They Overstayed Their Welcome

Carnations are one of those flowers that people relegate to the 'filler' file.  Use the confused, multi-petaled flower just to fill in the gaps and round out a design or bouquet.  A carnation standing on its own?  Nah, not on my table or so some people feel. I'm at the other end of the spectrum or was...until today.  As of today, I'm seriously tired of carnations. What's a good thing when money is tight and you want a bit of long lasting color and fragrance becomes a bad thing when you want somehting new and different to decorate the mantle and photograph.  I wish the darn things would just fade away now.  Yes, there's a few brown edged petals,but nothing major. After nearly two weeks, I've run out of ways to photograph the puffs of pink, so they need to go.  The carnations have overstayed their welcome.

This is it...I'm not going to take one more shot of the pretty in pink flowers.  This is the last of the carnation photos for a while.

 Did I just hear a collective sigh of relief? 

I processed this photo in Elements 9 using Texture 40 from Ellenvd on Flickr and Kim Klassen's dusty rose texture.   

Tomorrow I'll have the next chapter of my Cape Cod story up.  I hope you'll stop by and take the journey with me. 

Mosaic Monday: Carnations & Miss Adventure

Joining the fun at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Miss Adventure agrees with Helen Keller that, "Life is either a great adventure or nothing."

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I discovered the stunning photography of Jamie Heiden on Flickr this morning.  I don't think I've seen anything quite like it and became enchanted immeditately. This is beauty worth celebrating.  You'll find the link to her website on the sidebar under Celebrating!

Talk of Spring

I took a break from the Cottage for a few weeks or didn’t you notice? Anyhoo…I’m back and ready to march into spring with a trowel in one hand and a camera in the other. While I didn’t post, I did read many blogs and commented here and there. I look forward to getting back into the swing of blog posting, reading, and commenting.

So what was I doing over these last few weeks? I was getting my ducks in a row, working on writing beyond blogging, and dreaming. I basked in a photography theme I called Flowers for Five. I purchased flowers for about five bucks and took loads of photos. The pink roses from the Pink Roses or Undies post got me started. The next week I picked up a fistful of red tulips and then it was creamy, edged-in-red mini carnations.

I went looking for spring on a beautiful sunny-so-warm-I-didn’t-need gloves March 1st and did I ever find it! No, I didn’t find shoots of spring green emerging from the inches of snow, but I found buds!

I came home to a pile of seed catalogs, a plan for the front flowerbed that has been sorely neglected for who knows how many years, and a cup of hot coffee.

Yes, I’m ready for spring; for planting, rearranging, photographing, and sharing my passion for growing. I did a little spring cleaning in the Cottage with a new header and white background. I have a bit more to do, but it can wait.

Kathy Sue Loudermilk, a Lewis Grizzard character, said, “Spring is the land of awakening. The march winds are the morning yawn.” I can feel that open-mouthed yawn that lifts the shoulders to the ear lobes, clears the head of cobwebs, and gets the day going. Bring it on, March; I’m ready for kite-flying, starting seeds, cleaning up clay pots, long walks as the sun sets in spring pinks, lavender, and blues. I anxiously await snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths. It’s time to plant a pot of Johnny jump-ups and primrose. It’s been a long winter and spring can’t come too soon.

What a silly question to ask, but are you ready for spring? Is that a roar of yes I hear? My but it’s good to be back.