Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: dreamy

(big on black will fill your world with the peace this image provides!) It's a frosty, foggy, muddy, bone-chilling wasteland outside so I thought I'd add some warmth to the day! Here's a picture that glows with the luscious bright greens of springtime starring a lovely butterfly--a flower on the wing!--for us to enjoy. :) Tomorrow is the inauguration of a man who's actually capable of leading our country but it's hard not to feel a lot of anxiety about this otherwise fabulous day. What with promised riots and violence, the outrageous exit of the disrespectful, spoiled brat has the nation on edge. I'm doing what I can to virtually stick my head in the sand because I'd really like to let the next couple of weeks go by without a thought. Unchecked, my head reels with frightening images and leaves me feeling very off-kilter about our country and the people that make up its population. Thanks for your great comments about where you and your country are in line for a vaccine. I was fascinated to read of your experiences. Will we all get a vaccine before the growing number of mutations negate their efficacy? Let's hope so! Stay safe everyone and have a lovely day! Explored on 1/19/21; highest placement #3.

(+6 insets!) (Another picture that looks nice at full size!) (Please scroll down to "Today's Pictures" for details about the insets) Frosty Mornings are so COLD! Holy Frostbite, Batman, it's COLD OUT THERE!!! :D As I sit here at my computer, I have our the space heater in front of my seat, my sock-covered feeties tingling before it and trying to get warm again. It's not that horribly cold outside compared to many places but 28.5°F / -1.94°C is still WAY TOO COLD for my liking! You would think my tromping up and down my driveway would compensate, but it's just not enough. Even with the excellent, heat-generating slope all the way up from the main road to the base of our steep hillside. Add to that the fact that my washed hair makes my head and entire body struggle to get warm, even bundled up with a hat, scarf, gloves and heavy sweaters. But I'm slowly warming up and as always, the experience out there was easily worth what discomfort I might feel for a while after returning to the warmth of the house. Sharing a Breathtaking Sunrise with Pumpkin The beautiful day began the moment I got up. Together with Pumpkin, we peeked out the window after she climbed out of her fleecy-soft tent onto my finger and stretched her wingies, accenting each side with a satisfied "Urrrrrk." We admired the breathtaking pastel pinks, oranges and blues of the sunrise, contrails from the high-flying airplanes penciling soft white lines in the sky which slowly spread out into lovely, dissipating ripples. I couldn't help uttering my amazement of this view, complete with the beautiful Upper Table Rock stretching out in the distance before us. "Wowwwwwww, isn't that just gorgeous…" I considered running down to get my phone for a picture but decided against it. I didn't want to ruin this special moment with my little girl, nor did I want to wreck the serenity and peace that we were experiencing. Morning Routines and a Food-Flinging Parrot! Tiptoeing downstairs after a shower and getting dressed--I didn't want to disturb Steve, who was still sleeping at this early hour of just after 7am--Pumpkin and I shared the morning routine of preparing her food and getting my daily vitamins and pair of drinks together. Steve and I live a ketogenic lifestyle and part of this requires us to have extra potassium, salt and other electrolytes in our diet, which we get from an apple cider vinegar drink blend. It's so important, in fact, that if we don't have this drink every day, our bodies will respond eventually with fatigue and flu-like symptoms. The other drink was, of course, coffee, in the form of an Americano espresso (espresso and water). I save my cherished espresso and cream for a decadent afternoon treat. And yet, I totally enjoy my watered-down burst of caffeine I drink after downing my vitamins and cider brew. The crema and bouquet of espresso are so delicious! By the time I finish, Pumpkin's decided that violently flinging the contents of her food cup are the order of the day. I cannot help but smirk as I watch in amusement while chunks of bread and various seeds and pepper flakes are scattered over her perch and bounce into the sink. She is delighted at the mess she's made and I snicker at the maniacal, satisfied expression on her lovely face. Red eyes surrounding black pupils in her glowing yellow and orange face could look demonic if she were a nasty bird but she's an absolute doll and her mood right now is feisty and hungry. She was ready for a proper breakfast and I wasn't moving fast enough--this show was letting me know how she felt! "Well then!" Stepping boldly onto my offered finger, I continue, "Let's get you upstairs for your breakfast my dear!" Gripping my finger tightly with her large, scaly feet (we like to call them "her big, fat, chicken feet!"), we go upstairs together along with her prepared food bowl of veggies, fruit, and lots of other goodies. Pumpkin eagerly stepped onto her cage's upper perch while I put her breakfast in place. Before leaving, I turn on her music (80's and other fun songs that she loves) and tell her I love her with wishes for a happy breakfast before quietly closing the door. When I step inside after my frigid walk, Steve is bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and coming downstairs for his breakfast after having a wonderful shower with Pumpkin too! :) Our day has begun and it will be a beauty! :) Today's Pictures I'm sharing another selection from our evening walk along the water at Surfside RV Resort! My main picture today shows a perfectly synchronous pair of ladies enjoying their kayaks on the bay. I took some liberties with some creative filters and the result turned this otherwise "meh!" picture into an image I really like! Lots of insets today as well! There are three panoramas--a super wide one which made the view look like a bowl of land surrounded by water; a fading sunset view of a fingerling jetty which joined the place I stood at a 90 degree angle, and a wide view of the lovely, peaceful lagoon next to Surfside's resort. Also included is an image of interesting kelp that washed up on the shore. I have never seen anything like it and thought the resulting picture showed the fascinating shapes quite well. There are also two artistic renditions of an oystercatcher that I photographed. In the fading light, my camera's ISO shot up to a ridiculous number and the resulting grain rendered the pictures totally useless. Or so I thought. I'd never gotten a picture of this species before and I really wanted to do something with them if I could, grainy or not. Then I realized that I could break out my artistic filters and give that a try. How nice to have the excuse to play with my pictures in a purely artistic sense. I am delighted at the outcome, as these pictures were not savable otherwise. The results, in my opinion, are colorful and fun! :) I hope you like them too! (but I won't blame you if you hate them! :D) Pam, I looked to see if you have any pictures of shore birds, but I didn't see any. While I worked on my two Oystercatcher pictures, I couldn't help but think of you. I deeply admire your skill and dedication to the countless artistic images and collages that you've created over the years. I don't usually go that route but with my travel photography I am presented with the opportunity much more often. It's pretty common to find pictures that aren't up to par in one way or another, but when I switch on my creative eye, it's usually very easy to see the potential of an otherwise "garbage" shot. It's fun. I don't spend hours on them as you have with your gazillions of layers, filters, additional elements and so forth but I do allow myself the freedom to have a good time. It's really nice to do this and makes me feel as if I'm stretching other artistic muscles. Great stuff! Anyway, I hope this is a nice day for you!! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon! :) Explored on 2/13/20; highest placement #4.

