Musings

My eyes are loving the lupin these days. Meet pink-top.

Here’s a range of purple-blues, all with white accents.

Posted at 9:44 PM | No Comments »

On my post-coffee beach walk, I saw wee rollers coming in, not feverishly, but unmistakably.

I had to post this photo with the colorful lupins and serendipitous OOF* seagull.

Back in the garden, I flipped open a discarded rhubarb leaf, and discovered a pair of slugs. Yup, they’re gross. But, still: nature data.

* OOF = out of focus

Posted at 9:16 PM | No Comments »

Proof of bridge crossing. Also proof that traffic flowed at 45 mph in two lanes each way, as normal. [Ignore bug smears on windshield and assistant photographer’s quirky focus.]

Ah, we’ve returned to the land of rhubarb. I was taught to pull the stem gently yet forcefully (no tugging) away from the crown (the direction varies from “up”), and I didn’t intend to select a leaf that was nurturing a wee leafette—oops. BTW, the sauce was the strongest pink of the year, almost luminous.

Proof that the lupin remain gorgeous, although somewhat disguised since the grass has shot up to full height, sometimes higher than the lupin.

Posted at 9:35 PM | No Comments »

Look! Mountains are above the trees.

This was taken in the flatlands of old lake-bed northern Ohio, but flatlands are tough to take interesting shots of, so here’s a delicate flower, probably/perhaps a geranium of some sort.

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Of course, the tightly closed bud of the magnolia is also eye-catching.

I’m guessing I’ve used a version of that title before; apologies.

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I assume this is Magnolia grandiflora, which is native to an east-west strip south of here, from east Texas east into northern Florida, and just barely into North Carolina. Truth be told, it is tolerant of slightly cooler climes, like here in ATL.

OTOH, it may be Magnolia virginiana, which is native to a similar strip that extends a bit more to the north, plus northeast into New Jersey. Of all things.

However, thinking about the leaves, I lean toward M. grandiflora.

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A fleur is a flower is a flor.

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Shapes and color patterns are what caught my eye.

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Yesterday we left idyllic lake-side life, scented with Canadian wildfire smoke, to arrive in clear skies and no nearby open water.

We abandoned lilacs and lupin, and now breathe the sweet scent of gardenias. BTW, the temp here is 80°F, with the AC running, while up north it’s 62°F and my cousin has a fire in the fireplace.

Posted at 6:56 PM | No Comments »

Perhaps my last lupin shot of the year…I thought this ombre specimen unusual, with the almost purple low blooms graduating to light pink at the top.

Proof of exodus: The Bridge. Note heavy overcast, which I call smoke-AZ. AZ not as in Arizona, but a riff on, you guessed it, hazy. BTW, these were the first of several groups of motorcyclists we saw—Saturday outings, I’m guessing.

Here’s redecoration underway, a redo of the picnic tables and grills, it looks like, at a rest area.

We spotted this rigged pickup at another rest area. I do not think it’s set up for making street view photos for Google or similar. I think it’s for (video) camera work…but wildlife spotting, looking into a vehicle it’s leading or following, or, hmmm, generic influencer imagery, perhaps.

Enough. We’re trying to escape from Ohio.

Posted at 7:18 PM | No Comments »