travels with charlie

my muse.

I am e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d. So is Kevin – in fact, he’s upstairs napping. Please to note: it’s Tuesday afternoon. He came home sick at lunch today, which was shortly after I wrapped up my GAZILLION errands this morning. Which I did in old-lady-slow-motion, because like I said – man, I’m tired. I think I am just catching up to myself, or something. Life’s been great, and all - it’s just been intense, and I’ve needed some down time. I didn’t catch up to this fact til I started to get a cold last night, which meant that I had to cancel my morning shadowing at the local hospital where I’ll be a Reiki volunteer.

So, this morning, the errands, which could not be avoided, and this afternoon, I got the first coat of paint up in the master bedroom. And then, with nothing to do but give in and relax, I headed out with the camera.

We are surrounded by trees here, and guarded by sunflowers. They’ve long since withered.

Some unknown (as yet) to me perennial outside the kitchen has long stalks bedecked with brilliant hot pink bobbles. The Nikon turned up its nose and refused to focus on them:

 

This one looks like a painting to me:

What do you think?

A Charlie and a brown-eyed susan loom menacingly over some hapless victim, out of sight:

(cue theme to ‘Jaws’)

I decided to investigate those pink bobbles more closely.

The Nikon was happy to oblige. My theory is that something crisp, surrounded by blurry, is “art”.

In which case, this one wouldn’t qualify:

...except the more I look at it, the more I like it. Nice composition, nice colors.

I was playing around in the driveway circle with the Panasonic (the point-and-click), framing shots of (who are these berries?) -- when who should drop by?

The Charles.

This kept happening.

I proceeded to the hostas and took one MILLION gorgeous shots, NONE of which worked out, because the Panasonic hates light purple and I’m too lazy to learn how to manhandle the settings into submission.

This one was the crispest of the lot.

I finally conceded, put the Nikon into manual mode, and left things blurry.

I guess this is how I photograph hostas.

Onward to the ROSES! Did I mention we have a rosebush? It is so lovely that I already promised it I would feed it fishheads if it wants (and if you know my feelings about fish (as in, to eat) you know that’s a BIG DEAL.)

How can something so blatantly gorgeous be so coy?

I watched an insect toil up and down the canyons.

I recalled the moment, many years ago when I was a Park Ranger and goofing off one day, that I discovered rose hips. My grandmother grew roses but somehow I’d never noticed the hips.

They’re not be trifled with, apparently.

More gratuitous beauty.

...and now, for the same shot, focused elsewhere:

 

All this will fade. All this will pass.

 

So says the crone.

You sexy thing, you.

“I will draw you in...”

Then I got interested in compositions. Well, first, there was the bug sex.

THEN there were the compositions.

 

No one’s in focus in this one, but I like the composition.

 

Which is more interesting? The all-blurry, or this one?

 

Ahhhhh...not a bad afternoon.