Photo Art Friday

"Water, the Hub of life. Water is its mater and matrix, mother and medium.

Water is the most extraordinary substance! Practically all its properties are anomalous,

which enabled life to use it as a building material for its machinery.

Life is water dancing to the tune of solids.

- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

{Pixel Dust Art texture - Just a Note}

It would seem that I have a hard time making decisions as of late, and choosing a photo for today's Photo Art Friday was no different. So, since I'm in editing  mode from my over 2500 photos I took on my trip to Chicago, I decided to just stick with a water photo from a fountain on the Riverwalk in Naperville when I was with the gals from Focusing on Life (we had a grand time by the way).

(Holy cow, I have so many things to share with you!)

I chose the square format because I really wanted to keep the focus on the falling water and drops. I used the cinema filter in picasa and then just added Bonnie's texture in overlay ...I really wanted to keep the dashing and darting of the water visible.

And,

you know, it would seem that I kind of like to photograph water... water drops, dew drops, the ocean, water fountains, my hose as I water the garden, reflections in the water, pretend rain with my spray bottle, condensation on soda cans, the rain, oil and water (tutorial here), waves, the sunrise (on the water), and I've even been know to photograph the ice in my drink.

Yep, water is pretty cool stuff, comes in all shapes and forms and it's good for ya!

Cheers!

Love, Kim

linking with Little Things Thursday, Photo Art Friday, Friday Photo Journal

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Howdy everyone! Whew, finally Sunday. It's been raining for what seems like forever, okay maybe for just a week, or two. The day started out looking all sunshiny and then strangely while the sun was out, it poured. Then it stopped and then we got the most ominous looking sky, and while my hubby and I were out for an errand it rained so fast the streets flooded. But, that gave us an opportunity to dash in and try out the new Gumbo place while we waited for the water to go down. For those of you in need of rain, I wish I could share, we are getting a little soggy here.

Anyway, here we go . . .  

{ water }

At my favorite mom and pop nursery this is probably my favorite water fountain. It has a little bird on
the top and when the bucket gets full, it spills.....but it's $600! It's always a mystery as to where it will be since they move things around to spice it up a bit. I'm always pleasantly surprised to find no one has purchased it yet. Well, it IS $600... I'm betting it will be there a while longer.

{ petal }

I bought a Lily with one flower and 2 buds for $4 and have had more fun . . . yep, me, my Lily and my spray bottle! ; )

{sharing with A Rural Journal: Your Sunday Best}

{ fresh }

Ahhh, yes . . . freshly married. That counts right?

{ eight }

All drinks . . . $eight.99 . . . works for me! : )  (for the prompt that is)

{ calm }

Can't tell you how many times I have been for the sunrise lately just to find that there is total cloud cover.
And well, last Saturday I wasn't holding out too much hope, and then....ta da! The water was surprisingly calm that morning.

And that's a wrap 'til next weeks prompt. Have a great rest of the weeked!

Love, Kim

XO



   

Foto Friday - A walk, some reflection and a vine called Passion Flower

As tired and exhausted as I have been lately, I needed to take a walk. To walk somewhere that was peaceful, quiet, and where I could reflect on my thoughts.

As I walked I thought about the journey that Jesus took to the cross. What did he see? What did he think about? I thought about how he freely offered his life for ours. How he died in our place on the cross taking our past, present and future sins upon himself. He paid the ultimate price for you and me and he could have saved himself, but endured this suffering because of His love for us.

For this, I am very thankful.

My walk began on a coastal birding trail leading to Pine Gully Park diverse in marsh areas, estuaries and restored wetland. In most areas there are trails on both sides of the marshes where you can cross from one side to the other by an iron bridge. This is the view from one side of the bridge:

Since this area is only about a mile from Galveston Bay the water levels will vary according to the tides. There is an American alligator that lives here, but I have yet to have seen it. And as diverse in nature that it is, I could only hear that which was around me. Everything seemed to be quite elusive on this morning.





That is until I came across this gorgeous dragonfly! He seemed quite happy to have his picture taken, appearing at times to be posing. I could swear that he's smiling in this one!

