The new front step

Being the queen of unfinished projects, last weekend was monumental.  The front step was finished!!!

As part of the yard makeover for my daughter's wedding, my husband and son-in-law to be, replaced the front step last April.  My job was to install the railings and make the post caps.  I love to do wood work but don't have the strength for the heavy work so I do the finishing and painting.  I've been putting it off for a while but finally decided this was a project I would finish.

The front of the house faces north and there's not much color in the flower bed.  The ferns have taken over the flower bed for the past 30 years and with them being so easy to take care of, I've let them grow.

And the new posts have given me a place for a hanging baskets.

 

This is the view from the front step leading into the east yard.

Getting the yard ready for the wedding has been a major undertaking but I'm loving the results.  Hope to share more with you as we start to finish up the projects.

Lensbaby Pansies

Wake Up at 5:30 am

Post daily photo

Shower

Eat Breakfast

Leave for work at 7:00 am

Work

15 minute break at 9:15 am

Work

Lunch break at noon

Work

15 minute break at 2:15 pm

Work

Leave work at 4:30 pm

Arrive home and start supper

Husband home at 5:45 pm

Supper at 6:00 pm

Process photos, watch TV

Bed at 9:30 pm

For the past four years that was my daily routine.  Very structured and organized.  My work in accounting was also very structured and creativity during the day was really something that did not happen.  Bad things happen when one gets creative with accounting.

When I got my first DSLR, 3 years ago, my photos were also very structured.  As I had taken a few courses in photography, I knew what DOF was. f2.8 gave out of focus photos, but when you spend good money on a sharp lens, why would you want to use anything but f14. To me f2.8 was something you used when you needed more light.  My photos had to be sharp and in focus all the time.  A photo copy of reality is what I was after.

A couple of years my husband gave me a Lensbaby Composer for Christmas and I called it my “play” lens.  Great for shots of the Christmas tree and lights but I didn’t use it much.

During the past couple of years, being part of the Daily community on Smugmug, I began to appreciate f2.8.  Now, the majority of my photos are taken at f2.8 or f4. My new job is less structured.  I still don’t get creative with the accounting, but there are no buzzers to tell me when to take a break and when to eat lunch.  I’m starting to feel a little less like a trained mouse.

Sunday morning I woke up to a beautiful day and I put the Lensbaby on the camera and decided to play with the pansies in the yard.

 

My first thought was that the rain drops were ruining the photos and then I began to see everything a little different. I added a little star from the bokeh kit to see if I could catch a few out of focus drops.

And came across the wet leaves of a daylily.

Again back into the house to add a macro filter to the lensbaby.

It’s now Tuesday and I still have the lensbaby on the camera.

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The Garden Walkway

It's been my dream to have a flower garden on the south side of the house. Years ago we did have a little flower bed, but as time passed, it had grown over and attention turned to a larger vegetable garden. The south side of the house has been sadly neglected, with the exception of cutting the grass for quite a few years. With our daughter getting married in the yard in August, landscaping changes have had to be made. The vegetable garden hasn't been used for some time and has been turned back to lawn. The south side of the house needed attention, so the flower garden dream turned into a reality. Since the house has a walk out basement a walk way was needed through the flower bed and it started with a trip to Totem to pick up a few pavers.

The walkway had been leveled by my son-in-law to be and filled with sand by my husband so all I had to do was level the sand and place the pavers.

 

This iris is the last remaining plant from the original flower bed. It's been growing in the lawn for the past 25 years and withstood the "renovation" giving us a few blossoms this year.

 

The wagon wheels were purchased at an auction years ago and repainted last year, waiting for their place in the garden walkway. We still have to put in a deck between the garden and the house, but the wedding isn't until the end of August, so we have a little time.

 

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Texture Tuesday Lilacs

"As one gets older one sees many more paths that could be taken. Artists sense within their own work that kind of swelling of possibilities, which may seem a freedom or a confusion." Jasper Johns

 Kim Klassen's latest texture "Confusion" seems to fit my state of mind lately. I was thinking I was getting old, but now I see it as to too many paths to take.


 Hover over with your mouse and you'll see the before and after.

 

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i heart macro

 

 Texture Tuesday

 

My favorite little man

My favorite little man came to visit today. Being Farther's Day, his parents, my son and his wife brought my grandson for brunch. My heart melts when I see him and I treasure every moment we spend with him. After brunch he and I went for a walk around the yard. The first stop was at a raised flower bed, which he quickly climbed to see what was on top of the ties.

On to a group of trees where he found something in the grass that grabbed his attention. His inquisitive mind always seems to be in overdrive and the world seems so fresh and new through his eyes.

   

Playing Peek-A-Boo in the trees is becoming a favorite game for both of us.  Not to mention great photo ops for Grandma.

Last stop in the yard was a newly planted flower bed where he explored the magic of dirt.

I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday and got to spend some time with someone you love.

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Your Sunday Best

The Simple Things

Grandma's Phlox

A sure sign of summer in the garden is the pink phlox blooming in my wildflower garden.

At the same time, the lilacs bloom, the Swallowtail Butterflies return and summer gardening begins.  The phlox has always been one of my favorites for the macro lens. The tiny delicate pink flowers contrasting with the green stems make them perfect for a shallow depth of field and they appear to float above the greenery. 

The little pink phlox reminds me of my Grandma and makes me smile.  The gardens in her neighborhood always contained these beautiful mounds of pink flowers.  She was an avid gardener, first on the farm out of necessity and later in the city because of her love of gardening. When we moved to the acerage I had asked her for a little piece of this flower to plant in my first flower bed.  I didn’t realize it at the time because she had so many flowers, but she didn’t have any phlox in her yard but the library down the street and the neighbors did have mounds of it. 

I never did find out where mine came from. Grandma’s been gone for many years now, but I’m always reminded of her when the phlox booms.

And speaking of wildflowers, I found this little guy sitting on one of the wild violets.

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Mums for a mom.

Lately I've been in a photographic slump.  It was a long winter and a cold April and spring seemed to be taking forever to come.  The grass was brown and the trees were brown.  The weather warmed up a few weeks ago and it was so beautiful outside but no flowers or leaves on the trees.  I would use my camera daily but not happy with anything I was shooting.  Too little color, bad composition or just bad.  On Mother's Day, my son and his wife gave me a beautiful pot of white Chrysanthemum's.  I'm not sure he if knew it or just got lucky but this winter white flowers have been my favorite to photograph.

Yesterday morning I woke up and with the soft morning light streaming in on the pot of flowers my photographic light bulb went off.  While I should have been getting ready for work, I grabbed my camera and started taking a few shots.  Since I carpool with my husband I knew he'd tell me when it was time to leave.

Today the sun in shinning, the trees have come out with their new green leaves and everything looks just as it should in the spring.  I'm not sure if my son knew it when he picked up this pot of white Mums that it would bring color back into the world for me.

I hope your day is filled with light and beautiful color, even if it's white.