Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Nandina domestica

(+2 insets!) It's been such a lovely day! It began with a hint of frost followed by a brilliantly sunny, gorgeous morning and afternoon! Steve has been working on our deck and we've both had such a lovely time. I took pictures this morning and enjoyed hours of happily visiting contacts, and looking through and processing images for my post tomorrow! I was so engrossed in my processing that I nearly forgot…I need to write about and post my picture today! I have a handful ready to go from our trip down south and I thought that some festive red berries would do the trick! On our second hike up into the hills above San Anselmo, Nathalie took Steve and I through another beautiful natural area and then down into the pretty residential streets so we could appreciate the lovely homes and gardens as we strolled along. Strolled along? STROLLED? More like dragged by the ear kicking and screaming! Every inch of the way there were endless things for me to take pictures of! Steve had his camera but he and Nathalie were enjoying their conversation too much for him to think about photography. So, every few moments they'd had to stop and wait for me to catch up with an increasingly guilty look on my face. "But there are so many cool things to take pictures of!" Steve coaxed with a pointed statement, "I am beginning to starve to death!" Heh…well…I ended up getting piles of pictures even if I had to skip 90% of the amazing possibilities! :D Along the way were many different beautiful berries growing on bushes and trees but so far I've only processed two types. The Japanese Barberries is my main image and I was so delighted to find these on our walk. I love them because they look like tiny red Christmas lights to me, blazing red and beautiful! The inset features Nandina berries, and there a were so many of these growing on people's properties. So pretty! I am also including the sunset from a couple of nights ago! :) Pam, I hope all is going ok for you! I was thinking about how much you've changed my life in the past couple of months. In fact, you've changed SO MANY people's lives in the past couple of months. I am a totally different person than I was when I began. Today I am a waggy-tailed, exuberant and overjoyed person with ambition and dreams and big plans for the future. It's totally amazing to me, and it's my wish that some of my boisterous passion for everything positive and happy will transfer to you and make your life better too. Sending my biggest virtual *HUGGGGGGSSSSS*!!!!!! :) Explored on 1/14/19, highest placement, #5.

5 more pictures in notes above! ENJOY THE FLOWER SHOW!!! :D Today Steve and I needed to go into Medford for some shopping and other errands, and I brought my camera along for a change of scenery! Everywhere we went, I wandered around outside taking pictures. It was a lot of fun! In fact, I got too many pictures to process today, but I did finish 6 to share! My biggest treasure trove was just inside the doorway to a store called Trader Joe's, where they had many beautiful Strawflowers for sale. Though the light was bad, I managed to get a bunch of really pretty images! However, my pick of the day was found at one of our first stops. Steve needed to go into a bike shop for some parts, so I enjoyed myself looking for interesting things to take pictures of outside. I found a perfect orb web on a bush but was so bummed because the spider wasn't there! *tears* I found a neon green leafhopper that was so cute, but too small and far away to get a proper picture of. I found a tree with a huge eye on it (which I'll try to process!), and then I went around the side of the store and found interesting berries in different stages of development, and under them... I found the leaves you see above! The second I saw them I got excited because I knew they would look fantastic as a picture! (Thank you so much to Alida Maspero for identifying these leaves as coming from the Nandina plant, otherwise known as "Heavenly Bamboo", though it is not actually related to bamboo!) When I got home and started working on this picture, all I needed to do was select the leaves, which were already on a very dark background, place them on a new layer, make a black background, and add a bit of my standard sharpening filters to the leaves and a touch of saturation to match what I saw, and PRESTO! My Picture of the Day!! :D Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske (October 15, 1830 – August 12, 1885), was a United States poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. She detailed the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor (1881). Her novel Ramona dramatized the federal government's mistreatment of Native Americans in Southern California and attracted considerable attention to her cause,[1][2] although its popularity was based on its romantic and picturesque qualities rather than its political content. It was estimated to have been reprinted 300 times, and contributed to the growth of tourism in Southern California. Wikipedia: Helen Hunt Jackson Explored on September 8, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.