Survivors!

The buds on my Rhododendron survived the "second winter" and are now starting to open.

Fuzzy

My camera club has two scavenger hunt competitions each year--kind of like a DPC challenge. You are given 6 categories and can enter any 4 of them. Very minimal editing is allowed. I entered the top shot in the "fuzzy" category and it won. Had more editing been allowed I would have cloned out the extra branch. The second shot is a fast-edited version. I probably would have taken out the green also.

Dandelion

This had a somewhat busy background (grass) so I inverted and got the background almost white then inverted again. It's not perfect, but it's much better than the original. I would like to try this just using a solid black background, but I will save that for another day.

Spring II

Since almost everything froze, the park is having to start over with flowers.

The petunias were recently planted, and each plant had one bloom. Hopefully they will fill in soon.

Blooming

Veined

Starting Over

The hostas were getting big before the April freeze. Fortunately, they are starting over!

An Afternoon at the Park

Went to Nahaneal Greene Park this afternoon to see what was going on with the flowers. The return of winter at the beginning of April really set everything back. It will be a few more weeks before it starts getting pretty again. As I was walking from the Demonstration Garden to the lake these 2 bicycles caught my eye.

James River

Life Among Decay

This ivy is growing up a chimney that is at the abandoned Girl Scout camp (mentioned in earlier posts).

Searching

Ready for Flight

Reaching Out

This is one of two shots I wanted to post today, but my computer is getting flaky and needs to be restarted so I'll post the other one another day. I liked the way this branch was growing out from the vines.

Holding On

Blinds Revisited

I haven't done any indoor/studio shots in a while, and I decided to try some different angles of my blinds. This was my favorite of what I took, but it wasn't great so I played around in Photoshop. I kind of like the arty look which was helped by inverting.

Old Bridge Over James River

Taken today on a walk. We finally had a warm, sunny day. It was great just to be outside!

Burrell Park

Today it is rainy and 40 degrees F. It was snowing this morning. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and in the 50's, and I hope the prediction is right! This shot was taken earlier this week.

Wishing for Warmth

Today is cold and rainy, so this shot is from a few days ago. Taken on the South Creek Greenway Trail.

Bicycling on a Cold Spring Day

This whole week has been dreary and cold. Most of the flowers froze, as did some of the budding leaves. Really just horrible, weather-wise. Still, for some, exercise must go on!

Abandoned?

I'm not sure why a single car would be on the tracks, but there it was and I had to shoot it. This is just off the South Creek Greenway path. Mike, I always think of you when I see a train shot, so I hope you enjoy this one!

Talj, an excellent suggestion to try b&w. I like it a lot better!

Grass and Wire

Took this around 12:30 yesterday. It was a bright day, so it didn't turn out too well, but it caught my eye, and here it is!

Pine

Clouds

Taken at Close Memorial Park.

Happy Easter!

Bench in the Shade

This bench is under a couple of willow trees, and is a nice shady spot in warm weather. It was in the 40's when I took this, so I preferred to stand in the sunshine! So far our flowers and trees have withstood the freeze, but it just keeps getting colder. Supposed to be back in the 60's on Monday--I hope they are right for once.

Wired

Part of a fence at Close Memorial Park.

Hosta Abstract

Took a shot of an emerging hosta at Close Memborial Park, but didn't really like the way it turned out so I started playing in Photoshop. These were made abstract mostly using curves and unsharp mask.

Sssssss

Mike (Ozark Photos) and I walked some of the South Creek Greenways Trail today. Of course, I didn't have my macro lens and it was almost 1:00 on a cloudless, sunny day, but this is the first time I have seen a snake on the trail, and it had to be recorded! It is 50 degrees F today, down from 80 yesterday. A beautiful day for a walk!

Tulip Time

Some of the many tulips at Nathaneal Greene Park.

Spring Gardening

I am very fortunate to live near Nathaneal Greene Park. I'm not sure if the work is done by volunteers or park employees, but there are many flower beds and I always enjoy going to see what has been done and what is blooming. There is also a Hosta garden, but they are just starting to emerge. We passed a small tax increase last year so they can add a botanical garden, which is still in the planning stages, but I am looking forward to it!

Purple

This was taken in my back yard. I'm not sure what it is, but it is filled with purple flowers at the moment!