Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: golden

(+2 insets) (please view large!) :) I woke up this morning feeling so happy! In fact, for some reason it felt like a proper January 1 to me. Steve and I celebrated New Year's down at my younger brother's home but we didn't actually do anything special. It was just another day to me. But this morning I feel like the New Year has truly arrived and as I walked up and down the driveway, I thought about what this new year might be like for me and my husband. With my rekindled passion for photography and verve for life and adventure, I'm looking forward to our slowly developing plans of purchasing an RV and travelling around the country. Originally we'd planned on diving into the deep end and getting a huge 5th wheel gooseneck trailer and a dually diesel truck. We have since scaled back to plans of a smaller bumper-pull at first, along with a less-massive truck. We will go on short trips at first and work our way up to longer trips if we decide all is going well enough for that magnitude. We recently purchased part of the package--a long-bed diesel truck in very good used condition! It's turned out to be a wonderful deal and has awesome gas mileage for a truck—it averages about 22mpg! (our last truck was a lot smaller and yet, it only got 12mpg.) Being a diesel, it's definitely loud but only if you're outside the cab—inside it's surprisingly quiet. Steve also purchased a matching shell for the bed which will keep everything placed inside much drier. We're both really happy. In fact, our truck just passed its first test with flying colors! We drove it a total of over 750 miles/1200km round trip down to the Bay Area on our visit to see my brother and his wife. We loaded it down with a week's worth of anything we thought we might want with us, including our huge espresso machine! We barely made a dent in the truck bed's capacity! We were really happy that we didn't need to use the snow chains that Steve bought—our trip goes through an area which bogs down in snow whenever winter storms pass through. Luckily the weather was clear both ways, but it was nice to know that we were covered. It will be really fun when the day arrives when we find the right RV for our first adventures. Both of us are looking forward to some really fun trips in the coming year! Today's picture comes from our trip to San Anselmo/Bay Area and features a group of lovely Wisteria leaves that were about to fall off the huge old vine in Nathalie's garden. I was dazzled by the glowing leaves as I walked around taking pictures. Even though Wisterias are known for their lovely flowers and wonderful fragrance, there is so much more to love about these wonderful vines. I was enchanted by the dangling seed pods and the ones on the ground. The seeds scattered all over the ground got my attention too. I managed to get a nice assortment of interesting pictures which I hope to share at some point! (I've added two insets of past pictures to show you what Wisteria flowers look like.) Pam, you know our love for growing from seeds. Well, I bet you know this bit of information but I'd completely forgotten: Wisteria seeds sprout very readily but if you expect to see flowers, you'll have to wait 15 years!!! Holy cow! I seem to recall that you have a flowering Wisteria...is that right? Well, I've got about 100 seeds that I took home but alas, I'm afraid there is no point in planting them. A shame because I adore these vines! Pam, I hope you are doing ok today—I sure did have a nice time visiting all of your doggy pictures and videos...you are such a great mom! *BIG HUGGGGGGS!!!!*

This was one of the last pictures I took in Oregon with my old Canon SX30 superzoom camera. Steve and I went down to Ashland for autumn photography and spent a few hours taking pictures and enjoying lovely Lithia Park. I would soon have my current camera, a Canon 5D Mk II, but while the SX30 was my main camera, it gave me the chance to learn so much! Here is a study of light glowing through a maple leaf.

A few years ago, my friend Pam Johnson gave me some seeds from her False Sunflowers and to my delight, I got them to sprout. Taking pictures of these gorgeous flowers was such fun, and I hope some day to grow more!

There's nothing like a False Sunflower to bring good cheer to a spring day. They are easy to grow and flower profusely! I would love to have these in the next garden I grow. Thanks to Pam for the seeds! :)

(+3 in notes) I didn't realize that I had this picture ready to go! In the same garden that featured the other columbines that I've shared, there were also these. In fact, I have another picture I shared earlier in this project, so if you'd like to see all of the columbine pictures at once, just roll your mouse over the upper left corner! Aren't they stunning! :)

I was tickled to find False Sunflowers growing in one of the gardens that Steve and I visited during the garden tour a few years ago in Ashland. These flowers are so bright and cheery, and this one also happened to have a very cool wasp crawling around on it!

A few years ago, one of my good friends here on ipernity, Pam Johnson , sent me lots of different flower seeds to try out in my upcoming raised bed garden. One kind of seed turned into masses of these gorgeous flowers called False Sunflowers! I hoped they would come back on their own, but this is the only year they grew. Still, I have lots of pictures and very fond memories too! Thank you Pam! :D

"Fall flowers" are simply stunning here in southern Oregon. I absolutely LOVE the turning of the leaves, especially because where I was raised, in San Francisco, we didn't HAVE Fall! There really is nothing like the stunning sight of a forest full of red, gold, and green trees to take your breath away. And yet...as magnificent as that may be, a SINGLE LEAF is just as beautiful, wouldn't you agree?! :)

(+1 in a note above) Bearded Irises are ridiculously beautiful! They are ALSO not the easiest subject to photograph, so I was very excited when I got the opportunity to practice my skills a few years ago. Steve and I got to visit a friend's property, where she and her husband planted literally 100's upon 100's of bearded and other iris species over many acres. I was not prepared for the variety and colors that I found there that day! I learned so much about the distance to stand from an iris, the background for good contrast, and how far subjects in the background should be to create the bokeh I was after. I left that day, so happy and totally in love with these incredible flowers! :)

I always thought mushrooms were interesting, but once I began taking pictures, my interested turned into a grand love affair. To find them can be a great challenge, and I am often surprised by something fantastic! This beautiful golden mushroom was large at about 2" across, and I was able to get a perfect angle too. :)

A couple of years ago, Steve and I went on a garden tour down in Ashland, Oregon. It was a wonderful opportunity to take pictures of a zillion flowers and plants, and by day's end my poor head was spinning! Here is the lovely face of a golden columbine that I captured!

