Elusive Magnolias

To every thing there is a season, and yesterday I discovered that this ISN'T the season for Magnolias to bloom, at least not in Vicksburg. I drove through the Vicksburg National Military Park and Cemetery, and over half of Vicksburg, searching for Magnolia blossoms to capture with my camera, and didn't find one blossom! I quickly discovered that the trees are loaded with seed pods now, and my quest to find the perfect blossom will have to be postponed for a while. I did manage to capture some pictures of the pods, though, which, I think, have a beauty all their own (you can click on the pictures to get a closer look, if you'd like). The cloudy skies made a rather stark background for my pictures, but I like the contrast, especially in this shot with the street lamp in the background. While I was out, I captured a few lagniappe pictures which I will share next time, but the best lagniappe was waiting for me, of all places ... at home! This is what I saw when I turned into our driveway: Yes, those are blossoms on one of our Little Gem Magnolia trees. The only problem is that they are at the very top of the tree, and there's no way I could get a good shot of them. I guess I'm going to have to "stake out" my Little Gems and be ready to capture the first blossom within camera range. To be continued ... again!