Amaryllis

My Amaryllis, Belladonna cultivar from my backyard.

I started these plants a couple years ago with 21 bulbs. At the time, the directions said to plant them 12" apart. To me, they looked too sparse like that because I know zip about gardening. So, I planted them a bit closer. Now I have probably 40 plants all crowded in together. I've read that they can be propagated through division, but I have no idea what that means, let alone how to do it.

I love these flowers. They're the only flowers in my yard that my roommate doesn't destroy because he likes them, too. All the others are whacked to the ground every time he mows. It breaks my heart every time he does that. It's his house and I'm a renter, so I have no choice in the matter. I just won't buy any more plants.

These flower twice a year and they're just about done now. I think there's only 2 or 3 clusters left. The flowering period lasts about a month and they're just so beautiful. According to my plant books, there's supposed to be only about 4-6 flowers per stalk. These have 6-9!

I'm sad to see them go and can't wait for the next flowering period. I'll miss them.

Petunia

While in CT, I stayed at my son and daughter-in-law's house. I just love it there. Their yard is like a park. Donna loves flowers and her home and yard show it.

This is only one of the many varieties of Petunias she has planted. I love the delicate petals and the soft color of this variety.

Donna is smart enough to plan her gardens to get the most of every one of them. She plants early Spring bloomers, Summer bloomers and Fall bloomers so she can enjoy them through the 3 seasons. During the Winter, she has fine art flower paintings in every room. It makes for a cheery atmosphere. No wonder I like it there so much.

Tree Bark Figures

I've always had a fascination with faces and figures in tree bark the way some people have with clouds. These three images were all found in my back yard.

I think the first one looks like a pig or an old Asian man. I can't make up my mind which. Maybe one of you can tell me. This one was found in my Camphor tree.

The next one looks like an angry old man. He's on the side of a Maleleuca tree.

The last one looks like a Victorian woman on my Avocado tree. One of these days, I think I'll paint her. Wouldn't that be neat? I'm wondering, though, if acrylic paints would hurt the tree, or if the lacquer covering would hurt the tree. Anyone have any idea?

Let me know your thoughts.

My Favorites

During my trip, I had a chance to stop at my son and daughter-in-law's house. They have the most amazing yard and there are so many photo opps there, it's hard to figure out what I want to photograph first. So, I photograph everything. They have many little gardens in different areas. They're yard is shaped like the state of CT. The previous owners originally had 47 acres, which they sold off smaller parcels so they'd be left with a yard shaped like their state.

This little Tufted Titmouse is my favorite backyard bird. I like the way they sound like a car starter (at least to me). They're also cute with their little little crests. This one is eating berries or nuts from a tree. I miss seeing these little birds in my yard.

They also have a lot of flowering bushes and trees including my favorite, a Tulip tree. Tulip trees are more suitable for down south, but for some reason, this one thrives in their yard. It's a very old tree, but when it's in bloom it's just gorgeous! Unfortunately, I got there just as the flowers were done. Oh well, maybe next year. It seems I always go there too soon or too late by only a couple of weeks. I can never get the timing right to see everything in bloom.

I did get to see one of my favorite flowering bushes, though; the Mountain-laurel. I've loved these since I was a young child. Maybe I'm so fond of them because my grandmother loved them so much and they remind me of her. These are just starting to pass, but still beautiful. Mountain-laurels are the Connecticut and Pennsylvania's state flower, and they are protected in Connecticut.

Well, there you have it; my favorite flowering bush and my favorite backyard bird.

Both images were shot with my Canon 40-D, a Canon 55-250mm lens at about the same time of day. Both in Aperture Priority mode with partial metering at ISO 400, the Titmouse at F5.6 and 1/60 sec with +1 Ev (exposure compensation). I used a wide aperture (F stop) to blur the background which brought attention to the bird. The Mountain-laurel was shot at F5.6 at 1/500 sec, +1 Ev to bring out the white flowers and blur the background.

Osprey in my Tree

This one is the most elusive, hard to photograph bird I've ever photographed. He perches in this tree overlooking the river behind my house whenever he's hungry. For over 2 years I've been trying to photograph him but have rarely got a really good one.

It seems he's learned the chimes on my door from my alarm. As soon as he hears the chimes, he checks to see if I have my camera. Then he does one of two things. If I have my camera, he lets out a couple of screeches to let me know he's seen me and takes off across the lake. If I don't have my camera he buzzes my head and goes back up to the tree.

The only way I can catch him is if I go out my front door and walk all around the house while I keep really low and be careful to hide behind trees, my shed or whatever I can think of. Then once I think I'm close enough, I quickly come out, capture my image and he takes off. I only get 1 shot if I'm lucky and I have to be quick. This is the result of one of the lucky shots.

I think I like the hunt as much as getting the photograph. :)

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