Yellow roses from Texas for you, Paula! Hope you feel better soon! Thanks to Emilio for carrying the torch in Paula’s honor.
Thank you for visiting! Happy Thursday :)
Latest
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Shiny
“There is only a certain amount of kindness in the world…just as there is a certain amount of light.
Choose a place where you won’t do very much harm and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.”
― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View
Visit Cee’s Fun Foto and more shiny entries.
Thank you for visiting! Have a great day :)
Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Macro
Camellias are native to Eastern and Southern Asia. China’s native name for camellias means ‘tea flower’, as it is the most common plant in the world to be used to make tea.
In 1959, the camellia was officially named the state flower of Alabama.
The first one was taken by iPhone 4s, no editing; the other two were edited with the Waterlogue app :)
See Sally’s creative macro photos, click here.
Thank you for stopping by!
Jo’s Monday Walk: A Countryside Walk
Last Saturday, we decided to visit a couple wildflower spots mentioned on the online daily report and FB. Those gorgeous wildflower sights stretched for several miles along the state highway. As everyone was driving at around 50 mph, there was no way to stop to enjoy the sight.
“So, no photos for this trip??? ” I got irritated. Minutes later, hubby made a smart turn onto a gravel road. We were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful scenery. My camera was so ready!
I love the shot below. These birds were staying by the side of the cow. When I was walking toward them, birds took off immediately, and I able to capture the scene.
Ahhh…. a sea of wildflowers…
It wasn’t a long walk, but a very pleasant one. It did take while to get there though. Thank you for being my chauffeur, B! I know you’d rather be watching the Masters Golf Tournament :)
I lost for words when I saw this post, actually every single post that Cindy put out is stunning. Prepare for heavy traffic. :)
Pit, this one is for you. Welcome back!
Take an enjoyable walk with Jo and share your walk. Happy Tuesday!
Week Photo Challenge: Monument
The above “Thinker” photo was taken in the garden of the Musee Rodin.
Rodin (November 12, 1840 – November 17, 1917) sculptured a body of a slave to express human’s freedom of thinking, 1880–1881.
Rodin’s Thinker captured an intensive thinking process; it presents all humanity thinking. Rodin said,” What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes.”
See more WPC: Monuments.
Thank you for visiting! Have a great week :)
Travel Theme: Clean
Thanks to Ailsa for using her beautiful “clean” photos to remind us the environmental issues we are facing.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans generated 251 million tons of trash in 2006. Trash from single- and multi-family homes made up 55-65 percent of the total waste produced in 2010, while 35-45 percent of the waste came from the commercial sector including businesses, schools and hospitals.
Dolomite, Italy
Our per capita trash disposal rate was 4.6 pounds per person, per day. Sixty-five percent came from residences, while 35 percent came from schools and commercial locations such as hospitals and businesses.
Mediterranean Coast
According to the National Solid Waste Management Association, the solid waste industry employs 368,000 people. They use 148,000 vehicles to move garbage to 1,754 landfills and 87 incinerators. Trucks and trains used to move waste all create diesel exhaust, which contains nearly 40 toxic substances.
Li River, China
Plastic waste kills up to one million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each year.
Coronado, CA
E-waste according to EPA:
- By 2017, the volume of discarded e-products worldwide is expected to be 33 per cent higher than in 2012.
- 300 million computers and 1 BILLION cell phones are put into production each year. This global mountain of waste is expected to continue growing 8% per year, indefinitely.
- Only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators.
See more Travel Theme: Clean, click here…
Thank you for visiting!
Charming Gardeners For Thursday’s Special
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” –Marcel Proust
This one is for you, my blog friends. Thank you for being so supportive! You are my charming gardeners, and I am truly grateful!
Visit Paula Thursday’s Special and more entries.
Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Nature
I cropped both iPhone photos and increased the orange color just a little bit on the second one.
Phoneography is easy and fun. Take a look of Sally’s lens and Pens inspiring post and many other creative photos.
Have a great day :)
Travel Theme: Misty
The Niagara Peninsula became free of the ice about 12,500 years ago. As the ice retreated northward, its melt waters began to flow down. The startling green color of the Niagara River is a visible tribute to the erosive power of water. An estimated 60 tons of dissolved minerals are swept over Niagara Falls every minute. The color comes from the dissolved salts and “rock flour”. Read more…
The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, completed in 1883, and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Due to Washington Roebling’s paralyzing injury, his wife Emily Warren Roebling stepped in as the “first woman field engineer”.
On that opening day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed. Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge.
Like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, villages, mountains/plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of northern China. The entire Great Wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mil). Several walls were built as early as the 7th century BC.
This BLOOM post will blow you away!!!
See more Travel Theme: Misty entries in Ailsa’s Where’s my backpack… Have a great week :)
Jo’s Monday Walk: Texas Bluebonnets And Wildflowers
Ahhh… our state flower is in full bloom!
When bluebonnet stretching from roadsides to the sides of highways, it transforms the landscape into a blue sea, literally. And, almost everyone is out in a field to snap the breathtaking scene. Several wildflower and bluebonnet websites give us daily reports of where the best sightings are, and people volunteer to compile their wildflower observations.
“Wildflower landscapes can help us save water, wildflowers can save time and maintenance money.” Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson advocated. On December 22, 1982, her 70 years old birthday, Mrs. Johnson and Helen Hayes established a National Wild Flower Research Center to preserve the diminishing wild flowers and native plants. She also donated 60 acres of land and a lump sum of money for research. Now, we are enjoying the result of her vision.
The bluebonnet was designated the official state flower of Texas in 1901. Jack Maguire, historian, wrote, “The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland.” W. Lee O’Daniel goes, “… bluebonnets are one of the prime factors that make the state the most beautiful land that we know.”
Take a walk with Jo and join Paula and Sue…
Happy Monday :)
