Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: rain

(Please view large!) Stop what you're doing and for just a moment, think of three things that you are grateful for in your life right now. Think about why you feel this way. This is something you can do for yourself every morning to make your day even more wonderful! On this rainy, cold, but beautiful morning, I walked up and down our driveway and I thought about my day's trio. What was I especially grateful for? Who did I feel grateful towards? I am grateful for my husband. He's always been there for me, he doesn't give up, and he is a huge reason for all of the fun and adventures we've had in our lives. He's exposed me to things I've never done before, like scuba diving. He's taught me to be the best that I can be whenever he has something to offer; in photography, he's shared his expertise which has shaped who I am. He and I are the best team I've ever had the joy to be part of and we continually prove we are better together than apart. I could go on and on but you get the point! :) I love Steve so much. I am so grateful. I am grateful for my parents. They raised me and my three brothers to the best of their abilities and we grew up in a nice neighborhood in San Francisco, close enough to all of our schools that we could walk to most of them. My mom and dad were both brilliant and I was lucky enough to get my father's analytical mind (but not his math skills, lol) and my mother's creative and artistic talents. I am so grateful that I have been able to tap into these life-long gifts from my mom and dad. I am grateful for the community here at ipernity. Since I came back to start my Pictures for Pam project, I have been welcomed home with open arms. I'd been in a terrible depression and hoped that doing something for Pam might make me feel better. It did. More than that, I've been surrounded by the most amazing, supportive, wonderful, warm, and generous people from all over the world. You've made me a new person. I have a renewed sense of confidence in myself and my abilities. You've reminded me of the joy of visiting the world through this community's eyes. I am able to give back my thanks by visiting your photo streams and letting you know how I feel about your pictures. This feeds my insatiable drive to make others happy. Additionally, the feeling of sizzling inspiration when I see some of your photography is so fantastic. Because of you, I am back to my wiggly, happy, creative self. That joy has then made my whole life, my relationship, my world so rich and full of exciting possibilities. I am so grateful to each and every one of you. Today's picture was something that amazed me when I saw it on my computer. It wasn't something I planned for and I had no idea it was there! As I was looking through images I'd taken a few weeks back, I came to this one and I could hardly believe my eyes! All I can see is Tony Robbins talking to a flock of enchanted followers that gaze up at him in awe. I know that feeling. His teachings are responsible for a huge amount of life-changing understanding and realization. I am so grateful to him. I hope you like my tribute! Pam, I am so grateful to you. You shook my shoulders and woke me up. You gave me the courage to stand up and take a step forward. A gentle realization came to me that doing something to show you how much I care would in turn begin a healing process for me. Because of you, my downward spiral turned upside-down and now I'm on an upward spiral with no end in sight. I am so grateful to you, my dear friend. May all of our grateful hugs bring you the strength to regain your health. We love you Pam. Explored on 12/19/18, highest placement, #2.

