Generally…or not

When feeling sleepy and/or uninspired, unless inhibited by pouring rain, snow or smoke, I grab the camera and head outdoors.

At almost any time of year I can find something of interest. With a better pair of eyes, I know I would find much more, the microscopic world being such a fascinating place, but I have to rely on other people for views of that.

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Acquiring a garden at an advanced age, I found there was little I was able to do to cultivate it, or to stay on top of “weeds” that grew in proportions vastly exceeding plants that I’d hoped would flourish.

For a time I was frustrated, imagining I could hear my parents tutting at my feeble efforts. How inept they would think me. But I’d given up trying to please them while they were alive.

Why start again now?

So, I adjusted my thinking and accepted whatever chose to grow.

Now, I simply take the time to observe. In a climate with so many seasons (to my mind there are many more than the official 4), it is entertaining to watch the development of plants from the earliest sprout to their bitter end.

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What I see may not necessarily be aesthetically appealing, but I find that shape, form and texture are always interesting.

When you think about it, the transformation of a plant is quite astonishing.

As is indeed, the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the creation of a bird in a few short weeks from egg to fully fledged and heading south for winter.

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Some of the flowers that pop up I assume came from packets of wildflower seeds we scatter about each year in the hope of attracting bees and butterflies, but others are a mystery. Presumably random seeds are carried by the wind or on the bodies of visiting birds.

One year, it was hollyhocks which were so beautiful, I attempted to grow some the following year, without success and since then I have mostly given up such endeavours, though Grant has had some successes.

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Gardens attract pests. Japanese beetles destroyed many of the squashes Grant grew last year which was disheartening and obviously, bugs are a problem in farming communities, but we will not use chemicals that could be harmful to wildlife.

This year, as it happens, we have seen very few of these beetles. For that matter, since early Spring, the garden has been devoid of bees and butterflies, which is disturbing.

While I don’t exactly miss wasps, I’ve not seen them either.

A blight of some sort over the previous two years killed off the milkweed around the house which attracted many insects, so perhaps that is the cause. It is rapidly devastating many trees as well.

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Observing and taking note seems to be all I can do.

So I zero in, using my iPhone, to marvel at the many components of a plant.

So neat and so perfect.

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When a particular plant catches my attention, I like to view it in alternate lighting and from different angles. Here, I was captivated by the gradual unfolding of the flower.

Backlit in late afternoon Sun.

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Sometimes, it seems that wild carrot flowers go from bud to seed without fully opening.

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If each seed is a potential new plant, Nature obviously does not intend for them all to germinate!

The entire world would soon be overgrown.

Flowers that do not fully develop still present an image worthy of capture, even though I generally cannot abide the sight of dead blooms.

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Usually, I don’t care for busy images, where there are too many components.

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Yet I am curiously drawn to Queen Anne’s lace, a most complicated flower.

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Which just proves you should never generalise!

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