Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: weed

This is another shallow depth of field image where only the closest sepals are in focus. It was intentional because I love the way everything begins to fade out into bokeh. I like to stop and appreciate these leftover flower stalks when I see them because the nearly transparent, dried sepals glow so luminously when any light hits them. I found this in September of 2013, a time of year that is bone-dry and brown everywhere. These illuminated weeds add a much appreciated sparkle to a sea of gold and brown. (Question: is "sepals" the right word here? I am not sure, so if you know better, please let me know in a comment! :)

What a frosty day it was! Frozen fog, mist everywhere, and frost covering the world! I took a quick walk outside to look around and found these dried weeds covered with nature's jewelry, and I thought to myself how much it reminded me of fireworks! (I have been buried in too much to do for weeks now, I'm so sorry for my lack of commenting!) Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. Aristotle's writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality, aesthetics, logic, science, politics, and metaphysics. Wikipedia: Aristotle Explored on December 29, 2013. Highest placement, page 9.

It was a cold and misty day today, so I took the dogs out into our larger meadow and looked around for interesting subjects to photograph. I found some tiny spider web strands and neat droplets clinging to various plants, but I really liked the droplets on this dried foxtail because they remind me of crystal balls! :) Śri Sathya Sai Baba (born as Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 1926 – 24 April 2011) was an Indian guru. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, who was also considered by his followers to be an avatar, spiritual saint and miracle worker, and who died in 1918. Wikipedia: Sai Baba Explored on December 27, 2013. Highest placement, page 9.

5 more pictures in notes above! A couple of weeks ago I went out with our Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro conversion lens and I got a macro image of Star Thistle stamens (see image above in note). When I went to link a larger picture to see the whole flower, I was amazed to realize I'd never processed the many pictures I've taken of this flower. So I went out today to remedy the situation! Star Thistle has quite a pretty flower up close, but otherwise it's nothing much to look at. Worse than that, this noxious weed is covered with nasty thorns, and should you get pricked, a tiny infected sore usually develops. I heard from a neighbor that Star Thistle arrived in the area because of the people who lived here before us. In the years they lived at the house, their kids brought home Star Thistle seeds in their clothes or shoes and from there, the plants sprouted and quickly spread to much of our property and neighboring properties. Personally, I don't buy the story, since this plant's seeds travel via parachutes and don't get stuck in clothes or socks. More likely, the seeds came from mixed grass hay fed to horses in the area and spread that way. In any event, we've got the awful stuff everywhere. It's next to impossible to get rid of, so we just try to live with it! Doug Larson (born February 10, 1926) was a columnist and editor for the Door County Advocate (1953-1964) and wrote a daily column for the Green Bay Press-Gazette (1964-1988) — both Wisconsin-based newspapers. The column was originally syndicated through United Media under the title "Senator Soaper Says"; Larson took over authorship in 1980. Previously, it had been written by Bill Vaughn of the Kansas City Star. Doug's quotes have been widely circulated on the Internet and occasionally show up on T-shirts. He was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Wikipedia: Doug Larson Explored on Septemeber 2, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#61).

4 more pictures in notes above! I decided to take a day off from practicing with the Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro conversion lens and walked out into one of our meadows to see what I could find before the 100 degree heat drove me indoors. First I found a fly that was zooming around the Star Thistle flowers. I thought it would be fun to see if I could get any pictures clear enough to share, and I got lucky! (See my next two pictures) Then I walked a little further to another Star Thistle and as I was studying the stems and flowers, I noticed movement. It was an odd but pretty little fly who I have two pictures of as well! Finally, I headed up along our "granite valley" and saw some interesting weeds, but thought, "Oh, these won't look like anything!" But knowing how often I'm wrong when I say such things to myself, I took a few pictures. Three of them were so nice that I had a hard time choosing which would be my Picture of the Day! :D This is a perfect example of serendipity: a happy accident! :D José Manuel Durão Barroso (Portuguese; born 23 March 1956) is the 11th and current President of the European Commission and a Portuguese politician. He served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 6 April 2002 to 17 July 2004. Wikipedia: José Manuel Barroso Explored on August 20, 2013. Highest placement, page 2.

This image was taken during October, 2011.

This image was taken during the month of October, 2011.

This picture was taken on my property in Southern Oregon on July 19

[best appreciated at full size against black] Today I went for a walk along our ridgeline with hopes of finding some cool things to photograph. Here is one of my discoveries, a pair of wild grass stems, intertwined with their seeds hanging down. This image was taken in February, 2012.

(Originally posted 1/12/2012) [best appreciated at full size against black] Original Post: It finally SNOWED last night!!! So this morning I got my lazy a** out of bed early to hunt for some pretty shots. There was very little snow and it wasn't very spectacular, but when the sun started shining over the property, I found this image! I hope you like it!! New Comment: Although it's been cold, we haven't seen any snow except up on the hills. Plenty of rain though, and that's good! I hope everyone is holding up ok...I must admit that I've been pretty depressed lately. A new highly-contagious strain of covid, way too many stupid people ignoring rules and basic safety practices, the soaring numbers...it's just so terrible. However, I'm really happy that there are now vaccines being released! I hope they are distributed to the majority of the population soon but we aren't holding our breaths. Stay safe, warm and dry!

[best appreciated at full size against black] One morning when I took a lot of frost shots, I stayed out until the sun was melting everything. I saw this trio of droplets and hoped they would make a nice picture! This image was taken in December, 2011.

[best appreciated at full size against black] We haven't gotten much snow this year, but in January it snowed during the night and stayed on the ground long enough for me to wander around taking pictures. This is one of my favorite weeds because the seeds are very beautiful close up (please see the first comment for a close up). I think it's even prettier with a snowy hat, don't you agree? :) This image was taken in January, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] I found this dried up dandilion (or similar type flower) down by our front gate and loved its fuzzy, fashionable appearance! To me, it looks like it has very fancy hair, fluffy fur shoulders, a stylish 18th century ruffle around its neck, and has its "hand" posed on its hip as if to say, "Yes, I AM that cool! And now, I am ready for a night on the town"! :D This image was taken in February, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Look at this color! My favorite shade of green, and right now it's all over our property as all the plants and seeds are stirring to life and racing up out of the ground as fast as possible! This pretty wild grass looks just like an animal's tail, dipped in festive spring green! :D This image was taken in February, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] One of the things I've loved most all my life is my ability to notice beautiful things that others wouldn't even glance at. When it comes to nature, I think people are trained to disregard plants that are dead, since they aren't usually flashy. I've always appreciated plants in every stage of life, including when they are dead. This dried flower pod was standing right next to the mushroom I called "High Maintainance Mushroom" ( www.flickr.com/photos/sfhipchick/6796827500/in/photostream/ ), and I noticed it while gathering patience in-between my upside-down picture taking sessions. The sun was shining through the empty pod and it was just so graceful and elegant that I was compelled to capture it forever with my camera. With a mere turn of my camera and a slight adjustment, I was able to get this picture to share with all of you! I hope you like it! 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! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in February, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Do you find yourself stunned at the effect that sunlight has when it shines through leaves and plants? The glowing qualities are mesmerizing to me, and the effect is different for everything! And, depending on where you point your camera, you can get wonderful lens flares to add to the wonderful glow of your subject. On this afternoon, I was heading up our road back to my house, when I turned my head and saw this grass, perfectly lit by the sun. I hoped that my angle would also include a nice flare in the golden light. I hope you like the result! :) This image was taken in February, 2012.