Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: daffodil

(+4 insets!) Whew! It's nearly 4pm and I haven't stopped running! Finally got a break to write my post for the day. :) I'd like to start off by thanking all of you who've been letting me know how much you've been enjoying the beginnings of our RV adventures. I want to document it because it's kind of a big deal. It's also been a lot of work, so I also appreciate your patience with the fact that I simply don't have time to comment right now. I really hate that because it's such fun to go on my virtual trips around the world when I visit you all. Well, hopefully I'll be able to get some commenting in sometime soon. And of course, huge thanks to everyone for your amazing comments and stars for my pictures. It makes my day to read what you have to say, you're all just so very wonderful. :) Today is Macro Monday!! The theme this week is another seemingly "hand-picked for Janet" theme…Flower Buds! I am a little bummed that I wasn't able to get all the different bud pictures I was planning on. The plan was to go out today and take more pictures but it's literally been drizzling and raining all day long. I keep checking every hour and there is no end. So, sadly, I ran out of time for more buds. Boo. My main picture is a cluster of jonquils that grow in a thick patch next to our traditional daffodils. They are so fragrant! And of course, lovely too! How nice that the buds were covered with rain drops...BONUS! I have two more picks as insets: a trio of jonquils with daffodil and jonquil bokeh and also a rhododendron bud which is just thinking about what it will be like to flower in a month! I hope you like my week's Macro Monday contributions! You'll also see a couple of panoramas from our faux campsite! The first one was the lovely sunset at our "campground"! The second one was the view from the doorway of our trailer first thing this morning! :) LOL, isn't it funny that we're just here on our property and I can still get some wonderful pictures to share?! :D I don't forget for a moment how fortunate we are. Our Faux Camping Trip Continues! Our second night at the trailer was a great success! We had another dinner like the night before (perfectly amazing and delicious! :D) and afterwards we worked on putting LED lights in cabinets and wherever it made sense. One of the problems with RVs is that they can be quite dark but we're just about done and it's been a great improvement. Both Pumpkin and Molly were there with us from dinnertime and on. That was really nice and both of them enjoyed being in the trailer. Once Pumpkin got used to the new space, she's been fabulous! Whistling, singing, and of course laughing her head off at us whenever the mood suits her, we are confident that traveling with both our bird and dog will be very easy for all of us. We all slept really well and after we got up, Steve and I took our first showers there! One must be extremely conservative with water in an RV and one of the first upgrades we added was a proper shower head that has a button to instantly stop the water flow. This way you can turn on the shower, douse yourself, stop the water, soap up, turn on the water and rinse. I didn't wash my hair there because I wanted to keep it simple but that will definitely use a lot more water. We have exactly six gallons of hot water so there can be no lollygagging about. After one of us showers, the other waits for 15 min for the next 6 gallons of water to heat up. I chose to have the second shower so Steve could let me know what to pay attention to. That's why I got on better than Steve; he ran out of hot water so I was in and out in a mad flash. I also didn't wash my hair but he did. We shall see how well I manage with that addition. I just didn't want to risk running out of warm water…we all know what that's like and it being April 1, I didn't like the idea of some gremlins pulling a prank on me! :D After my shower I made our espressos there because we brought our machine over and will be bringing it with us. We've experimented with the new faddish "pod" machines but the US coffee pods are total watery garbage from our experience. We learned about these compact and convenient coffee machines in France and fell in love with L'OR pods. Intensity 12 are AWESOME but they are expensive in Europe when we found them and stupidly outrageous if purchased in the US so forget it. We'll bring our tried-and-true Rancilia Silvia and stop fussing about it! Testing the camper has been incredibly valuable and we'll keep it up until we run out of issues. Steve learned that he needs a longer shower hose to work for his 6'2 frame…he has to hold the hose up and lean over to get his head wet. That totally sucks. It's perfect for me though, I'm only 5'4 and don't need to make any adjustments. With a longer hose he'll still need to hold the hose up but at least he won't have to bend over! There are lots of little things that we need to change, buy, add, adjust and build but with each passing day we're slowly getting the trailer ready for the road. It's also totally exhausting! So much thought and consideration and shopping and decision-making. We're going to be happy to take a break once we're satisfied so we can recuperate. I think I might have mentioned yesterday that it's like a combination of moving to a new home and going on a trip. But in the end, we'll be confident that we can go on a real trip and it should go smoothly! Pam, it tickles me to no end to learn that you're a very experienced camper girl yourself! I love it! Our digs may be larger the van you were in but the experiences we have will ring true to the ones you have had! How cool is that?! (Plus, vans have some incredible advantages!) :D You know, in all the years that Steve and I have known one another (2000), we've only officially been camping once. We decided that it's just a bit too much work--even though the reward can be so sweet. We thought that someday we could save enough money for an RV and take a proper home with us without needing to break everything down and set it all up again at the next place. And here we are at the very beginning of our adventure. I'm so happy you're enjoying the show…I plan to write about the whole kit-and-caboodle so get ready for the ride…it's going to be AWESOME! I looked in your stream for a lovely place and landed on your Mt. Jefferson State Park picture…holy cow is that lovely. We are hoping to get to the Blue Ridge Mountains in our travels so this picture makes me so excited! So lovely!! Thank you for adding to my wanderlust with this gorgeous autumn landscape! *BIG, BIG HUGS* (Your panorama is a total jaw-dropper too, WOWZERS!) Explored on 4/2/19, highest placement, #1.

