They Were Omens

Yesterday's post now seem like omens in that they put me in the mood for a good day of photography. On the way to the office, i stopped at my Quincy milkweed place and saw several seed pods bursting open and releasing their seeds to the wind. I love this stage of milkweed life and I hope some day to videotape this phenomenon. So, I arrived at the office in a good mood. Then, as I was setting up my computer I saw the frog on the windowsill. Just before leaving the office, I took a stroll out to the school garden where the sunflowers were in their glory. The first one I approached was glowing from sunlight passing through it and I decided it looked best from behind. Then I got a shot from the front with the bright blue sky providing nice contrast. Finally, I took a few shots of the sunflowers whose genome has been tweaked by Luther Burbank types and now sport lots of red in their petals. This brief session among the composites set the stage for my arrival at home for lunch where the "weeds" on my front lawn took on new significance. The fourth and fifth photos from the top are of a tiny dandelion-like puffball of seeds. I don't remember seeing them when they were blooming. They might have been among those who've "learned" to bloom below the lawnmower blades. These puffballs of seeds were no more than 1/4" in diameter, and I had to get relly close to realize they were like miniature dandelions. Very cute. Then, a short distance away was a thistle in the same stage of life, sporting a dense ball of seeds that was around 3/4" in diameter. I love the weeds that arise from my porrly tended lawn. After lunch, my wife and I took a hike up Boyle Ravine which we hadn't done for several months. The enjoyable photography continued and is the subject of the next post.