Green

A lot of things have happened since I last wrote. I have been busy packing as I move to the Northwest. I am so excited about so many things but mostly, I can't wait to take more pictures. There will be so much green to explore. Here is a little bit of green trivia. This is important stuff...if you are playing a trivia game...but otherwise useless.

Green trivia:
Green was a sacred color to the Egyptians representing the hope and joy of Spring.
Green is a sacred color to Moslems.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito's birthday is celebrated as "Green Day" because he loved to garden.

It is said that green is the most restful color for the human eye.
Green has great healing power. It can soothe pain.
People who work in green environments have fewer stomach aches.
Green is beneficial around teething infants.
Suicides dropped 34% when London's Blackfriar Bridge was painted green.

I am looking forward to hope, joy of spring, to heal, soothing of pain, and fewer stomach aches. Maybe I will paint my future house green so less people commit suicide. I am also looking forward to the rain! *squeal*

Just Couldn't Do it

Normally my camera goes everywhere I do. On this latest trip it was with me but in the car. We took my youngest to college and unpacked the car but I didn't feel like lugging my camera up three flights of stairs after lugging her stuff up there three times.

I wanted to take pictures of her getting packed up but was busy helping her find room in the car. I wanted to help her get settled but realized it was her room and I didn't want to stand in the way of her getting things into place.

I saw a good friend, the mom of one of her roommates and I didn't snap a picture. We went to lunch and had great conversation, and I didn't think of it.

I wanted to take pictures of roommates, their moms, new boyfriends, of decorations and of the room but I just couldn't do it. I was so emotionally strung out that I forgot to take pictures! Now I have nothing to show for the trip but a few pictures other people took on facebook. Remorse has definitely set in.

Birthday Parties to Cards

Sometimes at a birthday party or some other kind of life event, it is hard to know how to capture it all. Sometimes some of the most fun and usable pictures are those of the preparations before hand.

 Sandwiches, chips, party favors and balloons make this event fun and festive. I can use the balloon pictures later for birthday cards or celebration cards.

 Most people remember to get a picture of the cake but if you frame the cake with some of the other festive decorations, you will have a better picture that has some visual interest.

 Sometimes you will come across interesting decorations that you wouldn't have thought of. This is the newspaper on the day of birth. The headlines look very modern even though this was from 75 years ago.

 

 Here is another easy birthday card. A few lines of mirth and it will be ready for production.

 This was just cute.

 Here is another couple of birthday card options. Simple and fun.

Blue Morpho

 Brand new, just hatched.Blue Morpho. They are from Peru.

 This is one of my favorite butterflies.

 With a six inch wing span, this lovely butterfly touched my heart.

Mesa

 Sometimes I can find interesting subjects in the oddest of places. Downtown Mesa is a great place to find little visual treasures.  A lamp, a door, a sign, all have some whimsy when filmed by themselves. I used to wonder as a kid if they would come to life like a cartoon. I often looked for facial features in these objects. Lamps make easy eyes.

 This door has options for eyes in the hinges or in the handles. I love the high forehead.

Some of the art is whimsical too. This one looks like it has fly away hair.









The old Levi building has been recycled and is being reused. I like how they kept the history as they re-purposed the building. The lamps look like bug antennae though.

 This is such a beautiful gate. It looks like something that should be guarding a church.

 Fresh perspective is can make something new and unusual. Sometimes you just have to get eye level with the subject and shoot it from a different angle to get something that is interesting to the eye and a level that we don't normally see. It makes me imagine what a toddler or a small pet might see. Of course the stunning visuals would get lost on both so getting the shot makes me feel like I have captured a rare moment.

Pansys

 

My grandmother often said "Pansies always have such happy faces". It was her favorite flower. She loved the different colors and the way the petals ruffled or how they lowered their heads when it rained.  

  

Pansys have 4 petals pointing upward and one pointing down.If they have 3 pointing upward it is a violet but both are in the same family. In Scandinavia the flower was called the stepmother flower. It helped to tell a story. The top two petals are the real children and the bottom 3 are the step children.

 

Pulling off the three petals at the bottom will reveal they are washing the mother's feet. If you carefully pull off the blue tab at the bottom, you will see two legs. You will see the mom with a red colored head and a green dress if you pull off the top two petals.

 

Sedona Landmarks.

Sedona, while spiritually confused, is a lovely place to visit. It has lots of treasures that are fun to explore and to enjoy, especially if you have a camera.

 This photo is a favorite because it is almost 3D. You know that one spine is aimed at your eyes and it blurs as it would if you were that close to a cactus.

 In Sedona is the red rock church. It is a catholic church that is built right into the side of the red rocks. I like this place to contemplate, it is quiet and serene.

 Candles are in rows and lit for reasons I don't fully know but I like to think that they are for prayers and for people and I like praying over them.

A prayer was said for me in this church. One I still remember and one that has been at least partially answered.

 Sedona has lots of rock formations that are fun to look at and see shapes in like clouds.  The first is called Madonna and child. Being seen from a catholic church, it is obvious.

I like to think that the next one is the front of an elephant but then that is an East Indian notion and wouldn't be accepted, I am sure.

 Does this look like there is a guy singing? from farther away, it looks like he has more. I am sure this one has a name but I can't tell you what it is.

 This small rock in the middle is called snoopy. He is laying on his dog house.

 This one is called coffee pot. It looks like the old percolators from the 60s.

 The teal arches. Sedona's city ordinance is to not detract from the sights and so the city has a color code. McDonalds complied and now has the only teal arches in the country. A definate curiosity.

The big white chicken is a piece of art that is in a gallery along the road. Fun things await the eye in this gallery of galleries. Everything from wall art to practical art. I really hope they never sell the big white chicken. It is a landmark of the area.

How Cool is That?

 This is part of a lamp mobile with hanging glass circles which remind me of bubbles. They reflect the light from the battery powered candles. It is practical art. How Cool is That?

 A cactus close up spines so fine you want to touch them because they look so soft. What you don't see are the barbs at the ends of those spines. Amazing that a plant would grow these spines. How Cool is That?

 It is amazing how this cactus grows by starting with the little petals in the middle and as they grow they make room on the inside for more baby petals. It spirals out constantly during the growth cycle. How Cool is That?

 In this cactus, the spines grow from the middle outward. It is like unfolding a porcupine. It looks like a mess but it is in line with one of the ridges on this plant. How Cool is That?

 Funky flowers that look like snow. One of the rare times that the desert has snow. You don't want to throw these little snowballs. They pack a punch with spines that will make you regret it. How Cool is That?

This cactus is growing out of it's breeches. It's split ends are curling. It must be a girl cactus. The curls are whimsical and lovely. How Cool is That?