Roses and Peonies

Roses and Peonies are two of my favorite flowers and they're both in full bloom right now:) You'll probably be seeing lots more of these around here.

Climbing Roses

Peonies

The strawberry are almost ripe as well :)

[Insert a sunny title here]

No words of wisdom today, just sunshine and flowers. Happy Father's day everyone!

Brushstrokes of a Flower

I had thought to get some photos of something other than trees and flowers, just for variety, but somehow I ended up with all flowers. Perhaps I am still enchanted by the newness of them, the winter did seem very long there at the end, or maybe its more than that.

My dad once said that he couldn't understand how anyone could look at a flower and not believe in God.

The intricacy of God's design amazes me; from the beginning of creation, even before Adam was breathed into life, the stars were set in motion so that three wise men would be lead to Bethlehem. And yet we have no need to look to the stars for signs of His existence, His presence can be made clear in a simple flower.  Large or small they are each delicately formed to fulfill the tasks they were designed for. They feed insects of many sorts while preparing for their own next generation. And yet for all that they are purely functional they are also incredibly beautiful. The variety in color, shape, and size is beyond cataloging. I know of no culture in history that hasn't had some regard for flowers. I really don't see how there could be one unless they have no flowers at all.

Really I think flowers must be reason enough to find the idea of evolution to be a ridiculous one. How could something so delicate have evolved from, well, nothing much at all? And with so many creatures depending on a simple flower it seems strange that it should have come about without careful thought and planing. Every thing in our world is so delicately balanced that it couldn't passably be an accident.

Its a little like learning about a painter from studying his work I suppose, you could easily learn a great deal about the artist from the way he paints and the subjects he chooses. But most of us don't study art much. I appreciate God's work enough to recognise it but I don't know nearly enough to truly comprehend its every meaning. But then we never really will understand it all will we? But we can love it, love Him, more for what we do know. And really is it so very hard to love the one who created flowers?

Gray Days and Growing Things

Gray. Thats the word that comes to mind when I think about the last ten days. Gray skies, gray rain, and the hazy gray mood of lethargy. A bit dramatic? Maybe, but its hard to get motivated when the world is so, well, gray. Oh we've seen the sun a bit this month,  for maybe five minutes at a time. I don't like taking photos when its like this, all the color gets washed out and everything ends up looking rather dull and...gray. I had thought that the sun was coming out for a bit when I went out but soon found that I was mistaken. I might have gone back in the house and put it off for another day but then I began finding the early promise of summer's fruits and new flowers replacing spring's scattered blossoms. I still long for the sun but the gray skies have not stopped the creeping arrival of summer.

The last of the lilacs are fast fading, under one I found the ground covered over with pale purple flowers that had been knocked loose. I wonder if the fairies are getting ready for a dance, the only thing that could make the place more perfect for them would be some nice mossy patches.

I found these little ones quiet on accident, I gave their mother a scare as I passed, I didn't get much of a look at her so I have no idea what sort of bird they are. I'll have to keep an eye on them as they grow. 

The orchard is already preparing for summer and fall harvests...

Apples

Cherries

Black Caps, also known as Black Raspberries

Strawberries 

Rose bud

Bridal Bouquet or Bridal Wreath 

I honestly don't know what these are, they just stared growing in our ditch ;)

The gray skies are still depressing but there is always something bright to be found around the farm if you go looking for it. Besides, with summer taking over I expect I'll soon wish for a relief from the sun and the heat that goes with it. Until then I will just have to make the best of gray, hopefully I can avoid starting out so depressingly nextime :)

Blue, Green, and Purple

So I get photos of blue skies and sunshine, (for the first, and last time in awhile) and I forget to post them! How I did that I don't know but here you go, maybe they can tide us all over until the sun comes back...

See, blue skies; they are real!

Irises

Iris and the sun :)

lilacs 

lilacs

P.S. Since the photos themselves were taken on May 31st I'm posting them with that date, even though I actually wrote this on June 10th. Most of you probably don't care but I'd feel like I was lieing if I didn't admit it, I'm weird that way.

Cloudy days and wind blown flowers

I was playing tag with sunbeams today, trying to get some good photos, but it turned into a game of hide and go seek. I'm not sure who won, the wind joined in and I lost track...

The first of the irises

Unexpected Gems

Sometimes when the view from my window draws me outside with camera in tow I come back excited and eager to share. Then there are days like this where I come back and every shot is like one I've done before and even if they're beautiful photos they're all boring and uninspired. I honestly didn't expect to find anything inspiring or interesting in the whole batch.

I'm not a professional  I've never taken classes and I don't even take my camera everywhere I go. I take it out when I'm inspired or I'm going somewhere I really want to take photos of. I only share them here when I feel like they are worth sharing, and even then I don't always get them into a post. I'm a procrastinator you see and if I don't post them right away after I get them on the computer they aren't likely to make it here at all. I expected this batch of photos to be doomed to a forgotten file on my harddrive, never to see the glow of a computer screen again.

Then I actually looked at them. A lot of them were pretty mundane I'll admit, but there were still a few gems mixed in. Maybe not diamonds, but garnets at least.

Apple Blossoms

Apple tree blossoming

climbing rose

Apple tree in bloom

Blooms on an Apple tree

Strawberry plants

Lilacs 

More lilacs

Violets

I guess sometimes things don't have to be spectacular sometimes its alright to just have something good. I suppose that could apply to more than just photos; most of the time my life feels like the same thing day after day but when I take the time to look at it there really is always something different. Maybe nothing big, but something good. The idea seems a bit over the top but I'll leave it any way. Maybe someone else can find a way to say it without sounding cheesy. 

Anyway, I hope you all have a good day, even if its not very exiting.