(+1 inset) (please view large for more dreamy goodness!) :D Wow, it's already May 1! How did THAT happen? It seemed like winter hung around forever, and now spring is just flying by! Every day is so beautiful and green with flowers everywhere. It's such a joy to walk up and down the driveway and enjoy watching the show. :) April 28 was Steve's birthday and we upgraded his 30 year old mountain bike with a new one so we can take our bikes on the road with us in our RV! Although my beloved Trek Women's Specific Design bike is about 15 years old, it's in fine condition and I have no problems with it. Over my birthday (last September), Steve and I took our bikes with us on a 3-day get-away to Sunriver, Oregon (a few hours away) and got our bikes tuned up while we were there. With a normal servicing my bike is in tip-top shape but Steve's bike was in need of some major work. What better, then, to get a new bike for his birthday?! Steve spent several days researching and going to bike shops and in the end picked a Diamond Back from a private seller on Craig's List. The bike is basically unused--the owner hoped to use it for commuting to work but his back injury never healed well enough to allow riding. So Steve ended up getting $500 off for a bike with just one ride on it. Along with lots of posh extras, so it was a wonderful deal and the owner was really happy that Steve would be giving it such a good home. That being said, we're starting to go on rides every day or so to start getting ourselves back into shape. First 3 miles…then 5 miles, and yesterday I went for my "short" 7.5 mile ride--Steve took the day off--and boy did I feel that ride when I got back to the house! Today I'm taking the day off--with my legs shaky tired yesterday I need to give them time to recuperate today. Hopefully I'll be back to doing my 17-19-mile rides again soon, and of course, now we'll be taking our bikes on our RV trips and that will give us some fun options! Today I'm taking a break from my Upper Klamath Lake pictures to share a special image I got a few days ago. While I was tromping up and down the driveway a few days ago, I noticed a flower I've rarely seen on our property and wanted some pictures. As it usually happens, once I'm out I tend to wander around for a little bit. It's just so hard to resist taking more pictures than just the subject I was initially after! :D So I'm cruising around here and there and suddenly--OH! A BUTTERFLY!!--I see a fluttering flower! I stop and look to see if it will land. Some manic flying around and it lands…I creep closer and…off it goes, never to be seen again. I am left hearing its cackle and loud raspberry directed at me. Story of my life. :D I keep making my way around our meadow and part of our lower forest and…OH!! ANOTHER ONE!! This one lands on a Mariposa Lily, busies itself with eating and doesn't notice me edging closer. I managed to get a bunch of pictures and then another one landed on a different flower! WOO HOO!! I ended up getting 6 crisp images of the one and two of the pair. I'm so delighted!! I'll post a couple of those in the next while. The lucky streak didn't end yet! I saw another butterfly land on some Common Vetch buds and it was quite interested in trying to get into those flowers. Me? There's nothing to see, little flutterby, keep working those buds while I take pictures! I got 5 crisp pictures of that beauty and then 3 more when it flew to another cluster of buds nearby. YAY!! WHAT A DELIGHT! I often have trouble getting pictures of butterflies so when I get some good fortune I am totally overjoyed. Let's hope my luck continues this season!! My main picture has very shallow dof and a very dreamy quality that I just love. I hope you like it too--I know this sort of picture doesn't appeal to everyone! :) My inset is another crisp picture from the last group of pictures I captured! Pam, I'm so happy to show you my successful butterfly pictures! And when I looked, I found that you'd captured a fabulous image of a similar beauty, the Eastern-tailed Blue Butterfly ! What a fine picture you got too! These are such darling little butterflies--what fun to get pictures of them to be proud of! :) I hope your day has been a good one my dear! Many *HUGGGGGGS* your way! Explored on 5/2/19, highest placement, #1.