I like to challenge myself by trying to create interesting images from something that people wouldn't look at twice. While I was at the Harry & David public garden, I noticed this withered daffodil and loved the shape and texture. Even dead, I find it lovely. All around there were beautiful flowers to grab my attention, but it was an easy thing to stop and appreciate this once-brilliant, yet still interesting blossom. :)

Here is another flower I photographed on Daffodil Hill in Shady Cove, Oregon back in 2013. This hill is literally covered with acres of daffodils of all sizes, colors, and shapes! It is an incredible sight and left me dazzled by the time we left!

About 15 miles from our home is the lovely little town of Shady Cove. Every spring there is a yearly daffodil explosion on a hill that is covered with an endless variety of flowers. One year Steve and I went for a visit and by the time we left, my head was spinning! Here's a close-up dof shot of a fiery orange cup on one beauty that I saw there.

I found these flowers at my friend's property near Ashland a few years ago. Even though they have passed their prime, the shape of their petals now form a star, which I thought was really pretty. :)

There's a town near us called Shady Cove, and every spring, people flock to a road there affectionately called Daffodil Hill. It's aptly named as this near-mile stretch of hillside is literally covered with daffodils of every type you can imagine! Steve went there a few years ago when I was doing my 365 project, and I spent an hour or so filling my camera card with pictures of these lovely flowers. Unfortunately, I was so worn out after a day of photography (which included hours of driving around for spring flowers) that I have processed only a few pictures from this remarkable spot. I hope to dig around in this folder and pull out some more treasures for all of us to enjoy! For now, here is a glorious golden-cupped daffodil with a sea of bokeh behind! :)

A few years ago, Steve and I were invited to visit a friend's emmense garden which was planted with about a billion daffodils! We spent many happy hours wandering around and taking pictures. Here's a group of lovely blooms with striking red frills!

A friend of mine has a large piece of property where she and here husband have planted countless daffodils and irises. I got to visit one year and she asked me to take some pictures of some that she had cut for floral displays. These two made a dramatic disply against black!

This is a display of daffodils that were grown on my friend's property about an hour from our home. She and her husband live on a lavish estate and they planted countless irises and daffodils everywhere. The sight is remarkable and we were so happy to spend time taking pictures when these flowers were in bloom. Elizabeth picked these flowers and created this lovely display so that I could take a picture. Isn't it amazing to see the variety of shapes and colors? They are so lovely.

A few years ago, Steve and I were invited to visit a friend's emmense garden which was planted with about a billion daffodils! We spent many happy hours wandering around and taking pictures. Here's a close-up of one of her lovely flowers.

When we think about daffodils, the first image that pops into our heads is usually the solid yellow beauty that is so popular and grown so profusely everywhere. I didn't realize that there was such a huge variety of types and sizes though, and I love the unusual types like this "double" blossom with its delicate buttercream-colored petals. If you want to be stunned by the variety of daffodils, here is a google search for hybrid daffodils ! You won't believe what you will see! Explored on March 11, 2016. Highest placement, page 4.

