Plants

Tilted Symmetry

Fern, Aspen, and Pine

3 of a kind

Pink Calla - In sepia

Triplet

Blue, Gold and Green

Sun Flower

This Sun Flower plant came out of no where, well, actually, somewhere near the bird feeder, I guess this one got away, :).
I thought they would follow the sun, but this way only faces East, and will not turn around for the afternoon sun.

More Cactus Flowers

Barrel Cactus - a neat yellow flower.

It's now May, and saguaro flowers have started to bloom.

FL Botanical Garden

Change from arid to lush and humid locale.

This was shot a few years ago. Another attempt of my sepia mod.

A little about Florida Botanical Garden can be found at the link. It is located at Largo, FL (near Clearwater, FL).

It is free access, a nice place to visit when it's not too hot/humid.

Next door, is Heritage Village, another nice place to visit.

Lone Saguaro

Got up early in the morning, was hoping to drive out to Superstition Mountain, but GPS told me it's actually further out than I thought. Heck, since I am up, might as well see what's around Fountain Hills.

Saw this lone saguaro on a hill, lighting was nice. The only thing was, I left the ISO setting at 800 from last night, don't you hate that?! Reminds me of this article. At leat the memory card was in the camera when I left, :).

I have tried numerous times to get the darker sepia setting right. I don't think I have mastered it yet. Not using any fancy photo editor, but all done with Picasa. I think I am getting close to it.

Creosote Flowers

This scraggily looking plant, which grows fairly well in desert area below 5000 feet, is a true survivor of harsh environment.

There are living creosote bush that's estimated to be around 10,000 years old. Make it one of the oldest living plants.

It has a strange odor, which some people find objectionable, but it doesn't bother me too much. If you wet the leaves, it intensifies the smell, and it reminds me of a desert shower, which is always a good thing for desert locations. From watching the "Survivor Man" show, the host burned the leaves, and used the smoke as a way to cleanse himself, like a smoke bath, have to give that a try sometime.

Mesquite Thorn

Continuing my desert plant pictures, here's close up of mesquite tree.

Surprisingly, this tree is considered a legume. Its beans are edible, although I have never tried it.

Ocotillo

Ocotillo - A desert shrub of southwestern United States and Mexico having slender naked spiny branches that after the rainy season put forth foliage and clusters of red flowers.

Some people said it's flowers are edible, goes good in salad. Haven't tried it, I am sure it's not an easy feat to harvest it.

Saguaro

It takes 60-70 years before the Saguaro grows an arm. I wonder how old this one is.

Spent another Friday in Phoenix. This time, we were greeted by high wind, while on the news, we learned a secition of I40 was closed down near Flagstaff, also some snow/ice up there. Weird weather.

Cactus Blossoms

The colors of these blooms are very bright, I guess they really stand out in their drab surroundings. Another wet Winter helps too.

Camera - Olympus E500.

Scottsdale Palm

Somehow, I was able to capture the wonderful light around dusk, as it hit the palm trees. Usually, my white balance would be off.

Spring Time

Spent a lot of time lately in Phoenix area.
Between visiting Mayo Clinic, we do get some spare time once in awhile to relax a bit, and check out Desert Botanical Garden. We visited the garden in July one time, it was pretty miserable with the heat.


Shot March 3rd, 2009. It's only March, but Phoenix already reach 89 degrees. It's only dry heat, right? :)

Flowers are coming in. Some of the cactus has started to bloom. I am sure in a few weeks, my allergies will kick in.....

A few days later on the 6th, the temperature only got up to 75, that was really pleasant weather.

Two Shots

Get well flowers for my wife.


Picture 1 - shot at f5.6


Picture 2 - shot at f32.0

Been absent from posting, with more pressing issue to take care of at this time.

Spider Web

Location - Dade City, FL
With Camellia in the background, I saw this spider web all dewed up from the fog. Didn't see the spider though.

Camera - Pentax DL

Grass

Location - Safety Harbor Marina, FL

Camera - Nikon D70, 112mm.

Comparison in Size

Location - Maricopa Grove, near Yosemite National Park.

The giant Sequoia makes the 3-4 story tall pine tree next to it looks like a twig.

Camera - Canon SD400.

Among the Giants

Location - Near Yosemite National Park Entrance, off of SR 41, from Fresno, CA.
From Fresno, head north on 41, at Yosemite Park entrance, go right for 2 miles, and it will take you to this giant sequoia forest, it is called Mariposa Grove. Due to controlled burn, the place was a little hazy due to smoke.

Camera - Canon SD400, gotta travel light for work.

Yellow

Location - Flagstaff, AZ

Camera - Pentax DL, Macro.

Winter Forest in B&W

Location - San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff, AZ.
Camera - Pentax DL, 18mm