Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

(+4 insets!) (please enlarge!) (I hope you don't mind the excessive length of my posts, it's necessary to document the very beginnings of our unfolding RV trip!) Once again, busy, busy, busy! So many things to do lately it’s got Steve and me running all day! We had another RV dinner and sleepover last night and it was great! We cooked our dinner from start to finish there and the evening’s fare consisted of pan-fried steel-head trout topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions drizzled with a chili/soy sauce…YUM! The side was a repeat of yesterday's mushrooms, onions and asparagus stir-fried in butter...NOM! Needless to say, everything turned out perfectly! (By the way, Jenny wondered about our cold storage—we have a refrigerator topped with a freezer, roomy enough that hopefully we’ll be able to fend for ourselves for at least a week or so without needing to restock.) I mentioned yesterday that I needed to add our memory foam topper to my bed and that was the perfect solution! The hip I sleep on most is still tender but I’m now comfortable and it will get better in the next few days. What a wonderful night’s sleep I had! With all of the ferrying of items back and forth from our house to our RV I neglected to bring Pumpkin’s breakfast over last night. Since I wanted to wash my hair this morning and didn’t want to risk a cold-water catastrophe, I took Pumpkin over to the house with me and I showered there, returning to the RV with Pumpkin and her food. All of us enjoyed a very nice morning relaxing in the RV. I had a little time to do just a bit of commenting yesterday afternoon and this morning which was very nice. I do look forward to catching up as I can! We have been keeping an eye on the levels of our “grey” and “black” tanks and today we saw that our grey tank was registering full. A grey tank holds normal water flow from the kitchen and bathroom sink and fills up much faster than the black tank (toilet). In the next couple of days we’ll take the RV to one of the many places that provide grey and black tank dumping. In the time being, our overnight stays will be curtailed since we can no longer use our sinks. We will appreciate a break...we didn't actually plan on more than one night initially but realized it was a really smart thing to do. So we'll take a break but when the tanks are emptied we'll continue fine-tuning our RV camping! :) On another subject, today we went out and got a new phone and data plan for me. One of the things that’s very important when RV’ing is having unlimited data if at all possible. This allows internet usage without any concerns about running out of a set data amount for that month. The warehouse store we love, Costco, had a special deal that costs only $25/mo for new customers, and it was just too good to pass up. The only drawback is that I won't be able to tether my phone to a computer, but we have a solution for that too. Steve found an excellent deal which does include tethering to computers so we are now set when it comes to getting internet coverage! (Tethering means connecting your computer to your phone's internet data.) We’ve wondered how we would handle this important issue and it was wonderful to have the best deal we’ve seen drop right into our laps. The truth of the matter is that unlimited data plans used to be $100/mo at the very low end ($150-200/mo was common), and people actually sold their plans online or grandfathered them to family members because they were so rare and valuable. After all of our errands, I’m home fairly late so again my time is short…I haven’t processed many pictures in the past week but happily we will have a break from our RV overnight testing for a few days and things should settle down for a while! Oh! New birdies at the feeder today! I looked out and was delighted to find a pair of House Finches happily gobbling up millet! I giggled as I watched them through our binoculars--it’s pretty hilarious to see them with open beakies as they work on breaking the husks of the seeds! They were pretty happy about the treasure trove in front of them though and they stayed for a good ten minutes chowing down! :) It sure is nice to see those lovely birds back here. I’ve included an inset for you to see! :) Today I’m sharing another knockout from the dahlia exhibit that Steve and I visited a couple of years ago when visiting my dad in San Francisco. I have so many pictures to show but they all must take their turn! :D I've added three insets of other red dahlias I photographed there on my first visit there in 2011. Aren't they just a bunch of divas?! :) Pam, I wanted to find another travel picture of yours and found a beautiful image of Glastonbury Abbey Fish Pond with an absolutely gorgeous reflection of the cloud-filled sky and lined with lovely silhouetted trees. MAGICAL! Hoping all is well for you my dear, you are in my thoughts! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 4/4/19, highest placement, #2.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of photography is learning about the subjects I take pictures of. Most specifically, I love to learn the kind of animal or plant I've photographed. And more often than not, I am totally surprised or even amazed by what I learn. Take the dahlia for instance. Did you know there are 42 species that grow in the wild? What's really surprising is the number of hybrids. There are so many that nobody has a number...the closest figure that people can agree on is "countless"! As crazy as that sounds, I'm really not surprised. They come in a zillion colors, sizes and shapes. The thing is, you really do have to visit a dahlia exhibit garden in order to truly understand the staggering variety. Visiting the yearly display at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers is just insane. They pack in so many different hybrids that you simply cannot see them anymore after a while. You know how you can't spend too much time at a museum because you can't process what you see after a while? It's just too much and your poor brain blows a fuse. Well, the same thing happens when you go to a massive showing like the dahlia garden! I wish everyone could have the chance to visit because no matter how many pictures I share, there isn't any way to really show you the experience. I can't help trying though! Today's flower is a knockout pink beauty with lovely white striping. I actually tried to find the exact hybrid...lol...what was I thinking?! Let's just call it Pink Passion and call it a day! I hope you enjoy this lovely flower as much as I enjoyed photographing and processing it! Pam, I don't know if you've tried growing dahlias but I will warn you...deer love to eat them! I learned the hard way when I tried to grow them the first time. Just as they were about to bloom, some deer came by and ate every last one. I was so upset! Oh, and by the way, ground squirrels also love to eat them. The second time I tried to grow them, the ground squirrels broke through the deer fencing and gobbled them up just as they were about to bloom. Have you ever had any luck with these flowers? I won't try again until I live in a place that is protected from deer and ground squirrels! We live in wonderful places with lots of wild animals but they sure do like to eat our flowers! :D Explored on 1/2/19, highest placement, #5.

