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Here and There…Now and Then |
Bradford Pear Blossoms
After a few weeks of wonderfully cool spring-like weather, we’ve moved to summer heat. It was over 90°F today, which I don’t appreciate even in the summer, much less a week after we were having nights in the 20s. Cathy and I went for a walk today, partway around the block our office is on. I took some pictures of the Bradford pears that are blooming, as well as some early cherry blossoms.
Maureen — “I could have saved how much on my car insurance?”
I picked Dorothy up this evening, as on most Tuesday’s, at Julia’s house. Also as usual, I took a few pictures. Justin was there, so I took some of him. Our favorite, though, was this picture of Maureen. I confess that this is semi-posed. One of us, Dorothy I think, said something and she made that expression. Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough with my camera so I asked her to to it again. Normally I would not post a picture like this but I asked for permission and she gave it gladly. What a sport.
Maureen said the caption should be, “I could have saved how much on my car insurance?”
Daffodil ‘Marieke’
What would spring be without daffodils? Summer, I guess. They are out in force now, including the bigger varieties that are so wonderfully cheerful. These are along our front walk and are called ‘Marieke’ and are in division 1, the trumpet daffodils. This is, I suppose, what most people think of when you say daffodil. Big, bold, bright, yellow trumpets happily gazing into the sun on a cool spring morning. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Purple Hyacinth
Flowering Quince
Heath
What a beautiful spring day we had today. On the way out this morning I stopped to take some pictures of daffodils blooming on either side of the walk. Then later I stopped to pick up Dorothy and took more pictures of flowers there. The first is looking down on a spike of purple hyacinth flowers. I took more from the side but they look pretty much the same as the pink flowers I posted a photo of recently. I thought this different angle would be more interesting. I also like the intense blue toward the middle of the cluster of flowers.
The second picture is of a flowering quince (one of the three Chaenomeles species, not to be confused with the proper quince, Cydonia oblonga). This is just starting to bloom and has lots of small, pink flowers that are quite pretty. I was out without my tripod, so this isn’t as sharp as it might be, but probably good enough for jazz. This is a nice shrub to grow for early spring color. I personally get tired of all the yellow forsythia and would welcome more of this.
Finally, we have the tiny flowers of a heath plant. Heath and heather are quite similar, with heather having smaller scale-like leaves. They both have tiny flowers of white, pink, or purple. Some of the heath species bloom in the winter, and they bloom for a fairly long period, which is nice. This one is actually past it’s peak of blooming.
Both heath and heather (Calluna vulgaris) are calcifuges (plants that do not tolerate alkaline soil). Like azaleas, they thrive in places with low pH and in fact most will not grow if the pH is greater than 6.5. I’d be curious to know if the deer bother them. If you have deer in your garden and you grow either heath or heather, let me know in the comments.
Thank you, Maureen and Bob, for sharing your garden with us today.
Stinky Cheeses
I picked up Dorothy this morning in Bethesda and we stopped briefly at Balducci’s, in Wildwood. I don’t shop there often, or we’d be broke, but it’s fun to go there once in a while. I do splurge and buy some expensive cheeses from time to time. Today, I got a little Stilton, some red Leicestershire, and some cheese called Jasper Hill Landaff, which I knew nothing about. It is made from raw cow’s milk and comes from Landaff Creamery on Springvale Farm in Landaff, NH. I took a few pictures while we were in Balducci’s, including this one of the “stinky cheese section.”
Cathy
It’s been a while since I put up a picture of Cathy, so I thought I would, today. We were dropping Dorothy off at a friends house and we got there shortly before the friend got home. As we waited I took a couple pictures of Dorothy and Cathy. This is one of them.
Lenten Rose
I’ve posted pictures of the dark claret colored Lenten rose before but this is the first time for this flower. We got three plants from Brady last fall, when they were being dug up to be replaced at her work. I planted two along the back fence and they are both blooming now. At first I thought they were going to be plain white but they are not, they have a nice bit of color and I’m very happy to have them. Thanks, Brady.
Pink Hyacinth Flowers
It’s true that I’m not a huge hyacinth fan. Still, I have to admit being cheered by these this year. It’s really only the smell I object to, I don’t mind the flowers themselves. I found their fragrance to be overpowering, though, and it’s not something I’d willingly bring into my house. In the yard, however, where you don’t notice the smell so much, I have no objection to them.
These were planted, along with some crocuses and daffodils, the fall after we moved into our house. They were given to me by friends for taking family pictures for them, and I enjoy them each spring. Erin and David, if you see this, I hope you still enjoy the photographs. Of course, there are more of you now. The crocuses are still blooming — the purple are done for the year but the white soldier on — and the daffodils are just about to open. Spring is here, although it was in the 20s this morning and it’s suppose to be cold the next few nights.
7-Eleven
When I started this project I said that I couldn’t promise that any of the photographs I took would be worth anything. I flatter myself that there have been some pretty good photos among the considerable amount of chaff. I’ve taken and used my camera in places I never thought to take it before — the dentist office, getting a CT scan, the grocery store — but I recognize that some days it just doesn’t work out.
Frankly, my life is pretty pedestrian and the pictures I take are for the most part pretty run of the mill. Today, I was in my office all day. I looked up and it was 6:10 and I had to be set up for a Skype-based interview at 7:00. I rushed home to get my computer and then to the church and by the time we were done it was after 9:00. I took this picture on the way home. I think it’s safe to say that this one lives down to my promise of not being worth much. But, I took a picture today, my 826th consecutive day taking a picture.
Corvette
It’s a little bit funny. I don’t think that I’d be interested in a Corvette even if I could afford to be. On the other hand, I think they make good photographic subjects. I happened to be passing Criswell Chevrolet this morning and decided to stop to take a few photos. Partly it’s because they have a nice, curving line of them along the road. I suppose their bright colors and sleek lines also contributes. Anyway, this photo is a bit more red than I remember the car actually being, which seemed more orange but perhaps that was because of the deep, dark red car that was next in line.