Category: Lensbaby

I planted 100 summer blooming flower bulbs in my garden back in May.  I created 2 new flower beds around a fence and wheel barrow that are in my back yard.  Lo and behold, the bulbs are up and starting to bloom.   I’ve had some oriental lily, liatris, and now gladiola.  It’s fun to look out of my window and see color where there never was color before.  I think the gladiola needs to be supported as the flowers are large and drooping at the moment.  I’ve never grown these before, so it’s all new to me!  I’m just so happy to have more flowers blooming in my garden!  Living in a wooded area where the soil is very rocky presents many gardening challenges, so it’s always fun when I have success at growing new plants.  Check back tomorrow for a story about a garden surprise!

Tara is recouperating after surgery yesterday to remove a tumor on her back.  A lump was discovered late last year and removed in January.  It was biopsied and found to be cancerous.  This type of fibrosarcoma is difficult to remove as cells can remain after the lump is removed.   There is also a chance that it will return.   It did…and quickly.  By March she had another lump in nearly the same spot.  At age 16, it was a difficult decision on whether to put her through another surgery, but the alternative was that the tumor would continue to grow.  In consulting with our veterinarian, it was decided that the best option was to remove it before it grew any larger.  Yesterday was a tough day for Tara, but she is doing better today.  She’s been resting on the windowsill and alternating between naps and bird-watching.  Her stitches will be removed in 2 weeks.  In the meantime, she is getting a lot of TLC and many many kisses.  I took the image above today with the Lensbaby 3G and a soft focus filter.

Glasses turned upside down on a white tablecloth + the sun = some pretty nifty shadows.  This image was photographed with the Lensbaby 3G at an outdoor wedding.

 

 

I was so pleasantly surprised with the lily display at Stonehedge last week.  There were so many different colors and varieties and the flowers were so pretty.  This was before the heat wave, so I’m wondering what kind of shape they are in now after a week of 90+ temperatures.  I am sure that the gardeners are tending to the flowers to ensure that they are healthy and beautiful.  To learn more about Stonehedge, visit:    http://www.stonehedge.org/

I’m not sure of the name of this flower, but it’s fiery orange and red colors are symbolic of the heat of summer!   Wow – it was 101 degrees here today and I am thinking that I should be outside watering my flower beds.   I will do that as soon as I finish this post.   I photographed these little flowers at Stonehedge Gardens first with the Lensbaby Composer and Soft Focus Optic and then with my 100mm macro lens.  This final image is a combination along with a painting filter added.   I’ve been fiddling around with my watermark lately to try and come up with something that includes my logo as well as the copyright.  While I don’t want to overpower the image, I do want it to be visible.  What I have now can be moved around the image and the logo and text can be added independently from one another.  Let’s see how long I stick with this one!  🙂