Photohunt: Painted

The photohunt theme is painted. I used to have a variety of dianthus called painted dianthus which was lost years ago during a drought. I had this variety for 5 or 6 years with it coming back from the roots each year. Below is a shot I took in 1999 with my first digital camera so the quality isn't very good.I think my macro shots of the morning glory almost look like they were painted.
My neighbor's iris below looks like it was painted to me. I guess the morning glory and iris are a stretch for the theme but I do tend to think of flowers as having been painted by an invisible artist.
For more photohunters, please visit the home of the hunt on Saturday. I am posting early as usual.

Weekend Snapshots and Nature Notes - Plenty of Rain

We're continuing to have a lot of rain and I really don't mind. Everything is growing great guns. I had a pleasant mother's day lunch out with Bill and it stopped raining long enough to get there and get back without driving in the fierce winds we had yesterday. I am able to enjoy the natural world from windows during the storms. We've also been having at least some part of each day when I can get outside and take pictures, although it's starting to get pretty muddy from all the rain we've been having.
In spite of the mud I am trying to walk around my garden whenever it stops raining because each day I spot something new. I was pleased that my gerber daisies are already blooming.
I always have a ton of Queen Anne's Lace which I enjoy. It's a weed or a volunteer depending on your point of view but I like to think of it as a much enjoyed volunteer in my garden. My blackberry vines are another volunteer and last year I had a ton of blackberries to enjoy. This year will be the same if all the blossoming vines are anything to go by.

To view other participants please go to Nature Notes, and/or Weekend Snapshot.

Photohunters: In Memory

The photohunter theme this week is "in memory". I thought I'd go with in memory of my mother (born in 1924 and died in 1990).The shot above is of my mother as a child and the shot below was taken one Christmas a few years before she died.For other photohunters, please visit the home of the Photohunt.

Ducks and Geese at Shelley Lake

I was going through folders I keep of shots I might want to use on my blog but haven't posted yet. I have some geese and ducks shots from the lake near my house that are as old as September 2008 as well as some as recent as a week ago.
I decided that rather than mention when they were taken, I would insert the month and year into the photograph.I guess it doesn't really matter when they were taken but a nature buff might arrive here and think, I didn't know a ____ looked like that in NC in early May.
I enjoy the water birds so much at the lake. They are really fun to photograph and also to watch as they go about their business of swimming, resting and the other things they do.
There are geese and ducks year round at Shelley Lake although there is more variety certain times of the year.
I think the fall is when we tend to get some of the more unique looking ducks but I never manage to get any good shots of them. They are usually in a group with lots of other ducks and geese and I never seem to photograph the stand outs.
Even so the Canadian Geese and ducks which I commonly photograph do each have their own personalities and style as individuals. I guess I'll stop here. Not much to say. I mostly felt like posting a few of my fine feathered friends.

Melanoma Monday 2009

If you are here for weekend snapshot or nature notes, that post is below this one.
Today is Melanoma Monday an event started by the American Academy of Dermatology to increase melanoma awareness. Last year I wrote a Melanoma Monday Post which I hope you will go to if you didn't read it last year. After my melanoma diagnosis four years ago at Stage III, I have gotten to know many people with melanoma. Sadly some of these fun, caring, interesting people are no longer with us, dying far too young from this terrible cancer. There are also many like me who have been lucky even when diagnosed with deep primaries and positive nodes who are doing great so if anyone reads this post who is recently diagnosed with melanoma, please know there is lots of room for hope. Also, the prognosis is excellent for those diagnosed early so please consider a skin cancer screening.
Since I already said most of what I have to say in my post last year, I'll leave it with a few, brief thoughts. Remember, protect your skin when you are out in the sun, try to avoid the heat of the day, and even if you don't have a history of sun burns and have darker skin, pay attention to any change in moles or dark areas under nails. Melanoma does not discriminate and can attack people of all skin types and races. Below is a good graphic to show you what I think of tanning parlors.