Sunday scramble
Posted: May 27, 2012 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, Adventures in Life, Earth, family, Fire, friends, home, Letting Go, life, nature, Photography, Spirit, Spring, Walking, wandering, water, weather 36 Comments
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Izzy staying cool in the shade.
Hot, hot, hot. That describes the weather here in the Bogs today. It will be hotter tomorrow so I suppose I ought to be grateful it’s in the 80s and not the 90s. Rain continues to elude us. Some of the storms north of us look pretty severe. I suppose I ought to be grateful we’re not in their path. However, the earth here is parched. The plants in the garden are looking droopy. As of this writing, we’re under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch that is in effect until 8pm. It looks like our best chance of rain will be sometime over the next hour or so.
Bittersweet Nightshade
M picked strawberries this morning. We now have 8 quarts of sweet, scrumptious strawberries we need to eat or freeze or turn into preserves. My goal for the week is to empty the fridge, but we couldn’t pass on the strawberries as there might not be any left to pick when we return from our adventure.
The lettuces in the garden don’t seem to mind the lack of water, or the heat, too much. I picked a big bowlful this morning. We piled on some strawberries, shredded carrots, added a little feta cheese, some walnuts, and sprinkling of a balsamic vinaigrette, and had a lovely salad for lunch.
This post was originally a bit of a mini-rant about bad manners and terrible phone etiquette. Then I realized how silly it all sounded and decided to delete the words, leave the photos, and start over.
The other thing missing from this post is a new self-portrait. It feels a little on the vain side to post a self-portrait. I’m not sure I’d feel that way if someone else took the shot. Silly? Maybe. Shy? Absolutely.
The trees had a lovely glow to them near sunset yesterday.
But it was the pond that really showed off.
Pollen, dust, and insects took on a glitter-like glow. With a little cross processing of the photo, it almost looks like a galaxy.
That’s it from the Bogs for today. Thanks for stopping by. I hope your Sunday has been wondrous. Or, at the very least, fun. 🙂
Life in the Bogs 
Happy Sunday, Robin! That photo of the orangish flower is sublime. I am smiling thinking how you decided to write one kind of post and ended up sharing another. Sometimes we just don’t know, do we, how our blogs will turn out. I wish rain for your parched earth, just the right soaking amount with no severe winds.
Happy Monday, Kathy! I’m convinced blog posts often write themselves no matter what we have planned.
Thank you so much for the rain wishes. They came true. We had a lovely soaking yesterday evening. 🙂
I love your processing on the first image. The first “galaxy” shot is fantastic. At first I sincerely thought this was a space shot. Great work.
Thank you, Terry. 🙂
Did you get the rain? It was pretty dry here, too, even in the forest preserves the plants were drooping but then we had a couple of nice thunderstorms roll through. What a relief~ I hope some come your way.
The galaxy shots are wonderful! What an eye you have.
We did get some rain, Melissa. It’s made it a bit steamy today, but that’s okay. The plants loved it.
Thank you. 🙂
Very hot and muggy is the SW corner this weekend. Meanwhile, love the pollen … but the brightness of the last pic brought the smile – thus a wonderful ending.
Thank you, Frank. 🙂
Hot and muggy here today, but it will be cooling off soon. Our big breaking news for the day: Bear spotted on the street of a nearby town. Maybe he’ll come visit our woods.
… and I’m sure your camera is ready to catch the bear!
Hi Robin, You should have posted the self-portrait!! Your readers would love to see it and would not think it vain at all. Also, it’s fine to rant about bad manners every now and again!! As always your photos are lovely. I love the galaxy pond and especially the last one. It expresses wistfulness…. 🙂
Thank you, Cathy. I posted it today although I’ve had second, third, and fourth thoughts. It’s probably too late to take it down now. 🙂
It’s a great picture! I’m glad you didn’t give in to your 2nd, 3rd and 4th thoughts! Your readers love to see you, so I’m glad you decided to share… 🙂
Daisies and clover .. what a wonderful combination. 🙂
I thought so too, Sallyann. A bouquet from Mother Nature. 🙂
Oh, I want to see the self-portrait. And it has been god-awful hot here, as well–95 yesterday. Is that crazy, or what? Stay cool, my friend/
Hugs,
Kathy
Okay, Kathy M. The self-portrait is included in today’s batch of photos. It’s not nearly as pretty as the peonies. 😉
Crazy hot and humid here too. Bleh.
The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books!!!!!
Mine too, TBM. 🙂
I really like the glow and mood of today’s photos and words.
Thank you, Paul. 🙂
What happened to taking the weekends off? 😉
Great photos today; love the pond shot.
We’re having an awful algae bloom this year…not just us, but the whole region. Are you seeing problems there?
Thank you, Marie. 🙂
I’m going to be cutting back on the posts soon, so I decided to allow myself the freedom to post as often as I like (including the weekend) for now. I’ll be giving you all a break from me soon.
No algae blooms so far. The pond is actually looking pretty good, all things considered. We do need to buckle down and do some serious muckraking, though. The weeds are growing, well, like weeds.
A lovely self-portrait 🙂
Thank you, Lynn. 🙂
Love the pond shots, the glitters on the water gives it an out of this world look and feel. Very well captured!
Thank you, Gracie. 🙂
This is a treat…Bella on blipfoto, Izzy here today, YOU on tomorrow’s post (which I read before this one!)…will M be making a visit any time soon? (Or not! I know you’ve been given instructions not to add his photo here, lol!)
The bogs are simply bursting with beaty just now, and I love the summertime quote from “The Great Gatsby”. It will be interesting to see the remake of the movie when it’s released. 🙂
Thanks, Joanne. 🙂
I didn’t realize there’s an upcoming remake of The Great Gatsby. I’ll have to watch for it.
Is that a Gerbera daisy in the shot? Such a pretty photo!
Like you mentioned in some of the earlier comments, I’m convinced that blogs write themselves most times, too. Interesting to see how this particular post turned out (especially knowing what you were originally planning to write!)
I’m not sure what type of flower that is, Dana. It came up spontaneously in the grass near the patio. We don’t have anything else like it anywhere else on the property. I think that’s why I like it so much. Just a bit of wild randomness. 🙂
Whoa – pollen or galaxy? Eerie similarities: There’s something to ponder. Cool
Thanks, PhilosopherMouse. 🙂
I find sometimes blogging can be one’s own therapy. Many times I too, have started a rant, re-read the words, hit “delete” and decide to post something more worthy. Just getting it “out” sometimes is good enough and I realize how petty the words sound and am able to move on.
We have lots of pollen happening here, too. Thank goodness I am not prone to allergies but it is covering everything in a yellow dust. The shots of it on the pond DO look galactic!
Strawberries….yummmmm…. 🙂
I know what you mean, Tracy. It does help to get things out, even if I don’t post whatever it is I’m venting. Like you, I’m grateful I don’t have allergies. My poor husband does, and it’s been a bad year for them.
The raspberries are in season now. 🙂
Hi Robin. I like the last photo of the clovers against the water. Also the pollen galaxy! Jane
Thank you, Jane. 🙂