This dragonfly is a skimmer called Halloween Pennant.

I love the way the light reflected off this grass.

After my walk and a quick lunch with my man I headed over to Bay Area Design in search of some flowers for my garden and to specifically take some pictures of the Passion Flower Vine. The smell alone will capture your heart much less its beauty! But even more interesting is how it got its name.

Spanish Christian missionaries in the 15th and16th centuries named it the passion flower because they believed it symbolized the suffering or "passion" of Christ and his death.









The five petals and 5 sepals which on the passion flower look almost the same, represent the disciples who remained faithful, leaving out Judas the betrayer and Peter the denier. The double row of filaments or Corona was thought of as the crown of thorns Jesus wore. The three stigmas at the very top represent the three nails and the five stamen underneath those, his wounds.

They also noted that the flowers are spent after a single day, the time Jesus was on the cross. And the petals do not drop from the flower but re-close symbolizing Jesus enclosed in the tomb.

Anything that wants to delight in this flowers nectar must work extra hard to get it.

I couldn't resist this beautiful pink zinnia...

One of the things I love about Bay Area Design aside from the flowers and the wonderful people

 who work there is all of their fountains! Not only are they beautiful, but the sound of trickling water is just, well, mesmerizing and very relaxing.

I love how the background in this one turned out - like a watercolor.

I could just spend all day here, flowers, fountains, wildlife - who could ask for more?

(Hmmm, one in my yard would be nice) : )

I hope your weekend includes a walk, some reflection and a little passion flower.

Have a blessed weekend!

Love, Kim

XO

Foto Friday

Happy Friday everyone! The sun is out and they are calling for a high of 75 today and tomorrow with a high of 79 on Sunday! Time to get out the garden gloves . . .

This week has gone by pretty quickly and I'm really looking forward to the weekend and the chance for some excitement with my camera. I went to lunch with my husband this week to find I wish I had brought my camera along. I almost always do, but who would have thought that I would have seen the Texas Trail Riders going through the restaurant parking lot on their way to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show? Unfortunately unlike a parade there were no clowns with shovels following them, which made for quite the mess they left behind. Did I mention there were a lot of horses? (insert smiley face)

This first picture is that of the doors that lead into the Grace Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas. It's a beautiful Gothic style church that was designed by the famous architect Nicholas Clayton and was consecrated in 1895.

It's a survivor of the 1900 storm as well as the more recent hurricane Ike from 2008. After the 1900 storm, they spent years raising the grade of the entire island and building the Galveston Seawall. By way of a completely brilliant system of hand turned jacks the church was raised four and a half feet and not one of the stones was cracked in the process. They pumped in a slurry of sand and water to fill in where the buildings were raised and of course had to wait for the water to drain off. Over 2,100 buildings were raised in this manner and it took them over 7 years!  The more I learn about the island the more fascinated I am by Galveston and it's people. They really are survivors . . .

After breakfast last weekend we walked across the street and I took this outside in a garden area of the Hotel Galvez, again on Galveston Island. A hotel of the elegant Victorian era that had guests such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Howard Hughes, and Frank Sinatra. We met and talked with a security officer who is also a historian for the island who enjoyed sharing as much as we did receiving all of his interesting historical information. This is a place that I will be re-visiting, looking for that historian with my journal in hand next time. He was like a walking history book only with animation.

They were just setting up brunch when we took a peek inside . . . yep we'll be back for that too!










Okay, next to the Pelican I think the Roseate Spoonbill would be my other favorite bird. They reach about 32" high with a wingspan of 50", and they have the most extraordinary red eyes and their feathers are PINK.   Because they eat foods rich in carotenoids, the more they eat the pinker they become. I was thrilled to get these photos since it's hard to get close enough (unless you own multi-million dollar lenses,ha) without spooking them. I was lucky as we had pulled off to the shoulder for some egret shots and in he flew!

And just yesterday I visited a chain garden center to find a plethora of plants to make any gardener

drool with the anticipation of spring planting! The first two pictures are Osteomums and the last one

is a Hydrangea. I also spotted my first two Monarch butterflies but couldn't talk either one of them into a photo. (insert sad face)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Love,
Kim XO