(This image is best viewed large!) I woke up this morning to the rain pattering against the windows and popped eagerly out of bed. As I got my day started, I thought to myself, "Oh goody! A walk in the rain will be so nice!" Armed with our huge umbrella, I skipped out the door, stretched on the porch and was soon on my way. Splashing my way down the gravel driveway like Christopher Robin, I sang merrily, "And the rain-rain-rain came down-down-down and washed away the pig-a-let!" (from Winnie the Pooh) The rain drummed enthusiastically on my umbrella and I beamed in response. There's something so wonderful about walking in the rain under a large, protective umbrella. It's like being in your own little world where time seems to stop for a while. I love it so much. As I walked along, I simply could not get enough of the shiny-wet juicy-colored leaves on the ground in a rainbow of colors…bright yellow, orange, rust, red, deep brown, and splotched combinations of any or all colors including bits of green. A stream of water ran down the driveway and the submerged leaves were even more beautiful. Leaf-shaped jewels I mused. So, so pretty. I thought about pictures but rain and cameras don't mix, and trying to coordinate an umbrella and a camera doesn't work either. I wondered if we'd get a break. By the time I was done with my 13 laps, my shoes went from dry to damp to squishing with water at every step, complete with very cold, wet feet! My lower pant legs were soggy too, but I didn't care, it was such a wonderful walk that I didn't dare spoil it with my audio story. I kept an eye out on the weather and was delighted to see my husband doing laps of his own, umbrella overhead and enjoying the experience for himself after I'd told him how nice it was. Eventually it stopped raining for a while and I slipped out with my camera in hand. I thought maybe the light wouldn't be good or the magic would be gone since it wasn't raining anymore, but I would discover I was in luck. In any event, my hope was to take a few pictures and go on my first exploratory adventure off into our lower forest. This is something I hadn't done in quite some time so I was excited to see what I might find out there. I wandered down to the gate, clicking at beautiful leaves I found...then I strained up to see the sporophytes on top of the brick post down at the gate and they were positively dripping with water! I stepped off into the woods and found wasp galls and cool lichen, micro mushrooms and tiny finger-like fungus that I captured. Lots of really neat things to photograph and soon the rain came down again and I made a beeline for home. I was amazed to find that I'd taken over 150 pictures on my little jaunt, how did that happen? Granted, I take many exposures of each subject to give me a better chance at getting one that's good, but that's no guarantee and I'm used to chucking out the majority of my shots, especially when I haven't been taking pictures for a while. To my utter surprise, I discovered that I got very nice images of every single subject I photographed! That never happens!! My biggest surprise was the picture you see today. I was hoping that I'd be able to share an image of the wonderful sporophytes on top of our gate, and what do you know? It happened. But here's the thing. This picture is...SIDEWAYS!! There is moss and sporophytes growing on the side of the brick too, and when I looked at this image I just about fell over, because you never know how a picture will turn out until you look at it on the computer. And though it works in its natural orientation, it wants to be sideways. Crazy! Pam, here is a sporophyte party for you! These guys are having a great time with their chieftain at center stage, fancy hair and all! It's such fun looking for images that I hope you'll like and this macro was a huge treat for me to find for you! FEEL BETTER!!! I'm thinking about you every day! Explored on 11/24/18, highest position, #15.

2 more pictures and a note above ! :) It rained off and on all day long, and as I sit here typing, the rain continues to fall. At one point it was coming down very lightly, and I risked a few minutes to step out onto our back deck for some droplet pictures. We have a tea rose bush growing next to the stairs, enthusiastically growing through the cracks in the boards and pushing through the railings. I know I should cut it back but I don't want to! I love its beautiful red-edged leaves, the beautiful thorny stems, and of course the roses! The leaves which turn yellow and fall off are pretty too. Rain drops are gorgeous on any part of it, and the same goes with dew, frost and snow. The only problem with taking pictures of droplets on these leaves is that I have a hard time stopping! With so many wonderful possibilities, I could easily capture hundreds of images! However, I could only stay for about 5 minutes because lightly or not, it was definitely raining. After looking through my selection, I have three choices for today. What...NO mushrooms?!!! LOL, I have PLENTY of those pictures to share, but figured it would be nice to spare you for a day! :D John Richard Vernon was a writer, most well-known for his 1826 book, "The Beauty of Rain”. Vernon earned his MA de­gree at Hert­ford Coll­ege, Ox­ford, and be­came Rec­tor of St. Au­dries, Bridg­wa­ter, Eng­land, in 1872. As of 1881, he was Rec­tor of West Quant­ox­head, Som­er­set. Explored on November 20, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

I had a hard time deciding which picture would be the best choice for Picture of the Day. I really like the way the droplets look against the sky in this image, but I think the bokeh in the first image makes it stand out. I'd love to know what your opinion is! :)

How colorful these leaves are, and yet when you just glance, there is nothing special about them. I love it when they curl because you get to see both sides of the leaf this way!