(+10 insets!) (please view large) :D I woke up to a very wet day but happily it wasn't raining when I went out on my walk. It's such fun to be outside in the springtime because the birds are so busy! It seems like every tree is a-twitter with birdies, and though I cannot see any nests, I'm sure they are there, hidden in the branches. I was delighted to discover exactly where a pair of nuthatches have theirs--it's in a hollowed spot of trunk near the top of an oak tree just off the road. I saw them leave as a pair and could see where they came from! What fun! By the way, if you've been keeping up with my bird sightings at the feeders, we've got new species showing up! Finally the lovely Lesser Goldfinches have found the feeders and we're seeing groups of up to 6 visiting! Yesterday I saw a mourning dove moving around under the feeders and when I turned away, Steve laughed out loud and said, "Another mourning dove flew in and crash-landed on the first one…RUDE!" :D I'll show these new bird species as insets below my main presentation. Today is SATURDAY SELF CHALLENGE!! YES!! *pumps fist in the air* The theme seems to be made exactly for me: "Close Up In Color". OK, I think I can do that! :D Happily, Wednesday was the first day of spring and I went on a photo safari around our property looking for all of the flowers which were in bloom. I managed to find several few new ones and I got some pictures of saxifrage too. (This is a flower I've mentioned but haven't shown any pictures until now.) It's a fairly plain flower but I'm delighted to say that I got some very nice images to share. I also got a much better picture of a flower I'd photographed in the past called Hairy Bittercress. My main image is a tiny hoverfly (.3"/8.46mm) sitting in a sea of bokeh with just its face in sharp focus. It landed on a stem right next to me as I was photographing a buttercup and wasn't bothered by me at all. This allowed me to take many dozen pictures in various apertures and different angles. In fact, I was the one that left, not him! The thing that sets this little guy apart are those incredible iridescent wings! Aren't they amazing?! This picture is magical to me because the bokeh turned the colors of its wings into fairy dust! You will find two more angles of this hoverfly as insets but I'm also presenting most of the subjects I photographed on the first day of spring. What fun it was to process them all. It was extremely satisfying to add some better pictures of species I've photographed before. I am not much of a fan of either Saxifrage or Hairy Bittercress but I actually got some attractive images of them--not easy to do, let me tell you! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show! (I actually had to trim down the number of pictures…far too many so I'll post another set in a few days along with pictures of new flowers I've found since!) :) Pam, it was easy to know what to search for and I went in figuring there would be plenty of choices--hoverflies are pretty brave little guys and make fantastic subjects because they often just sit there, asking, "Do I look more beautiful from the left, or perhaps from the right? Oh? You'd like an image of me hovering? Why of course, here you go!" :D I picked your beautiful Hoverfly on Bradford Pear Blossom image… what a stunner. The blossoms are right out of Cinderella and that hoverfly is the perfect model! :) I hope you have had a good day my dear!! *BIG HUGS TO YOU*!!!! Explored on 3/24/19, highest placement, #1.