(looks best at full size against black) (Sorry this post is so long!!) 6:45am....it's pitch black. It's just so DARK! I do not get up at o'dark o'clock! But, I guess I do after all. My younger self would be horrified to know that I willingly get up at 6:45am without a blaring alarm clock. Just like the Grinch, I can see my younger self screwing her face up into a blackened scowl..."There is no moaning? There is no crying?! Why, you actually climb out of bed in a very happy mood... looking forward to the day?!" My younger self would scream, "BUT IT'S PITCH BLACK OUTSIDE! AND NOBODY IS FORCING YOU TO GET UP! WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!!" LOL. I have to laugh because it really is crazy that I choose to get up so early. My younger self would never do it, but I'm happy to because it's so worth it! Pumpkin and I headed down to the kitchen after my shower and I deposited her onto the window perch Steve made for her. From that vantage point she watched the Mama Bird Show... While I whistle back and forth with Pumpkin, I turn on the espresso machine and the coffee grinder. Take my coffee cup from the cabinet and put it on the counter. It will take a couple of minutes to warm up...no worries, I've got plenty of other things to do! Pet Molly, grab her bowl and remove the board that seals the dog door to keep the cold out. Go to the kibble container, pour in a cup of food, add some warm water from the sink, get dog food from fridge, scoop some into her bowl, mash it all together and call Molly. She runs eagerly from the living room to her feeding station and begins chowing down. Take a tall glass from the cupboard, put it on the counter. Go to the spice rack, grab the red pepper flakes and the powdered ginger. While I'm over there, I open a different cupboard and take out the glass jar full of wheat berries. As I'm carrying these items to the counter I look at the plump wheat seeds and think, "Gee they look cool in there, I should take a macro of them at some point!" I take a ½ teaspoon of ginger and put it into the glass. Sitting on the counter is a partially full gallon of something that says "Apple Cider Vinegar Drink". I give it a vigorous shake and fill the glass with the ginger in it. I give it a good stir and then pop it into the microwave for 45 seconds so it's drinkably warm. While my drink is in the 'waver I open the fridge again and take out Pumpkin's veggie/fruit mix, a can of corn and two plastic containers--one which says "Pecans" and the other, "Chix bread". I grab one of Pumpkin's food bowls and add a big handful of veggie/fruit mix (carrots, peppers, celery, apple), and then a heaping forkful of corn plus a little more, and stir it up. I grab the ½ teaspoon and sprinkle a large scoop of wheat berries on top followed by a scoop of red pepper flakes. I open the two containers from the fridge and place a pecan on top and from the other I take out two 1.5" squares of bread (multi-seed wheat bread that's been cut into pieces), run them under the water for a second and walk over to the microwave. The 'waver is beeping at me right on time...I pull out my drink, pop in the two 1.5" squares and let it go for 5 seconds. I whisk them out, place one on top of Pumpkin's food and the other one in the food bowl of her perch. Pumpkin sees it, immediately walks over to her bowl and begins "gronking" joyfully as she dives into her warm breakfast treat. I take my drink over to the counter, open today's container of vitamins, pour them into my hand, stir my drink and swallow all of them as my drink goes down the hatch. Let's not forget the chaser...I get ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes and pop them into my mouth, chomping happily. LOL, you think I'm crazy! Steve thinks I'm crazy too but they are a nice boost for your metabolism and have other benefits as well. Oh and what is an "Apple Cider Vinegar Drink"? A serving is 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tsp of cream of tartar, ½ tsp of salt, 1 tsp of lime juice and water enough to fill a 12 oz glass. WHY would I actually DRINK that? Well, because it's full of electrolytes and potassium and it's an essential key to my ketogenic lifestyle. It's also quite yummy once you get used to it! I love it! :) Finally, I pull my shot of coffee, add water to make it an "Americana", and chug it down. I'm done! Pumpkin has thoroughly enjoyed the show and her treat, and now steps happily onto an offered finger. I grab her bowl of food, bring her up to her day cage, turn on her music and tell her I love her before quietly closing the door. Trotting downstairs, I grab my phone, headphones, put on my shoes, scarf, gloves and coat and then pop outside, stretch my legs and I'm off for my morning walk. WHAT A ROUTINE!! Today I'm sharing another dahlia from San Francisco. This pink blossom was starting to open up and I loved how its petals looked. I hope you like it! Pam, I hope this pretty flower will put a smile on your face and maybe give you a burst of energy too. I bet your day is full of crazy routines just like mine...we need lots of energy but I wish I could send mine to you right now to help you feel better soon. Thinking of you always! Explored on 12/20/18, highest placement, #4.

