The Unfolding

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Friday Favorites ~ My Recent Images

I take a lot of pictures. To be fair, I don’t take nearly as many right now as I have in the past but it’s still a lot of photos. It’s the glory of digital I guess. I can take all of the random shots because it doesn’t cost me anything to do so.

And it works out because I sometimes capture some shots that I really just enjoy for no other reason than they’re pretty. So here are a few of my most recent images taken in June that I happen to like well enough to share.

I found these really lovely wildflowers at Holly Beach and brought some home to enjoy. They did not disappoint.

And then of course I got super excited to see the sprouts popping up in the flowerbed! I shared a couple on Wednesday but saved these two for today’s post because I was so pleased with them.

I love the graceful curve of this one with the stem just about to unfold. If I were a sculptor I think I would recreate this one.

This one is a favorite because I love how the seed casing is visible, even if just barely hanging on.

But last night. Y’all the sky was simply amazing! Rob and I were outside throwing balls to the puppies and I happened to glance over my shoulder and literally gasped out loud.

The sky had caught fire behind us and it was a glorious sight to behold.

Then I turned back around and was completely stunned by the most massive full rainbow I think I have ever seen in my whole life.

What an amazing God we have. I know people can use science to explain the whys and hows we get skies like this, and that’s fine. But that only points me to the fact that He designed things to work that way so that for no other reason we get to stand under a sky such as that. I mean, doesn’t that blow your mind just a little?

Have a good weekend, y’all!

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ~ II Corinthians 9:8

Refreshed

Good Morning, Monday

You came very early 🙂

Claire was riding with friends to camp this week which meant we were up early. After she came back inside from loading her suitcase in the car she said, “I heard an actual rooster.” She was excited about her week ahead though so she didn’t really mind.

We have friends coming to stay a few days but a dear friend gave me some beautiful roses from her garden yesterday and it was such a lovely start to my week and I wanted to share the love.

Aren’t they just simply gorgeous? I wish you could smell them.

I was talking with some other friends yesterday and we all agreed that snail mail is such a wonderful gift and an artform we are in danger of losing. It inspired these pictures:

The roses themselves in their lovely vase are so classic and romantic that I had to add pearls in to a few shots. This was my favorite.

But of course it wouldn’t be much of a Monday post without a few macro images.

Isn’t the yellow so soft and dreamy?

I love floral pictures so much and can’t seem to keep myself from taking their picture. With the start of our flower farm I have a feeling (I hope) that I will have many many subjects in the future to capture so I hope y’all don’t get tired of them.

Have a beautiful Monday, friends! The Lord be with you.

The Beauty In Coming Undone

Carnations

Think On These Things ~ Colossians 1:9-17

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 

so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

Friday Favorites ~ Birthday Edition

My birthday was Wednesday and turning 51 was a lowkey event and lovely. The kids gave me a beautiful Willow Tree figurine and it seems I am finally going to actually start collecting them and that makes me happy.

Rob got me a thingie called an expo card that helps set accurate white balance when taking pictures and I am looking forward to working with that but what I am most excited about is the set of extension tubes he gave me. They are a poor man’s answer to a macro lens and they worked so much better than I expected! A good dedicated macro lens is going to range in price anywhere from $400 to $1200 and while it would be nice to have one I just can’t see spending that kind of money on “nice”.

Enter the extension tubes. They work great for a macro hobbyist who is just doing occasional up close work. Metal rings that attach to the camera, literally extend your lens so it can function as a macro. The set came with three different sizes and what is pretty cool is that they can be stacked to achieve different focal lengths.

I took around 275 pictures yesterday morning just getting a feel for them. Any macro lens gives you an incredibly narrow depth of field which means focus can be hard to nail. Pardon me while I geek out, but it was just so much fun to play around with!

This was one of my first successful shots.

I received some beautiful birthday flowers from friends and they came in quite handy as a practice subject.

And of course I needed to see how cheerios looked through the tubes.

I braved the cold (winter has arrived in Louisiana!) long enough to do a couple of random outside shots.

I’m hoping that as I practice I will get really good at macro work. There is something special about focusing in on the very small details that we usually just glance over. Almost like God is sharing a secret with us. Not sure what the secret in cheerios is but… 🙂

Always happy to get suggestions for photo ideas so feel free to share any you have.

You can use this link to check out some really amazing macro photographers who are most likely not using extension tubes 😉

Hosta Randomness

Did you know that hosta plants actually flower?

I did not so I was super surprised, and more than a little happy, when the lone hosta plant I bought on impulse started showing signs of flowering a few weeks ago.

Over the last couple of years I have been enjoying some moderate success with my house plants (the ratio of the still alive to oops, I don’t know how I killed that is in my favor) and combined with the results of our flower and veggie beds this year and last have me feeling like a real gardener of sorts.

To be honest, I have no idea what I am doing and I am more than slightly convinced that there is some kind of magic at work with anything horticultural. Basically I am winging it and hoping for the best. And loving every minute of it.

All that to say, I had no idea I would get to enjoy such delicate and sweet smelling blossoms on my potted hosta so naturally I turned to the internets to help fill in my knowledge gap.

Turns out there are over 3000 varieties of hostas spread throughout about 45 different species of the plant.

They’re native to China, Japan, and Korea and came to the United States by way of Europe in the 1800s.

Something else that really surprised me is that they are edible and are actually grown as a vegetable in some Asian cultures. A quick pinterest search yielded some recipes that actually look like they could be tasty. I don’t think I will be in a hurry to add them to my menu anytime soon as I am still trying to make sure it stays in the still alive category but I am definitely interested in the idea of cooking with them. Would you try it?

Because I am me and it’s what I do, you know I had to spend some time taking pictures of the elegant flowers.

The blooms on my plant are a soft white with a hint of pink to them and they also have a pleasant and subtle fragrance.

All in all, they are quickly becoming one of my garden favorites this year.

You can go here to see a few more pictures I took of them that I am sharing on the photo blog. I was really pleased with the dreamy abstract ones I got using the reverse lens method.

Until next time, hosta la vista!

(See what I did there? Man, do I crack myself up!)

The Scent of Summer

It’s a fragrances that can evoke memories of my childhood with the slightest whiff.

It calls to mind bare feet in the sweet grass, rich earth under my hands, blue skies and sweaty pony tails as we raced around the yard, climbing in and out of the low heavy branches.

It also calls to mind plain cheese sandwiches with a little mayonnaise. I must have eaten one almost everyday under that great big magnolia in our back yard. Funny, but now I wouldn’t touch that sandwich, but magnolias?

Oh, how I love them.

Maybe it’s the way the big waxy petals seem to enclose a secret treasure.

Gradually unfolding to reveal the scarlet dipped treasure at it’s center.

I have always been fascinated by the stamens and the way they’d gather, cupped in the soft white petals like some kind of offering.

It’s a hardy tree that can grow tall with branches from the ground all the way up making it the perfect fort and climbing tree.

With every intake of it’s sweet scent I can hear echoes of my childhood…my sisters…laughter…my Mother calling us in for the night. And if I sit still long enough I can almost see the fireflies that used to dance among it’s leaves late in the evening.