Last weekend, Steve and I got to visit some friends of ours and I was completely unprepared for the incredible show of daffodils she had! Literally THOUSANDS of flowers, so many species that I could not believe my eyes! I was told they have planted over 15,000 daffodils over the years and even though we came when most of them had died, the show was still magnificent and awesome! This is one of my favorite pictures, taken down by their pond as the sun was beginning to sink below the mountain. The rays were still shining on the pond and making the flowers glow, and I managed to get this image with dancing lights on the water and the flower petals glowing warmly. I spent about an hour flitting around the grounds and it truly was a magic hour. :) I will never forget this day!!!

Today I was looking at our lovely daffodils and discovered a tiny friend who seemed to be boasting about the size of the last insect he caught! I think he was exagerating just a bit, what do you think?! :D I was totally amazed that this single picture attempt had perfect focus on his face, as this flower was literally waving back and forth...I tried once and then gave up, figuring I'd never get a clear picture! WOO HOO for luck!!! :D By the way, this is a tiny crab spider which measures about 1/2" in diameter by his outstretched legs. These efficient hunters lurk on flowers and are often camouflaged as the same color as the flower! They wait in this position for unwary insects to fly in for food, where they then ambush them!

Come on now, sing it with me!! :D Oh, What A Beautiful Morning , from Oklahoma! There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky. Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day, I've got a beautiful feeling, Everything's going my way. All the cattle are standing like statues, All the cattel are standing like statues, They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by. But a little brown mav'rick is winking her eye. All the sounds of the earth are like music, All the sounds of the earth are like music, The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree, And an ol' Weepin' Willer is laughin' at me. It really was so lovely today, and when I looked to see how the daffodils were coming along, one of them was glowing in the morning light, showing me the flower that will emerge in the next week or so! How exciting! And, as you can see, there are an army of others which will explode into bloom soon after! HOORAY for Spring! Oklahoma! is a 1955 musical film based on the 1943 musical play Oklahoma!, written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II and starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones (in her film debut), Rod Steiger, Charlotte Greenwood, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, James Whitmore and Eddie Albert. The production was the only musical directed by Fred Zinnemann.[2] Oklahoma! was the first feature film photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process. Wkipedia: Oklahoma!

In case you didn't read this in an earlier posting, I decided to have a counting of each kind of flower that I find on our property this spring! I saw the first flower about three weeks ago, and it's the smallest flower too! Next I found a little white flower that looks ready for a mouse's wedding bouquet! Number three is the crocus flowers that have popped out in one big clump of loveliness! Then I discovered the Henderson Shooting Star, but on the way to photograph it, I found a glowing Buttercup smiling up at me with its beautiful yellow face, and because it was open, and the Shooting Star is still a bud, I decided that the Buttercup gets to be #4 and the Shooting Star is #5! Because this Jonquil is still a bud, it would lead a person to wonder how I can tell it's a jonquil and not a daffodil. :D Well, to be honest, I'm going on my memory here and the jonquils grow in this patch, with the daffodils one patch over! :D I may be wrong though, so we'll just have to wait and see as these forming buds finally pop open to expose the gorgeous flower inside! UPDATE: this bud opened up to expose a DAFFODIL inside!! Now where are those Jonquils?! :D :D Can you tell that I'm a little bit excited about my Spring Flower Count?! :D :D :D I have to tell you...I've been nosing around the meadow and there are four more kinds of flowers now!!! WOOT!! I think I'll need to keep posting one flower every day or I won't be able to keep up...I see signs of many more on their way!! YAY!!! This image was taken in March, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] ...and ladies and gentlemen, I am WRONG!!! I posted a picture of these as closed buds a few days ago ( www.flickr.com/photos/sfhipchick/6968627361/in/photostream/ ) and guessed they were jonquils because I thought that's where they were growing last year. However, as you can see here, we are not looking at multiple little jonquil blossoms but instead, one beautiful big daffodil with its frilly cup clearly visible inside! I took a picture as soon as I could see inside! :D 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 March, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] This is another image of the daffodil I've shown in previous pictures, taken after a night of rain. The big droplet appears to be carefully balanced atop the bud and just a jiggle would cause it to fall! :D This image was taken in March, 2012.

This flower fly was having a wonderful time crawling around on the cup of this daffodil. I never realized there are flies that love nectar, but as it turnes out, there are countless varieties which enjoy this tasty treat, and do their part to help spread pollen too!