Cheerful and Bright

I have been home for 2 weeks and don’t have too much to say about the goings on at home. In the sewing room I am working on a couple of things I can’t talk about… because they are supposed to be a surprise(s) for the recipients.


So I was thinking I didn’t post too many flowers from South Africa. Keep in mind that it was summer and hot, so only the hardiest show their sunny faces. I did notice that by 1 pm most days that the less hardy flowers were done for the day… either wilted and gone or closed up and hiding from the sun and the predominant colors appear to be pink and yellow.

I'd seen several sunflowers while we were riding around in the car, but unable to find one nearby if/when we stopped. This is one of my favorite flower pictures of the summer. I don’t know exactly why. It was a cloudy overcast day with a light mist. According to some critics, (I posted it on a “pro” photo forum… from the critique- everything is wrong with the picture from composition to shutter…). So, what did I learn? Nothing, I still like it and to meet the critique I would have had to pick a fake flower from Hobby Lobby, set up lights and wait for a perfect background to appear! Not real life.

Another one I liked was this Daisy with the water droplets. I was taken on the promenade just above the beach near the condo.










Also found on the promenade was this; I don’t know the name, other than it appears to be a lily of some sort. I like this one too. (OK I don’t think I’ve come across too many flowers I didn’t like)…
















I found these two cultivated flowers in Pilgrims Rest. Dahlias love the climate in South Africa and grew everywhere, some in gardens and some that had naturalized along the roadsides. I like this one because the bee had obviously been busy collecting pollen and nectar, just look at his pantaloons of pollen.

The rose, well it’s a rosebud, just opening, but it looks so serene.

The last two are wild. The hanging white and yellow is supposedly a thistle, but it was on a large shrub

and the other reminds me of a Spider Mum…

Anyway in the middle of a very cold Midwest Winter these certainly cheer me up and I hope they bring you a little cheer too.

More Later-