Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: amber

1 note above! I see many things under logs, bark and rocks, and there are lots of items that I'm totally clueless about. This is a perfect example. Sometimes I find tiny little amber-colored droplets on one spot. Maybe they are dewdrops that have gathered together into larger droplets, stained by the wood they are on. But I find them on rocks and also on wood that doesn't look as if it could create an amber color in the droplets. The droplets are very watery, but I can't be sure they are water at all. Could these be collected by some insects and stored there? Or perhaps the droplets are moisture that was removed by insects and deposited there as a dumping ground? Who knows! I have tried taking pictures of these droplets on many occasions. I've never been satisfied by the results...until the day I got this picture! In fact, I got a bunch of really nice images, and all of them are exactly what I'd hoped for: sharp focus on one droplet and the rest fading off into bokeh! :)

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.