Your Sunday Best ! #14

Not sure what this shrub is, we had them at the house I grew up in;

I called it the "bumblebee bush" and continue to do so,

because they were always surrounded by bumblebees when in bloom.

I have a couple where I live now;

one a soft pink the other a strong, vibrant pink.

We had a hard, cold winter in 2011 with a over a week of 18 below during the days.

I though the shrubs had been killed.

I continued to water, did not prune,

and decided that if they didn't pull out by this year

I'd go ahead and dig them out.

They have come back, and while in need of a drastic prune job, they look so soft and pretty!

Just learned how to do a snapshot withing a photo, so I'm practicing!

  
Pruning will start once they have finished blooming!

Photo Art Friday ~ April 20th - 22nd

The challenge?

A piece with a theme of new life.

The epitome of "new life" for me

is spring and all that it entails

the resurgence of green in the garden, on the trees

the awakening and the beginning of new life

and to add to the thrill of new life, my dear friend Victor made two grow boxes for me!

the new summer home for my heirloom tomatoes

all surrounded by sun loving herbs and

bordered by trailing nasturtiums and marigolds! 

 recognizing there is absolutely nothing magnificent about these photos,
it is what I'm loving at the moment!

"The living moment is everything." D.H. Lawrence

this or that thursday

I paid a visit to one of our local nursery's to wander around, think spring and went to see the plantings in one of the "grow nursery's" where plants are being grown to fill local landscaping orders.  It was fun, got a few photo's with my phone camera, and because very little is SOOC for me, I edited them in PIXLR!

It is still too early to start planting annuals outside, 
so by the time these geraniums are ready to plant they will be gargantuan! 

"Half the interest of a garden is in the constant exercise of the imagination." Mrs. C. W. Earle

The Three Muses Challenge - Vintage Bathing Beauty

First Day at the Beach

Edit Me 2012 - Week 16

I've never participated in "Edit Me 2012" hosted by Branson and Stephanie, and decided to give it a try . . . the hosts of Edit Me provide a photo to edit in any style of our choosing and this is week's photo.

Edited

Original

Edits include: cropping, level adjustment, adding a ripple effect to the sand and sea while masking out the child, adding a watercolor effect to the child, blended (darken @ 100%) over the original, Nancy's Claeys texture, "Kimberly", (multiply@56%), a light framing and three seashells for the fun of it!

52 Photos Project ~ Week 52

This is week 52 of the 52 Photos Project and I'd like to take this opportunity to
thank Bella for hosting the project, her generosity and creativity.

I'd also like to thank her for continuing the project into a second year, which starts next week!

The Golden Hour

We have magnificent sunsets in the high mountain desert, but do you think I had one?

Noooooo! 

I did have some glorious sunsets taken on various trips . . . 

and that is what I'm sharing!

Color Palettes

I have wanted to try this for eons,

ever since they first came to my attention on Pinterest!

Now I'll have to learn how to add interesting verbiage or titles for the Color Palettes!

"Learning never exhausts the mind."  Leonardo da Vinci

{Texture Tuesday} ~ free & easy eDition

Kim Klassen's textures "Lilly" and "Evolve"

Kim Klassen's textures "oh My and Evolve"

Kim Klassen's "uggLove and oh My"

Pixlr rendering/Kim Klassen's texture "Evolve"

Loved the contrast of the lilacs and the old red gate.

Playing with Pixlr

Marilyn at Studio 274 Designs has been reviewing online editors, which lead me to Pixlr.  It can be used online or downloaded into your computer and they also have an app for android or apple phone cameras.

The program is fun, has an editor, but I'm primarily interested in the vintage and retro effects!

These are some old photos from a point and shot that I decided to play with!

Hearst Museum, Scottsdale, AZ

Cactus Bloom, SE New Mexico

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

I've not downloaded the application, just playing online, but I love the retro/vintage styles and this could be a fun alternative for my Canon photos'.

“I grow old learning something new everyday.” Solon