Brush the Sky

There’s a very tall, old tree at the end of our driveway with blossoms on it. I think they’re cherry blossoms, but they always come out before the rest of the cherry trees in the neighborhood. At any rate, I liked the way they looked the other afternoon. . . .

Happy Spring Equinox!

I changed the color of the sky just a bit.

Great weekend, everyone!

{carole}

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Tulips for the Equinox

This is part of a series I shot in December. The colors are spring-like, so I’m putting it up today. Happy (belated) spring equinox, everyone.

Spring pink

Hope your week’s going well so far. . . .

{carole}

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Tulip Magnolia

The tulip magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora) may be my new favorite tree. I love the almost-tropical-looking blossoms and wish they could last longer. . . .

Glider

After the fall. . . .

Petals

(The above is an instagram.)

{carole}

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Strawberry Morning

How about some plump, juicy strawberries for breakfast? I just bought these at the grocery store and am so happy they taste as good as they look. For a few years it seemed like strawberries were going the way of fresh peaches–pretty, but blah-tasting.

Breakfast

I shot these on our deck, and the yellow bokeh was created by the daffodils blooming below. . . .

strawberry breakfast

Sunlight really changes the colors.

Great weekend, everyone. And a big welcome to the new subscribers!

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PaintMee is Addictive, but in a good way

While stuck in a waiting room recently, I played with the PaintMee app on my iPhone.

This iPhone shot of condiments and utensils at a Vietnamese restaurant . .

. . .turned into this:

Condiments

I had a long wait, so there are many more. A pretty fun way to pass the time.

Hope your week’s going well so far.

{carole}

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Blossoms from the Archives

I have a lot going on in my life right now, so will have to cut back to one photo a day for a while. Here’s a look back at some Kwanzan cherry blossoms, which will soon be reappearing in the D.C. area:

vintage kwanzan

“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.”

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

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A Change of Pace

Thought I’d give your eyes a rest from all the super-bright colors of the last post. Here’s a simple pink rose. . . .

pink rose

Great weekend, everyone!

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SoCo Interiors

I was hoping to photograph the inside of more shops in SoCo, but found more than a couple “No Photography” signs. I decided to use my iPhone in the areas that did allow photos. Propietors seems to be more comfortable with that.

At any rate, there are some great shops filled with brightly-colored objects everywhere you look:

switchplates

Mexican dishes

I am lovin’ what looks like an old hotel desk. . . .

Tesoro desk

Tesoro's

heartstones

I really like these little “heart stones.” Came home with one of the beige ones. I’ve heard of having wedding guests write messages on stones like these with a permanent marker for the bride and groom.

crucifixes

heartcolors

You almost have to go through these places more than once to take it all in. And we did.

Then there’s Allens Boots. I went a little crazy in here, but they have so many boots! The workmanship is unbelievable, and I hope you can see it in these iPhone shots:

bootsred

bootsblue

bootsrust+blue

bootroses

Couldn’t resist doing a polarized version:

bluebootspolarized

Aren’t these purple boots something else?

bootspurple

Hope your week’s going well. . . .

{carole}

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SoCo Exteriors

Austin has a cool neighborhood called SoCo, named after South Congress Avenue, where you can get great food and do some shopping for out-of-the-ordinary things. Here are some shots to show how colorful the area is:

fran's burgers

Part of Fran’s burgers.

prototype

The sign for Prototype Vintage Apparel and Home. Out in front, these metal sculptures. . . .

cat

dogs

peacock

On a ceiling near Prototype:

peacock feathers

Hmmm, lime green seems to be a favorite in SoCo.

coat & thai

Food trucks are getting more popular now. When we went to Austin the first time, there was only this cupcake trailer.

hey cupcake

cupcake

I do like the vintage license plate. . . .

cupcake license plate

On Wednesday, I’ll take you inside some of the shops in SoCo.

{carole}

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Mountain Laurel, Texas Style

Even though it was 91 degrees (F.) the first day we were in Austin, there weren’t many plants blooming. One exception was this blue-violet flowering shrub:

Texas Mountain Laurel

I was very surprised to find out the name, Texas mountain laurel or Sophora secundiflora. Quite different from the Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) up north. . . .

Mountain Laurel

Although the plants look completely different, they share a characteristic: both are poisonous!

Great weekend, everyone. . . .

{carole}

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