Today I hunted around for some droplet images and managed to find this sparkling gem clinging to the end of a tiny blade of grass. I also captured an itty bitty baby crab spider and a super cool seed pod, among other lucky shots! :) It is a joy to be discovering nature's treasures once again! Explored on April 12, 2018; highest placement: #25

Last year on Valentine's Day, I decided to take my camera out for a little photo walk. What should I find but this lovely mushroom in our meadow. It made a perfect study for a shallow dof and dreamy bokeh everywhere! :)

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

1 picture in a note above! :) Steve and I got the chance to go to a wonderful art show in Medford a few days ago, hosted by southern Oregon's Potter's Association, "Clayfolk" ( www.clayfolk.org/ ). This was my first opportunity to talk to artists and ask for permission to take pictures. Although I am very gregarious online, I've very shy in person and it's hard for me to initiate conversation. I was very nervous at first, but people like Lorene made it very easy for me, and she invited me to take all the pictures I wanted to of her amazing artwork. Lorene gets much of her inspiration from her dreams. She loves our planet and is very much in touch with nature and its plant and animal spirits. Her artwork portrays this kinship in a way that I have never seen before and simply couldn't get enough of it! I have 9 images in this set for you to enjoy. Please take the time to visit each one, as Lorene's artwork is unforgettable and very though-provoking. Lorene's is the first of many artists whose work I'll be portraying over the next week or two. I hope you enjoy this show! If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

If you would like to contact Lorene Senesec, she can be reached by email: senesac5@aol.com Lorene's beautiful artwork is currently being showcased in Ashland, Oregon at Ashland Art Works. ( www.AshlandArtWorks.com ) This image was taken on November 19, 2011 at the Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford, Oregon. For more information about Clayfolk, please visit their website: www.clayfolk.org/

I popped out out of my bed this morning to catch a picture of frost before it melted away in the brilliant sunshine. This is an acorn top, laying on a board! I hope you like it! Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American business magnate, animator, cartoonist, producer, director, screenwriter, philanthropist and voice actor. A major figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as an international icon, well known for his influence and contributions to the field of entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he, along with his brother Roy O. Disney, co-founded Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the best-known motion picture production companies in the world. The corporation is now known as The Walt Disney Company and had an annual revenue of approximately US$45 billion in the 2013 financial year. Wiki: Walt Disney

It was a frosty morning and I knew a little mushroom who was waiting for her moment of fame! Wearing her finest delicate, frosty jewelry, this pretty little lady struck a pose against a backdrop of grassy bokeh and dreamed of being a star. (I have another mushroom on the next picture that was an alternate) Mary West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980), known as Mae West, was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades, and was known for her bawdy double entendres. Wikipedia: Mae West