Last day of 2007

We got one snowman made! Didn't have any long carrots, so the next best thing was a red candle! Found some pinecone eyes, an old straw hat, and some branches for arms. Everyone have a safe and happy New Year!

the shovel of snow

This is the shovel of snow the mandala below was taken from. It still amazes me that the shadow color of snow is BLUE, a reflection of the sky.

crystal snow

While shoveling snow (we got 8 inches) I pushed some up into the sunlight that was just cresting the roofline, it caught the light and sparkled. So out came the camera to try and capture the sparkle. Snow is such lovely stuff to photograph, there are so many moods to snow. I think I read somewhere that the Eskimo's have at least 20 or 30 different words to describe snow. The stuff from this last storm was light and fluffy, not very good for snowmen, but very full of sparkles and fortunately easy to shovel!

Lewis Falls

Since we are having another snow storm, I'm staying put inside and going back to September pictures, the one above is of Lewis Falls in Yellowstone. The larger star in the middle is made by the edge of the bridge.

Heart of the Amaryllis

Amaryllis are a Christmas plant in part beacuse of the wonderful velvet red of their blossom. They do come in different colors, the one above was red and white. Above is a picture of the heart of the flower. I like the star shape that formed. The straight lines are the stamen, and the filagree at the edges are the stamen shadows intertwined. The stamen curve at the end. Everyone have a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy your families, near or far.

birdfeeder squirrel

The neighborhood squirrel birdfeeder raider! I got the squirrel under the tree branch(an earlier mandala), this guy above was in full sun, but taken thru a window. He dives head first into the feeder, chases the birds off and the dog barks at him. Oh, well, he is a bit of nature and he's comical to watch.

melting ice

Melting ice has interesting edges, and they in turn make neat mandala patterns. It was melting today almost to 50 degrees - which felt nice - with the sunshine. The ice above was in a tire track and the redish color is the top of the pavement.

another orchid mandala

My earlier trip to the orchid greenhouse netted many beautiful shots. I continue to revisit them and create mandalas.

the stone

Here's the stone/rock that the previous mandala was taken from. I liked the interesteing pattern of drips in the snow.

walking around the yard in the snow

We again have cold weather. Yesterday the sun was out and my grandson and I tromped around the yard. He likes the crunchy sound as he walks over crusty snow. So with camera in hand I followed him. We'd get cold, go inside to warm up and go out again. The faint star above is actually sunshine filtering thru the branches of a pine tree onto a flat rock. I had to go back to the original picture to make sure myself.

winter snow and cold have arrived

The low light under the blue spruce branch didn't allow for the best picture, but on this cold winter day, I liked the squirrel huddled in the protection of the tree. It's almost a black and white picture with just a touch of color and the negitive and positive space battle for control of your eye. Do you see the squirrel or the intricate patterns made by the small branches?

Back to the Tetons

When we visited Jaskson Hole this past summer, we drove past some residential areas. One house had a meadow as a front lawn it was beautiful. The celtic cross designs makes bold patterns.

interesting clouds

Last weekend we had some interesting cloud formations at sunset and some unusual colors. This was taken with an arched cottonwood branch that made unusual patterns. At a friends house Tuesday, there was a wonderful window to watch the evening sky. The clouds and color filled the whole sky. I hope anyone who was out and about took time to look up, sometimes the view is breathtaking.

Peace on Earth - for December and always

This saying by Thomas Kempis (1379-1471) a German theologian, was in one of my many Christmas catalogs on a piece of jewelry. It seemed such an appropriate sentiment for this time of year, I thought I should incorporate it into a mandala. A greenhouse is a peaceful place for me, no matter what is growing. There is a wonderful smell of rich moist earth and the serenity of growing plants. An orchid greenhouse provided me with an opportunity to take lots of colorful pictures, to include the one above. There are so many different kinds of orchid blooms. I try to grow them myself but do not really have the proper conditions for orchids.

The unexpected

Other digital photographers may have experienced their camera going haywire once in a while, getting blurred images with color flashes that have nothing to do with the original subject. The mandala above is from a picture gone wrong, the colors were bright (I like the purple green combinations). So, I made it into a mandala and liked the results! It turned out quite colorful.

