Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: succulent

(+3 HFF insets and a panorama from this morning!) What a wonderful picture-packed day it's been! Pumpkin and I peeked outside when I got up and were very surprised to find it quite frosty. I wondered if it would hang around for more than a few moments after the sun came up but I didn't need to worry--it was a mere 28 degrees, yoiks! That's COLD! In fact, it was cold enough for very nice crystal formations. I went up to the spot where I take my panoramas and noticed something white down the hill. As I approached, I could see that it was a skull fuzzy with frost! That was enough for me. I returned with my camera and enjoyed myself with a large set of slightly morbid but very cool pictures of the long-passed animal of unknown species. Probably a deer but I didn't know for sure. (I'll post some pictures when I get to them!) Of course since I was out, I took pictures of our daffodil buds which were also a little bit frosty…they may be opening in just a few days but it's hard to say. In any event, they will hopefully make a nice choice for Saturday's Self Challenge: "Signs of Spring." It has turned out to be a gorgeous, sunny day that's warmed up considerably from this morning's frosty start. I went out this afternoon on a mission to find new flowers--and if I could spot them, flower buds--all for "Signs of Spring." I ended up finding two new flower species I hadn't seen yet this year but I was surprised that some species which should be in bloom now aren't ready yet due to the extended cold this year. However, the official start of spring is set for 6 days from now--March 20--and it looks like the show is really beginning to spin up around here! :) Today is also when I post my Happy Fence Friday image so I'm choosing a picture from my trip to San Anselmo back in January. I was really pleased with the way it turned out because it was such a cool surprise. In Nathalie's back patio she has a pot of beautiful Jelly Bean succulents and the back fence was nearby. This picture was unique the way the fence appeared and I don't know if you could even plan for that outcome! (I'm also including a view of today's frosty, lovely sunrise with the warm sun on the hills. Also I have added some fence pictures from my archives…enjoy!) Pam, are you a fan of succulents? I think they are really neat but for some reason I cannot keep them alive. I probably overwater them or forget about them…I don't know, but if I ever bring one home, a death sentence begins to tick no matter what I do! Well--apparently you have more success than I do because I found a totally outstanding collage of a Cholla Cactus beaded with dewy spiderwebs! What wonderful images and a total treat for the eyes! Incredible!! I was really sorry to hear that you smacked your eye socket yesterday…that must have hurt so badly AND pissed you off…at least, that's what my reaction would be. :( I hope you don't have a big bruise :( That totally sucks. I am crossing my fingers that you had a better day than yesterday… *HUGGGGGS* Explored on 3/15/19, highest placement, #2.

What a lovely sea of little succulents! The colors and shades, the textures...I love them all! This image was taken during my trip to San Francisco during September 12-15, 2011.

These tiny little beauties are having a party! This image was taken during my trip to San Francisco during September 12-15, 2011.

(for those of you who are interested in seeing my San Francisco trip images, I have uploaded 10 pictures in this batch [239 in the past month]. Thanks everyone for your comments and your visits to my photostream! I hope you enjoy the show!) (Oh, and yes, I know there are really too many pictures to be uploading at one time but I have too many images I want to put into my Flickr stream so it just can't be helped!) In my father's front yard, there is a lovely little succulent garden overflowing with jewel-like, tiny succulents. I took lots of pictures, and when I took a look at one of them, I noticed something I didn't even see when I took the picture! A droplet of foggy dew, about to drop off a tiny blade of grass, and through that droplet is the tiny succulent beneath it! Hooray!! This is my very first water droplet refraction, and I didn't even realize I took it!! :D (Please excuse the graininess of this image, it was very small!) If you're interested in learning how to create beautiful droplet refractions, this is a very nice guide: www.wonderfulphotos.com/articles/macro/dewdrops/ ) By the way, for those of you who may not know, there is a very fun, free Flickr competition site which you might like to take part in. It's called FlickrDuel and features dozens of ongoing competitions, or duels every day. You can enter your pictures into many different categories and vote on contests too. It's another way to enjoy your photography! This image was taken during my trip to San Francisco during September 12-15, 2011.

These little beauties were dripping from the dew collected from the fog. Among them climbed many harvester (daddy longleg) spiders (though they aren't in this image!) This image was taken during my trip to San Francisco during September 12-15, 2011.

This image was taken in my old neighborhood during my trip to San Francisco during September 12-15, 2011.

This image was taken in my old neighborhood during my trip to San Francisco during September 12-15, 2011.