1 more picture in a note above! :) Dashing through the lower forest, everything was so huge all around me, moss as tall as my head, and dried grass as big as trees...and off in the distance I could hear a high pitched voice calling, "8...9...10...READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!!!" I leaped under a moss frond and pulled it over me. Just in the nick of time too, because as I peered through the green branches, a mushroom fairy glided into view and came to a stop, turning this way and that. She moved past me after a moment, calling, "COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!!" Suddenly I felt a sneeze coming on from the dust under the moss and burst out with a loud, "ACHOOO!!!!" Quick as a flash, the little mushroom fairy flew over and giggled in her tinkling voice, "I FOUND YOU!! I FOUND YOU!!!" I woke up with a start, opening my eyes in the morning light, the laughter from the mushroom fairy fading away from my evaporating dream. Smiling, I knew it was the sign I'd been waiting for! Dressing quickly, I went out into the drizzle and kept my camera under my sweater while I began peering around. This time I chose our smaller meadow. Looking here and there, I suddenly heard a little squeak, a little tinkle of a giggle, and looked down to find a tiny mushroom fairy staring up at me, quivering in delight! "I FOUND YOU! I FOUND YOU!!" Racing around my feet, I laughed out loud in joy and knelt down to say hello to my little friend. "Well, aren't you adorable! You're the first mushroom of the season, wouldn't you like to get your picture taken?!" More squeals of tinkling laughter and she stopped by some moss just long enough for me to capture her dainty form, and then off she zoomed into the meadow, squeaking a happy goodbye! Mushroom season has come at last. :) Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher who is widely considered to be a central figure of modern philosophy. He argued that human concepts and categories structure our view of the world and its laws, and that reason is the source of morality. His thought continues to hold a major influence in contemporary thought, especially in fields such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. Wikipedia: Immanuel Kant Explored on September 24, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

2 more pictures in notes above! :) Another drizzly morning had me yanking on my rubber boots and pulling on a jacket, with my sights set for the top of our hill, and my aim being another hunt for the first mushrooms of the season. Yet again, I found none, but I did find some interesting fungus, though the images I got weren't quite good enough to share. On my way up the hill, I spotted some wild iris leaves, which were positively covered with droplets! These leaves repel water so perfectly that the droplets form beautiful round crystal balls all over the surface. I discovered them last year, so I was very happy to see them again today, even though I didn't find any mushrooms. Tomorrow is another day, and the nice thing about not finding mushrooms is that this image can be my Picture of the Day! :) By the way, if you are interested, this is my album of mushroom images, which will give you an idea how crazy I am about them! :D Mushroom Album Isaac McLellan (May 21, 1806-August 20, 1899) was an author and poet, some of whose work has achieved notability by republication in anthologies. Wikipedia: Isaac McLellan Explored on September 23, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

3 more pictures in notes above! :) I awoke to the sound of rain pattering upon the windows and the fresh smell of a world washed clean drifted inside through the crack. As soon as there was a break in the storm, I got my camera and escaped out into the beautiful fall day. The world glistened around me and as I left for my walk, I hid my camera in my sweater because the droplets were still coming down, but only in a light drizzle. "Ohhhh, little mushrooms...where are you?!! I crept from log to log, and checked the moss in the trees, but it's still too early...or perhaps my little friends are hiding too well and giggling too quietly for me to hear them. That's ok, I can wait. Today I was simply dazzled by the first truly wet day of the season! The world was drenched and dripping everywhere, and it was really wonderful to get the chance to enjoy looking at droplets and moist leaves, and hear the sound of dripping and the happy songs of the birds in the trees. I found several trees with mossy bottoms that were quite torn up, and realized that mule deer bucks must have been rubbing their antlers there. Looking up, I saw the apple-sized wasp gall in the image above and was delighted to see it covered with droplets. In fact, the gall was shedding color, as some of the droplets looked like liquid amber! What a perfect Pick of the Day! :) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy and was one of the five Fireside Poets. Wikipedia: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Walking around our lower forest, I enjoyed looking at the twinkling droplets everywhere. Then I saw these droplets in this lichen and had to stop to take pictures! When I looked at them on my computer, I was delighted to find refractions of a manzanita tree in front of it! :D