More than one hundred

Hey I looked at the counter and now have 102 postings. Whew! I called up an older flower photo (a lily) to make this mandala. There are so many mandala possibilities with flowers, and such wonderful colors. Here with the pink and green patterns.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

thinking of flowers on a cold day

I was going thru my gardening books and donating unused ones to the Library. One I kept was called Flower Fables by Geraldine E. Nicholson, just a small booklet that started with Anemone, Flower of the wind. It had a discription of "a bluish cup-shapped wild flower, the pasque flower. Pasque (Old French) means Easter, and the name was given to this species by the herbalist Gerarde in 1597 because at Easter is when it blossoms. . . It is the state flower of South Dakota. . . .it is also considered a symbol of old age because of its silvery heads of feathery seeds. Anemones have figured in Indians Songs, legends, and medicines. . patches of these flowers on short furry stems give the appearance of haze. 'Praire smoke" the Indians called them. " We saw a beautiful patch on our way to the mountains this past spring. Usually I see them in smaller groupings of one or two. So of course took a picture that was transformed into the mandala above.

a couple days before Thanksgiving

The mountains in the picture above should be covered in snow by this time in November. Hopefully the storm coming in will deliver some much needed moisture. We are suppose to go from 76 degrees today to 26 degrees by Wednesday. That's a 50 degree drop, scary! So I'm in shirt sleves today but will have several layers on by Thanksgiving. Everyone have a good Thanksgiving celebration! The mandala above goes from rocks at the center nearest the camera to the clouds in the sky, this is from a picture I took from Mount Evans this summer. The feathery edges make it almost a blue flower.

the blossom

The white Christmas Cactus is sort of like angle wings, with the petals arching back. Please note the tiny bit of purple-pink at the tip of the flower, that is what makes the color at the center of the mandala. I like to share the picture the mandala comes from with you, because it is sometimes hard to visualize what it was before it became a circle. There was bright colored paper behind the upper part of the flower.

white Christmas Cactus

Another house plant that blooms this time of year is the Christmas Cactus. The pinkish white blossom is airy with delicate petals and the stamens are a vibrant purple-pink. The color at the center of the mandala is from the stamens. I went to a lecture on gardening in Colorado yesterday- it was very good and reminded me of why I love gardening. And it makes me want to plan for new plants in all the micro-climates in my backyard. I can't wait for the garden catalogs that start arriving in January!

Jade Star

One of the nice things about leaving your house plants outside for the summer is that when you bring them in they bloom sometimes. The cluster of little star flowers formed by my Jade plant is a case in point. They are blooming now toward the beginning of November, and they add a festive air to the plant and to the whole room.

more fallen leaves

We have had such mild weather, it's been beautiful to be outside. There are still leaves to rake and pictures to take. The weather will change next week, thou

trees minus leaves

As the tree branches come together in the mandala above, it reminds me of a stained glass rose window. The leaves are gone from the cottonwoods, but the shrubs still have a fringe of gold. We were walking the dogs along Chreey Creek toward evening when I took this picture. The weather has been so nice here.

White flower with dew

Dew drops on petals and leaves always draws my attention and I liked the folds that the kaliedoscope process creates. The only flowers blooming outside now are mums and pansies. So, I'm using earlier flower pictures to make some new mandalas.

Mudflats

Mudflats at the geyser basin in Yellowstone had all sorts of colors, above are a few. All the pictures are hung ( by the chimney with care ). No chimneys - but it does feel good to have the pictures up in to two shows.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone! I like this picture because you have to look closely to see the Orb weaver spider, the shading is such that you see the cross shape before you see the spider. I found him on the underside of some outside stairs. Hope you will all come see the shows I've hung this week both up thru the month of November. One in Downtown Denver and the other at the Smoky Hill Library out east, 10 pieces downtown and 18 out east. Email me if you would like more information.

Pile of Leaves

I was lucky enough to grow up with mature trees in my backyard which meant that in the fall there were leaves to rake into wonderful piles that we jumped in. My trees are mature now, but most of the leaves in my yard come from two girant cottonwoods in my neighbor's yard, there are plenty to rake into piles. My grandson likes to crunch thru the leaves with me, so I introduced him to a pile of leaves.

after the snow

The trees still had their leaves when the snow hit, bending the branches low. Fortunately no limbs broke. Some trees dropped their leaves the day after the snow, but some are still holding onto them. Today as the sun was setting it illuminated the leaves remaining on a neighbor's cottonwood.

first snow

The first snow is always worth a celebration. It's so white and pretty. We still have leaves on the trees so I went out to shake off this heavy wet snow. I took the camera on the next trip. On the patio table there was already 3" of snow, with snow on the plastic garden owl and a container of bubbles which added the turquoise color. The center of the mandala is the closed umbrella. Have fun in the snow!

leaves

It's time for the leaves to fall. There are a couple trees that have lost all their leaves. The mandala above came feom a simple shot of leaves on the sidewalk and I love the delicate designs in the middle. I was raking leaves with my grandson when I took the picture.

little pumpkin

Hey, it's almost Holloween!

aspen

We're a couple of weeks away from the peak of the aspen, we're into snow in the high country now. Playing with the aspen picture, I liked the angular shapes formed by aspen truncks. I've been sharing my mandala/circular images on this blog since April and having fun doing it. It has become a visual journal for me, a record of those things that draw my attention on a daily basis. Hoping you have enjoyed it too!

engleman ivy

Engleman Ivy covers the backyard fences in green drapery most of the year, but when fall comes it turns delightful colors from orange to red. They don't last long, so I take pictures when I can. Today is a cold and rainy day a good day to take a nap!

