Rose Garden

I stepped into the Crane Courtyard Wednesday to see the roses.  They were just past their prime and still covered in water droplets from all our rain.  I found a beautiful mixture of decay, robust beauty, and new buds waiting for their turn to bloom.

Spider's Webs

I often stop by this spot on Crumb Creek looking for ducks but without my long lens I've given up camera birding for a while.  Now I have the opportunity to notice those up close details I've been overlooking. 

Thompson's Beach

Undergrowth

Windy Flag

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Struggles

I have been struggling with stork images for a long time now.  For whatever reason it has been very difficult to make a good painting of a stork.  This, of course, has launched me into a bit of an obsession.  The psychology of rejection, you know.  The first and last images are charcoal on canvas and I'm pretty sure that's where the future of this project lies.  But I do have a few I'm still pursuing in oils just in case.

Variations of Spring

Hydrangeas

I love hydrangeas.  There's something sensual and kind of awesome about their huge balls of flowers.  My early childhood was spent in Illinois where the winter freezes discourage plants like these from growing out of control.  (ie. keeps them very small and tidy if they grow at all.)  Azaleas and rhododendron are small shrubs not the towering, sprawling monsters they are in Virginia and even here in Philadelphia.  So these abundant blooms give me a joy that is part fascination and part obsession. 

Complementary Colors

Tall Beauty

Sweet Little Flowers

Unusual Forms

Color and Structure

Natural Color

Brilliant Flames

Yesterday I spent a beautiful afternoon walking around Chanticleer in Wayne, PA.   The gardens were amazing.

Trees in Bloom

After returning my brand new 300mm lens TWICE I've decided that the powers-that-be are trying to tell me to buy the 400mm lens.  But that is going to take some saving.  In the mean time I'll be walking around with the 18-200mm lens.  Which probably means more plants and rocks and fewer birds.  Luckily it's a great time of year for plants!

Chomp Chomp

This little muskrat was not concerned about our presence.  He continued happily eating away while we took his picture. 

Peek-a-boo