It was a beautiful, misty morning and I drank in every sound I could as I tromped up and down our road today. Here and there were clusters of twittering birds that made me smile. I chuckled at the far-off sounds of our resident group of turkeys carrying on down in the lower forest. My opinion counted too so I tossed it in their direction, "Oh you silly birds!" I even heard the croak of a frog who was working on his early Romeo impression for the coming breeding seaon. Overhead I heard the caw-caw of a crow and looked up to see it flying by in its brilliant black attire. As it passed I heard the beautiful guttural purring conversational notes they make and soon I heard another crow's contact call. Stopping on the road, I stared up to the sky and watched not a "murder of crows" as a group would be called, but more like a "flow of crows." A spread-out stream of perhaps twenty crows flew over our property in ones and twos, all commenting occasionally in caws and purring croaks. I was happy they didn't roost here because the racket of a large group of crows was too obnoxious for even me to stand. However, their overhead calls were a welcome treat and I only began walking again after they'd all passed by. Settling into my walk I decided to listen to my favorite podcast, a wonderful science-based show called Radio Lab . This award-winning podcast presents fascinating and thoroughly entertaining topics directed at the general public. If you have any interest in nature or science, this show is for you! The shows are much more than just spoken words. They add music and sound effects that help us to understand and SILENCE so we can contemplate what we've just heard. It's a unique and outstanding production and worth your time, I guarantee it!! (I've listened to at least 100 different podcast shows so I'm fairly knowledgeable on them!) Today I listened to Dark Side of the Earth . It featured an astronaut who shared some experiences he had during the 168 days he's been in space, such as what it feels like to do a spacewalk and look blissfully out into the vastness of space with only a tether between you and the universe. Or what it's like to watch day turn to night and back to day within the course of an hour and a half...in fact they experience 16 days per Earth day! I encourage you to give Radiolab a try! Their topics cover a very wide range. Two other totally awesome shows that I recently listened to include Rippin' the Rainbow an Even Newer One , which is a glorious show that showcases which animal can detect the most colors...do you know which is the winner? This show even has a choir as background singing to illustrate the musical interpretation of ROY-G-BIV (color spectrum: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet)! The other show was Smarty Plants which discusses the intelligence of plants by using several fascinating studies and entertaining experiments. Podcasts can be listed to in the background while you're processing your photos or you can take them on the go! Popular apps for downloading podcasts include Pocket Casts (for Android, it's what I use) and iTunes (for iOS), and this current article of the Best Podcast Listening Apps has links to all of them. Today I'm finally sharing a favorite dahlia picture from our past trip to San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers. It's a picture I processed soon after returning home and I just couldn't get over how lovely this dahlia was. I hope you like it too! Gosh, if I was as pretty as this flower is, my poor husband would be fighting off legions of would-be suiters all day and night! Pam, I don't know if you are aware of podcasts but if you're not, it might be something to check out! It's another way of experiencing the wonder of our world, and the stories take you to another place of learning and understanding. I bet you would enjoy these as much as I do! *big hugs from Oregon* :) Explored on 12/12/18, highest placement, #4.