Big red

This time of year it's to the greenhouse for flowers, this plant had a beautiful red spray of color for a blossom. Sometime they just stand out and say take my picture. I've just come back from ordering my prints for the two shows I'll be in, in November one at the Downtown TOSA and the other at the Smokey Hill Library. I ordered 30 prints and hope to hang most of them.

original picture for umbrella mandala

The curvature of the leave gave the natural looking curve to the umbrella mandala. The small pie shape was taken just to the right of center. It always amazes me the picture that results, that's why I keep making mandala - there is always a suprise in the next on or the one after that.

umbrella

This is a fool the eye picture, it reminded me of an umbrella. anyone want to guess what this is? The following is a hint: Since it's time for outside gardens to die - I took a trip to my local greenhouse and took pictures of interesting foilage and flowers.

spider plant

Many of us have seen spider plants, not everyone knows they also have a flower. Spider plants make baby plants at the end of ariel shoots, the flowers are really not necessary for reproduction. . . there are ample opportunities to grow new spider plants from the shoots. Above is a spider plant flower, they are about dime sized. It's time to take in house plants here in Colorado. We haven't had a first frost, but it's coming. Every year when I bring them in I tell myself that I need to cut back. I especially don't need anymore spider plants.

water

water draws us too it and creates many moods.

fall colors of aspen and brush

The wonderful patterns in the middle of this mandala are created by the autum colors of shrubs along Morrison Creek, with golden aspen standing at the edge, then pines and the mountains.

cloud iris

Landscape pictures with cloud formations, remind me of an eye. The art work looking back at you, so to speak and there is rich detail in the iris. In this picture you can see golden aspen on the hillside, if you look close and a dusting of snow on the mountain. It was taken while passing Greenmountain Reservoir

aspen and blue sky

Last weekend drove up Mt. Evans road a ways to take in the changing colors of the aspen. It was a beautiful day with blue, blue skies. There is one switch back on the road that has a wonderful view of the mountains with lots of color and a picnic area. So I was able to get out and walk around. I have not quite made it an annual treck but could easily do it. Will see this weekend if the the trees south of Steamboat are as pretty.

Pansey

Pansies and Fall go together. On this first full day of fall we are having cool blustery weather to set the season off right. Planting pansies now allows some color in the garden, they survive the winter and reward me again in the Spring when they will bloom again. The delicate purple edge on this flower drew my attention, I scanned it instead of taking a picture.

leaves falling

It is officially Fall on Sunday, twigs and leaves of the cottonwood next door have been falling for some time. I decided to scan a couple leaves and a stem and see what patterns developed. Hope the above is pleasing Aspens in the high country are also turning I'll try some of those pictures in a mandala, too.

digger

My Grandson is into trucks and consturction equipment. This is a Caterpiller front loader we passed doing road work on a long stretch of highway construction.

antlers

This past week we went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. On each corner of the town square there are arches made of many, many antlers creating wonderful patterms.

Wolly caterpillar

Looking from afar, it almost looks like a plaid star, but on closer inspection you will find a wolly caterpillar. The weather is changing to cooler. It is September after all. I will be headed off for a weeks vacation, so hope the weather doesn't get too cool. No ice and snow yet, please. I'll have some new pictures to play with when I get back!

Morning Glory Heart

The color remaining in the garden is mostly annuals. The morning glory vines are pretty prolific. I like the shadows in this mandala, one shadow is shaped like a heart.

White Koi

Sometime simple is better. I've gone to a couple garden tours this summer, and always love the ones with ponds. There were several big koi in this pond, I liked the patterns created by the plant shadows acorss the surface and the single white koi. It almost could be a black and white picture, but I do like the touch of green.

signs of fall

The aspen meadow in front of the cabin is starting to show signs of fall, with some plants starting to brown and die. It's always sad for me to know that we won't be going up there much longer. We shut the cabin down the end of September. When I was out walking the dog early on Saturday, I looked up and saw a coyote sitting in the meadow, we were eye-balling each other and Mollie, the dog, did not see or smell the coyote, thank goodness. I snapped a couple pictures, of course. I believe we had coyote scat on the cabin porch, too. It reminds you that we are in the wild up there.