found myself being particularly drawn to those subjects cast in shadow. Here are a few that jumped out at me.



A Poppies Update
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged color, flowers, indoor garden, orange, photograph, photos, pictures, poppies on June 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Jaded
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged animal carvings, friendship, jade, Japan, nostalgia, Photography, photos, pictures on June 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
A dear friend used to work in Japan. On occasion she would send me small treasures, like these small pieces of jade.


I found them as I cleaned out an old jewelry box this weekend. The friend and I haven’t spoken in many years. Just different life journeys. I am thinking that I will turn one of these images into a postcard or even a notecard and send to her with words of thanks. A good summer project. 😉
Sacrificing Thyme
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged caterpillar, green, insects, Photography, photos, pictures, thyme on June 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I don’t know if the little guy was there when I purchased the lemon thyme, perhaps as an egg or a teeny tiny larva. All I know is that recently I’ve been worried about the lemon thyme. Was I watering it too much? Was it getting too much sun? After returning home today, I started watering things and as I watered the thyme I noticed a rolled up leaf. To myself I said, “Hmmm. I didn’t know thyme leaves grew like that.” I leaned to look closer and this is what I saw:
Probably tomorrow morning as I head off to work, I’ll take him outside to let him fend for himself. But if you know what this is, please let me know.








