Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: ipernity Explore

2 more pictures in notes above! :) My garden is still in the middle of a poppy blossom extravaganza, and though I could have shared some really neat pictures every single day for the past several weeks, I think you guys would hunt me down and shoot me for boring you to death with Yet Another Poppy Flower!! :D :D I *HAVE* been taking pictures most days and it's been really hard to resist sharing pictures on many occasions... and today... well, there wasn't anyway I could refuse! It's not my fault that poppies glow so amazingly in the morning light!! Today I fell over when I saw this salmon-colored, double-layered poppy. Which was covered with droplets from my garden watering. And then a hoverfly landed on it. The last straw was some really cool bokeh and that was just too much! *Janet explodes and the picture gets Pick of the Day* Not my fault. Blame the hoverfly. :D Marcus Aurelius (26 April 121 AD – 17 March 180 AD) was a Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. Wikipedia: Marcus Aurelius Explored on July 26, 2013. Highest placement: page 2 (#34)

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! Today has been a blur and I'm running as fast as I can! This image is in response to an invitation to a new group on ipernity called Bokeh Thursday, and the theme this week was "Clothespin". I wanted to try something different than what I've seen in the past, so I tried stacking a few and putting some sparkly tinsel in the background to add some colorful bokeh in addition to the bokeh of the clothespin itself! I hope you like it! In about 30 minutes, Steve and I will be leaving to go take firework pictures, but I won't be back soon enough to put one up for my 365, which is why I'm in such a rush to get this done before we leave! :D Emile Cioran (8 April 1911 – 20 June 1995) was a Romanian philosopher and essayist. Wikipedia: Emile M. Cioran Explored on July 5, 2013. Highest position: Page 4. Explored on Flickr on July 4, 2013. Highest position: #180.

These glowing, golden parachutes (pappus) are specially modified parts of a flower called "sepals." They are able to catch the lightest breeze and lift up into the air, carrying the seed as far as a mile or more away from the parent plant! No wonder we find dandilions (and goatsbeard) everywhere! :D Explored on June 28. Highest position, page 2 (#50).

3 more tendril pictures can be found in the notes above! :) Yesterday I planned to take pictures of Sweet Pea tendrils but a beautiful Red Milkweed Beetle stopped me in my tracks. This morning I was determined to get to my destination! I'd been waiting for the rain to stop and finally it looked like I could sneak out for a photo session, so out I bounced with my camera in hand! Well, no longer than five minutes after I got to the sweet peas, the rain began again, heavy drops plopping onto the vines, splashing onto my camera, and spattering my glasses. However, I decided to stay as long as I could because I hoped that I might capture the droplets on the tendrils, and indeed I did! This picture actually shows the least amount of droplets, but how could I not choose this for my picture of the day? It shows perfectly how I feel about tendrils, and about this very special place, the only spot on our 26 acres where these wild sweet peas grow! This area is magical, a dark spot in our lower forest where only beams of sunlight shine through the trees, and it is here where I also find many of the special mushrooms that I've shared. How lucky it was that I captured the mood of this place without knowing it...only when I saw this on my computer did I discover how special this image was! :) Explored on June 27, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#31)

2 more views in notes above! :) I can't tell you how often it happens that I leave the house with a clear idea of what I plan to take a picture of and I get distracted along the way by something totally different! This morning I was planning to see if I could capture Sweet Pea tendrils...but half-way across our smaller meadow, I spotted something red on a stem and had to stop and take a closer look. At that point I forgot all about the tendrils and I lost myself behind the lens! Can you blame me?!! WOW!! Check this gorgeous beetle out! It's called a Red Milkweed Beetle, and is a type of Longhorn beetle. Polly Jean Harvey MBE (born 9 October 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, harmonica, and most recently, the autoharp. P. J. Harvey Explored on June 26, 2013. Highest position, page 2.

One picture in a note on the image! :D Other notes too! :) These beautiful flowers are growing all over our meadow right now and I absolutely love how there are "flowers within the flower" in the center! Socrates ( 469 BC – 399 BC) was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. Wikipedia: Socrates Explored on June 22, 2013. Highest placement, page 5.

How I adore poppies. I simply LOVE these flowers! From their lacy leaves to their ridiculously hair stems and flower pods, to their incredible blossoms, to the seed heads, I am KOO KOO FOR COCOPUFFS for these flowers!! They are AMAZING!! *Janet loses it and begins bouncing off the walls in excitement* Last year I planted a bunch of wildflower seeds in a metal tub in the front yard, and for the first time I got the pleasure of discovering poppies among the many different flowers. I was beside myself with happiness and got some very nice pictures! This year I planted a bunch of new seeds but I didn't know if any would grow because the seeds were old. However, I was assured by many that poppy seeds are very resiliant, so I waited with anticipation! Two days ago I was watering the sprouts and growing plants when I spotted a POPPY POD!!! There is NO MISTAKING these flowers! Seriously, get a shave buddy, you're covered with stubble! :D This morning I went out between rain showers and took a bunch of pictures...which...I was unhappy with. So, I went out and took MORE, this time with my macro flash in order to get a low-key image. MUCH better. I actually ended up working with two exposures of the same image and putting them together to get the depth in tone that I wanted. I hope you like it! :) You'll be seeing more pictures when this beauty opens up! :D (Oh, and by the way, I spotted MORE of them too, hooray!!!) Proverbs: Nothing defines a culture as distinctly as its language, and the element of language that best encapsulates a society's values and beliefs is its proverbs. Many proverbs have been absorbed into English having been known earlier in other languages. The list linked here is specifically of English proverbs and the dates given are those when the proverb first appeared in English. English Proverbs Explored on June 25, 2013. Highest position, page 2.

1 extra picture is in a note on the image! A couple of weeks ago I shared a picture of a toad that lives next to Lucky's Pond. When I first saw it that morning, it was taking a bath in the pond, and when I came along, it pretended to be a lumpy rock in the pond. However, when I got back with my camera, it had jumped out and was in its sleeping spot, where I took its picture. TODAY, however, I had my camera with me when I noticed the toad playing scrub-a-dub in the pond, and I was able to get this picture to show all of you, complete with reflections of the toad, the sky and clouds too! And if you look carefully, you'll see the reflection of ME in its eye as I took the picture!! John Anthony Burgess Wilson, FRSL (25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English writer. From relatively modest beginnings in a Manchester Catholic family in the North of England, he eventually became one of the best known English literary figures of the latter half of the twentieth century. Wikipedia: Anthony Burgess Explored on June 24, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

Today I was on a MISSION! There is one place on our property where wild sweet peas bloom, and I didn't discover them until last year. In fact, I took lots of pictures then but never posted any because they got buried in the zillions of pictures I have which may never get any attention from me. However, I really wanted to feature these beautiful flowers for my 365 and I would have been really sad if I missed them. Today was the day, and I successfully refused to be distracted by anything on the way! When I got there, the sun was still low enough to make the blossoms glow warmly, and I was just enchanted by them. They grow in heaps on the forest floor, and climbed up the trees and bushes. Here and there the sun shined through and shafts of light played upon the hot pink blossoms. What a delight. I took many, many pictures, and I processed six of them, but tonight I only have time to share two. The other picture today is a fun capture of a frog that Steve caught in our shop sink the other day. He brought "Sinky" over to Angel's Pond and I got a couple of fun pictures, one of which I'm posting tonight! :) Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American athlete and an Olympic champion. Rudolph was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and competed in two Olympic Games, in 1956 and in 1960. Wikipedia: Wilma Rudolph Explored on June 23, 2013, best placement, page 3.