Mandarin Monday / Ruby Tuesday

Hard to say really, if the colour of these giant poppies should be called orange or red… I’ll be taking advantage and linking this photo to both memes ;-)

Mandarin Orange Monday

Ruby Tuesday 2

Wednesday Morning After the Rain

Outdoor Wednesday

Water World Wednesday

Macro Monday: Scilla

Macro Monday: Scilla

Friday My Town: Shallow Depth of Field

A new butterfly friend I found in a wetland meadow near the lake outside town some weeks ago.

In Swedish there is one name covering a number of look-alike butterflies (‘pärlemorfjäril’ = ‘mother of pearl butterfly’). In English/Latin it turned out to be a little more complicated… I think it is probably a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene). (Feel free to correct me if you think I’m wrong!)

We haven’t had much of a butterfly summer this year, but here’s another one – the Common Brimstone:

Have to confess I’ve not had much luck with the shallow depth of field thing except when zooming in on small things, like insects and flowers. So I think for this post I shall stick to “field” rather than “town”…

Thistle

 

 Haven’t got a clue what the flower is called.

 

Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera / jättebalsamin)

Splash of Colour

Taking a walk across the cemetery close to where I live yesterday, I found two newly planted, wonderfully colourful flowerbeds as promise of more colour soon to come.

Shadow Shot Sunday–Crocus

Welcome, wild harbinger of spring!
  To this small nook of earth;
Feeling and fancy fondly cling
  Round thoughts which owe their birth
To thee, and to the humble spot
Where chance has fixed thy lowly lot.

        Bernard Barton—To a Crocus.

 

For Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Delicious Amaryllis

I find no better word for these candy-striped flowers than ‘delicious’!

Mosaic Monday and Ruby Tuesday

25 December 2011 - Christmas Day

“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.”
~ Theodore Roethke ~

The traditional Advent Calendar runs from 1-24 December,
and so did mine, here in the Picture Book. But since we are still in Christmas, I thought I’d throw in an extra greeting today.

In Sweden, we open our presents on Christmas Eve.
In many other countries, you open yours on Christmas Day.
Where ever you happen to be on the Earth and in your
Christmas traditions, I wish all you Bloglings out there:

>>> Merry Christmas ! <<<

 

This post will be linked to Shadow Shot Sunday (2).

Ruby Tuesday: Frosty Red

I think these are Hylotelephium telephium. Swedish name ‘kärleksört’ which means ‘love herb’. I saw them in a garden I passed a couple of weeks ago on a frosty morning. (So the white on them is frost.)

The plant is said to have been used to heal wounds, especially burns. The roots can be eaten, preferably cooked for about 15 minutes first. The fresh leaves can be be eaten raw, and are rich in vitamin C. (And of course I had no idea about any of this until I just looked it up… Blogging is very educational!)

See more RED at Ruby Tuesday

 

Ruby Tuesday: Autumn’s Last Rose

It’s been a mild autumn so far. I found this rose growing on a bush this past weekend, in the cemetery close to where I live.

For Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: Bromelia

… And we’re back to rain again! …

I will not be going outside to look for colour today.

More red to be found at Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: The Last Rose

The last rose of summer? Maybe. One never quite knows…
Photo from the town park, taken at a low angle.

Linked to Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: Dianthus in the Rain

This is from last week. The last couple of days it’s been raining so much I don’t even want to go out on the balcony! The scattered remains of hurricane Katia is raging outside my windows and she might well finish off the last of these flowers before she’s done…

For Ruby Tuesday

Shadow Shot Sunday: Sunflower

In some gardening program on TV recently, there was a tip about planting things in old gutters. Coming out to my dad’s old place one day this week, I found that we’re very trendy!

Although I’m not sure sunflowers was what they had in mind ;)

Must have been some bird that did the planting for us…?
(It’s growing in the gutter of the outbuilding, not on the main house.)

For Shadow Shot Sunday

Friday My Town: Rust–Rusty-Rustic

Clematis on rusty trellises in a little park beside the river.

 

Rusty rustic piece of art – at the entrance of a multi-purpose exhibition hall, former engine shed, still retaining the rustic style:

… where this old engine (no longer rusty!) also still proudly resides:

(Yes, those last two shots above are archive pictures from winter...)

 

Moving on to our open air museum with its collection of old buildings:

Rustic and somewhat rusty old cellar door.

(And don’t you start muttering about that pile of rubbish in front of the house, because that’s an old barrow - or at least a copy of one. Doesn’t really get much more rustic than that!)

 

Rustic kind of fence around old-fashioned vegetable patch

17th century cottage.

To see more things rusty and rustic from around the world, visit
Friday My Town Shoot Out 

All In Blue

  

Blue flowerbed in the Town Park.

Ruby Tuesday: Red Dianthus in the Rain

 

See more RED at Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: Dahlias

Red is only one of several different colours of dahlias in this park.

 
Has it ever struck you that really red flowers are among the most difficult to photograph? The colour stands out, no doubt… But the details often tend to get absorbed by the very intensity of the red.

It’s easier when there is a variety in hue or colour:

See more RED at Ruby Tuesday 

Watery Wednesday: Red Water Lilies

Photo taken with my new Android mobile (Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc).

For Watery Wednesday # 150

Water Lily

A Water Lily for Shadow Shot Sunday

♥ ♥ ♥