On the afternoon of October 1, 2016, a fire broke out on our property. It raced across one of our meadows, completely destroyed our shop, and roared up to the top of our ridge before finally being put out. One day, when I could bear to witness the aftermath, I wandered up onto our hillside and captured some of the things that I saw. This is a dying leaf on a Manzanita that was burned too badly to survive. Even still there is beauty as it glows warmly in the late afternoon sun.

If you can believe it, there were countless blossoms like this everywhere I turned on my visit to the Harry & David garden. This was also my first opportunity to visit a garden with such a vast array of roses to appreciate. Every single plant seemed special and covered with extra beautiful flowers. My question is: do you think anyone could take a bad picture of a blossom that looks like this?! :) It is such a treat to be able to share some of these images! Explored on January 26, 2015. Highest placement, #4.

(15 more pictures in notes on the image, all are clickable! Enjoy the show!) One of our first wildflowers is the bright and cheerful Buttercup! I discovered that we have several species here, but this one, the Western Buttercup, is the most common. Every year I end up taking far too many pictures of these pretty little flowers, and though I tried to resist this year, I simply could not refuse when I saw the light glowing through the petals of this gorgeous little blossom! Please be sure to roll your mouse over this picture to see the show of many clickable pictures of the buttercups I've photographed previously! They are such a wonderful subject! :) Explored on ipernity on April 1, 2014. Highest placement, #4.

6 more pictures in notes above! :) I feel SO MUCH BETTER today!! Yesterday I thought I might be getting sick because I was so run down from my bike ride the day before. But I took Airborne last night and this morning and I was feeling bright-eyed and bushy tailed very soon after I got my day started!! :D What better way to celebrate a close shave with a bad cold than a beautiful photo walk along our ridge line with Moosie and Zoe to help supervise?! :) Such a lovely morning, it promised to get warm by the afternoon, but the temperature was perfect for our walk! Wandering along, I found myself stopping in front of a very tall Ponderosa Pine tree that had dried sap crusted all over one side. I think that Acorn Woodpeckers may have drilled holes to store nuts and caused the sap to run, but it was dry now and very interesting to look at. Studying the crystalized resin, I hoped to spot some droplets, and as you can see, I found one!! As I began taking pictures, I slowly moved my angle and saw that the sun was at the right angle to cause a star burst, so I took a set of images with the hopes that one would have a brilliant burst. I got lots of pictures that would have worked fine, but the second I saw this one, I burst out with a big, happy, "YES!!!" :D Henri Frédéric Amiel (27 September 1821 – 11 May 1881) was a Swiss philosopher, poet and critic. Wikipedia: Henri Frederic Amiel Explored on October 23, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

A couple of months ago, a gardening friend of mine surprised me with four flower seedlings! At the time, she'd forgotten the page that identified each species, but I told her that I would rather they be a surprise! Week after week, I've been watering them and watching them grow. One of them was nearly killed when a deer ate most of it, but to my delight, it's grown from the stump that was left and is now vigorous and doing well. In the past couple of weeks, another of the four seedlings began forming buds, and in the last two days, the buds are getting very close to opening! This morning I peered closely at the upcoming blossoms and after a gasp of of delight, I turned and ran into the house for my camera! PICTURE DAY HAS ARRIVED FOR ONE OF ROBIN'S PRESENTS TO ME!! Before I could take pictures, I needed to bring wire clippers with me. These flowers are in our metal tub, which is completely caged in to protect them from the deer. Just after I'd planted the seedlings Robin gave me, and before we made a metal fortress, a deer came and mowed down everything in the tub--it even hopped up and walked all over it to get to the far side, leaving deep holes and dead sprouts everywhere. I was so upset! Steve helped me cage in the whole tub with fencing and mesh. Today I removed the zip ties that secure the top so I can open it up like a lid and I am now free to take pictures of my protected flowers! It was so nice to get in there to take an unobstructed look at the lush flower bed there, and the flower I'm showing today will the largest of them all so far! I don't know what it will be...chrysanthemum? Zinnia? (Leapfrog and Erin are betting that it's a Black Eyed Susan! :D) I don't know, but it's already GORGEOUS!!! :D :D The plant has many blossoms on it too, so hopefully I'll be enjoying flowers for some weeks! HOORAY FOR FLOWER PRESENTS!! THANK YOU ROBIN!!! :D Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson; April 4, 1928) is an American author and poet. She has published seven autobiographies, five books of essays, and several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning more than fifty years. She has received dozens of awards and over thirty honorary doctoral degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of seventeen, and brought her international recognition and acclaim. Wikipedia: Maya Angelou Explored on July 1, 2013. Highest placement: page 2 (#38).

I found this mushroom growing in our large meadow near the edge of the hillside. I was stepping through the dried stalks of Teasel that form an impressive line near the edge of our hillside, when I noticed something yellow growing in the decaying plant matter. A YELLOW mushroom!!!! WOO HOO!! I found another one as well, which I posted a month or so ago. This one looks like a skinny 60's-era kid with straight blond hair with a perfect Beatle's hair style! :D This image was taken in April, 2012.

This is an image of a philodendron leaf that had fallen off the plant and was held up to show the sun shining through, causing it to glow! Here's a tip for all of you! The next time you're out taking nature pictures, try getting down where you can see the underside of a leaf...you'll probably be surprised how it glows!