2 more pictures in notes above! Today's Pick of the Day is a pretty red poppy that opened this morning. I'm so surprised how long the poppies have been blooming this summer! The first one bloomed on June 28, and almost two months later I have more poppies in bud stage and yet to open! It's no wonder these flowers are so popular! The show just keeps on going on and on!! With this flower, I decided to add some texture, using Photoshop's Cracquelure filter and an additional texture image from Jerry Jones , using his Layer Masks image for the edging! THANKS JERRY!! :) Albert Schweitzer, (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German—and later French—theologian, musician, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary in Africa best known for his interpretive life of Jesus. He was born in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire. Schweitzer, a Lutheran, challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well as the traditional Christian view. He depicted Jesus as one who literally believed the end of the world was coming in his own lifetime and believed himself to be a world savior. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life", expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, now in Gabon, west central Africa (then French Equatorial Africa). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ reform movement (Orgelbewegung). Wikipedia: Albert Schweitzer Explored on August 27, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#34).

3 more pictures in notes above! I awoke at 4 in the morning to the sound of heavy rain falling on the roof and pattering against our windows. This was a real storm...in AUGUST! The rain continued on and off until about 11:00am when the brooding clouds reluctantly moved on, leaving an overcast sky and a blissfully cooler day as a lingering reminder. I loved the fresh air, fragrant with moistened dry grass and clay soil, and the way it felt outside, as if everything was giving a big sigh of relief from the hot and oppressivly dry days of August. I decided to share a picture of rainwater pouring out of a gutter and a picture of our bird bath where the large droplets splashed and created big bubbles on the surface! Really neat to see. For this picture, I added texture to the background and changed the color of the water to a much bluer tone, as it was a very grey day and I wanted to make the water pretty! :) Thanks to Jerry Jones for "P-7" James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue" which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue". Wikipedia: Langston Hughes Explored on August 26, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

I looked outside our kitchen window to watch the rain falling and noticed that big drops were splattering into our bird bath and creating bubbles on the surface which would pop in a second or two. I thought it would be fun to capture some of these to see if one would look nice in a picture! I got a bunch of neat images, and this is the one I liked best!

It's nearing the end of June and today it rained on and off all day long! Such an amazing event, I wanted to get at least one picture with droplets in it. I would have made this cute little guy my picture of the day but I have been featuring so many bugs as my first picture lately that I thought I should put him second!

This image was taken inside our car as we drove home through a storm that started after our hike to Hobart's Bluff and Soda Mountain.

This image was taken inside our car as we drove home through a storm that started after our hike to Hobart's Bluff and Soda Mountain.

This image was taken inside our car as we drove home through a storm that started after our hike to Hobart's Bluff and Soda Mountain.

There are some bushes in our neighborhood covered with bright red-orange autumn leaves. I kept seeing them as we drove by without a camera. Yesterday I told Steve that we must go today since the leaves will probably be all gone by tomorrow, and I was right! We had to drive around for a while because the bushes had only a few leaves left. However, I did find a few, and that's all I needed! It was drizzling when I got these pictures and right after it began to rain, but I got my shots! By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

We are now having crazy weather days, when it rains hard for 15 minutes and then the sun comes out. Just when you think the day will be beautiful, the skies close in and the rain pours down again! The air changes from still and quiet to a gale-force wind within moments. The sky can be dark and ominous one hour, and bright blue with puffy clouds rolling by the next! I didn't know if I'd be able to get out between the storms, but every time I looked out our downstairs bathroom window, I kept looking at the window screens we have leaning against the house. Some of them have been blown over from the wind and are laying on the ground. It is not possible to resist staring at the droplets of water resting there, shimmering when puffs of wind make them tremble and shake, glimmering brightly whenever the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. I have been waiting for the perfect day to take pictures of these screens, and today was it! :D The one thing I did was to carefully pick up one of the screens and bring it over to rest on the cover of our spa so that I could take pictures from underneath. I'd taken test pictures a couple of weeks ago and decided that it would be nice if I could take some from below as well as from above. This is the picture I liked from underneath, capturing a droplet complete with a starburst. If you look, you can see a partial yin-yang symbol in the droplet!! There is also a heart in the background, do you see it?! :) John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political economy. His writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. Ruskin penned essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale. The elaborate style that characterised his earliest writing on art was later superseded by a preference for plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, and architectural structures and ornamentation. Wikipedia: John Ruskin Explored on Flickr on February 23, 2013. Highest position: #435.