A Treat for the Senses

For my birthday earlier this month my family sent a gorgeous bouquet that filled my office with the heady aroma of lilies. It was intoxicating, that scent and burst of color in the midst of winter. Alas, flowers eventually wither and fade away and you are left with only the memory... and perhaps an image or two...

Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature.

~ Gerard de Nerval

Mushroom Metamorphosis

Amidst a week of rainy days, an unfolding...

I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness.

~ Adeline Knapp

Winter Sunrise

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.

~ Andrew Wyeth

This is my entry for the monthly Picture This Photo Contest at Gardening Gone Wild.  Stop by to view all the entries depicting "Winter's Beauty."

Serendipity

During the holidays we spent time with family in Mammoth Lakes. We enjoyed crisp blue-sky days with chilly but reasonable temperatures, and one partial day of snow flurries. On our day of departure, we headed out just before sunrise. As we dropped down into Round Valley outside Bishop, the view before us was even more breathtaking than usual. The snow-covered mountains were washed with the blue light of morning. We didn't have time to stop for photos, so I started shooting from the car. Snapping away at 70+ mph through a not-so-clean window, I never know what kind of blurry images I'm going to end up with, but this day proved to contain some magic. These are two I ended up with. Photos never quite fully capture your experience of a moment in time, but these certainly come close considering the circumstances. We ended our trip with one of those hush-inducing scenes that you happen upon only when you are least expecting it.

Mount Tom and Round Valley

Sierra crest outside Bishop

Sometimes I do get to places
just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.
~ Ansel Adams

Hello, New Year

I hope your new year has begun as beautifully as this sunrise that began our week here in Southern California. May it be a good year for all of us.

I apologize for being absent so long—from here, and from all of your lovely blogs. All through the holidays I was very busy enjoying family and a brief time away, and this week I have been trying to catch up on all the things set aside. Maybe by next week I will be back in the swing of things. I miss all of you!

With each sunrise, we start anew.

~ Author Unknown