water droplets

With a water droplet you can get a highlight in a flower, just like you look for one in a good animal picture. This one reminded my of a jewel when I made the circle picture, a sparkly mandala.

cottonwood

A cottonwood tree at the Cherry Creek Dog Area where 2 trails meet lays on it's side along one bank. It has been the focus of a couple of my mandala. It has always intrigued me. The blue in the middle is the Cherry Creek. We have had a couple mild weeks here in the middle of January, warm enough to take the dog on a walk. It's a nice hike except for the mud! I liked the way the image of the trunks came together in the mandala.

Canopy

Since sitting on the beach is not my thing, I found this wonderful vine trellised over very heavy supports, that protected you from the sun. I loved the twisted pattern that the vine provided as you looked up from the concrete tables and chairs on the edge of the beach near Ft DeRussy. I sat and read there a couple of times. Fort DeRussy was an Army reservation built in 1915 to protect Honolulu in the US territory of Hawaii. It is now a Armed Forces Recreation Area near the Hale Koa.

Sunshine

Went to Hawaii before Christmas, and found Bird of Paradise plants blooming just out in the open. With the deep freeze we have fallen into, makes me wish for those constant days of around 80 degrees. The mandala of the flower with its bright oranges and yellow petals
reminded me of the sun , whose warmth would be welcome just about now!

the last of the red wagon

We are still in the deep freeze here, which means that the snow isn't melting much and anything plastic that has been left outside is brittle. The red wagon just broke when we tried to move it the other day. It's kind of sad as lots of adventures were had with that wagon. The red at the center of the mandala is the red wagon.