Ghost Flowers

I love dandelions. They have gorgeous flowers and the seeds are also beautiful. I call them ghost flowers. They disappear in a puff of wind and sail forth to plant more dandelions. A weed is any plant we don't like or appreciate. But I view these as friends not weeds. I am not sure my neighbors agree with me. 

Zinnias

I am always fascinated with the variety of forms of zinnias. I have tried to grow them in the past, but in Summer heat in the Salt River Valley usually turns them into brown dried flowers almost before they bloom. So it is a real treat to see some growing green and in profusion, without burned leaves and browned flowers. They are a very cheerful flower and are good landscape plants (in other places than the desert).

Crepe Myrtle

Whenever I travel to other areas of the United States, I enjoy the different flowers and trees. Crepe Myrtle is common in the South but non-existent here in Arizona. I am sure the heat and lack of humidity are a factor, but you would think that it would grow in some areas of the state. I think that growing flowers is a good indicator of the level of civilization found in any area of the country. A land without flowers, is a land without education and culture.

Mystery Photos -- More Babies

Here is another selection of mystery photos of babies. There is no real way to tell, in some cases, if these are the same child at different ages or different children. The photos come from glass negatives preserved from an early Arizona female professional photographer, Margaret Godfrey Jarvis Overson. You can tell that there has been a substantial change in the way babies are photographed today from these old photos. Likely, all of these photos were taken before 1920.

A Forest Surprise

 The Western Sierra Nevada is anything but cool and wet in the summer months. It is hot and dry unless you go to extreme altitude. This day was well into the high 80s and dry as a bone. Almost all the Spring wildflowers had disappeared, but here was one lovely arrangement that survived the heat. We had to walk a long way into the forest before we say these flowers, but that is always a matter of chance. They could have been right next to our campsite.

Another Peacock

I couldn't resist posting another peacock. This is a white peacock. Both peacock photos have the same problem, a shadow of the photographer. Here, with a lot of effort, the shadow could have been removed, but what is more important in taking photos is to watch the sun and make sure you have the right composition in the first place. Unfortunately here, I could not move back or to the side to get the photo. Here is a quick job of removing the shadow:

I could have spent more time but the point is merely to illustrate the idea of watching where your shadow falls and avoiding the time spent in the first place.

Along the road

This photo shows the contrast between light and dark. Some of the most commonplace views have the greatest potential for contrast, texture and design. Here you can see the edge of the salt desert. If you were to keep going north, you would soon reach the Salt Flats. Each of the pebbles along this dirt road are coated with salt. The ground is so hard and dry, it is almost like pavement. But at the same time, although you cannot see it in this picture, there is so much dust when you drive by the road, you hope no one is coming from the opposite direction because if they are, you will have to stop until the dust clears.