Last evening's rose.

Right before 5 p.m., I walked across the street to take a look at the Albertina Kerr roses. I lucked out and got to take this photo.

Happy Mother's Day.

It's always a miracle to me, to see such a blossom and to realize that it came from a tightly coiled bud. I think that's the same for us, tightly coiled in our mothers' wombs until the time is right, then allowed to blossom in the light of not only her love, but the love of our fathers, our family, our friends who become like family. We're blessed to bask in the glow that life affords.

Lucky me. I spied someone to pose for me in the garden yesterday afternoon. I hope you enjoy these five photos!

Photo #1 - I walked around the rose beds at Albertina Kerr, across the street from my apartment building, checking for the subtle, delicious scent of roses in bloom as I enjoyed the sights and the glorious Portland weather. This particular flower is where I got lucky, not that it had a noticeable scent. None noticed, but as I bent over to take a sniff, the petals revealed a hidden lady bug. Excited, I held my iPhone 5 camera as close as possible, tapped the screen to focus, and blindly pushed the button. Blindly, I say, because in the sunny conditions, a glare covered the screen.



Photo #2 - Checking for focus would wait until I got back inside my apartment, so I kept snapping.



Photo #3 - This one turned out pretty good!



Photo #4 - Sunshine captured in the opening rosebud. I'm particularly fond of this sort of color combination, the golden and the rosy orange.



Photo #5 - This image lets you know just how lucky I was to see this little lady!

Sight I saw, out and about a little while ago

Talk about your moment in time, when the sun shines right where you want it, when you're able to hold your breath and your hand so that your iPhone 5 is steady.

Thanks to Albertina Kerr--an organization which maintains a lovely building across the street and is a leading provider of services to children, adults and families with emotional or mental health challenges and developmental disabilities--I am not all that sad that I don't have a yard or a lawn or a garden of my own. They willingly share theirs with the entire neighborhood.

I think this is the prettiest photo I have ever taken with an iPhone camera. Still feeling shocked as I look at it again while proofreading. Can't help but whisper to myself, "Wow."

Nature's beauty, No. 21

Two photos today.
 

Rose stem, thorns, dew drops, spiderwebs, cropped close-up. Love the reflections.
 

Rose stem, thorns, dew drops, spiderwebs, here's the wide shot.

Nature's beauty, No. 12

Another cropped close-up from underneath the rose on the tall stem. Thanks for indulging me with my photos of these flowers, dew drops and spiderwebs.
 

The same photo, uncropped.
 

And here's the same flower a moment later, after the wind had rearranged the spiderweb beneath the petals on the right.

Nature's beauty, No. 11

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Almost all of this delicate rose, a bit past its optimum bloom.
 

A close-up. I like that these roses grow so tall because it makes for a unique perspective.

Nature's beauty, No. 10

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These dew drops make me think of mercury glass. If you don't know it, take a moment to Google Image "mercury glass balls" so you can see what I mean--please and thank you.



I can't decide which part of these dew drops I like the most--the ones on the spiderweb or the ones on the leaf stem.

Lovely Lavender Color

The rose is at City Hall in downtown Portland.

Would that I could lose myself in the water drop...

...'cause here in Portland it's so dart hot!


We've got an excessive heat warning from noon Monday through 10 p.m. Wednesday. It's the real thing.