Sometimes the reflection of something in water is more beautiful than the thing itself.
I think that is true of these yellow Irises I captured with my camera at Mynelle Gardens in Jackson, Mississippi ...
These pictures remind me of Claude Monet's "Yellow Irises" painting ...
If you would like to see more pictures of Mynelle Gardens and read about my visit there, you can click on this link — Mynelle's Garden
I have learned a lot since I became a self-taught photographer, and not just about photography. I've learned about insects and flowers and history, and the stories behind the subjects I have photographed. But this past week, I learned about "paraprosdokians," which have nothing to do with taking pictures. They're not insects, or flowers, or a long-lost civilization. A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect. For instance, this quote from Groucho Marx: "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening ... but this wasn't it." I recently came across a list of several paraprosdokians, and thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites. Here is my #1 favorite: Where there's a will, I want to be in it." Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:,' I put 'DOCTOR.' I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target. I love this one, too! — Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water. And last, but not least, "The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." And now you know what paraprosdokians are, if you didn't know already. I hope you got a laugh or two from these. |
The Christmas Camellia (Camellia x vernalis 'Yuletide') is one of my favorite wintertime plants.
The broadleaf evergreen shrub produces its showy red blossoms from Fall through December, and sometimes, even into January. We have two plants growing outside our bedroom window, and it is always a pleasure to look out and see their colorful blooms brightening a drab winter day.
We also have pink Sasanquas, which bloom through December.
One of the nicest things about living in the South, is being able to have a bouquet of fresh cut flowers from our yard during the holidays. I made this bouquet of Christmas Camellias and pink Sasanquas last Christmas Eve ...
We have one bloom on our camellia bush today, but it is loaded with buds on the verge of popping open. To every thing there is a season ... and I love "the Season of the Christmas Camellias."
A few days ago, I rode through some of my favorite neighborhoods in Vicksburg to see this year's Fall decorations. I wasn't disappointed, and found a mix of styles, from whimsical to elegant.
This is one of my favorite houses, and I was happy to see that they were displaying their collection of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns again this year. I love traditions, don't you!
A couple of houses down, I noticed the Lantana blooming at this cottage-style house ...
The flag is a permanent fixture at this pretty house, whatever the season ...
Isn't that little metal dog sculpture cute! If you click on the picture, you can get a closer look at it.
A fun and pretty way to welcome Trick-or-Treaters!
The owners of this house never fail to make me smile, and stop to admire their imaginative and creative decorating, and they outdid themselves this year.
I've saved my favorite for last. I gave this house the "Most Elegant" Award, and love the way the owners used natural looking materials to achieve a casual, yet elegant, look ...
Be sure to click on this picture to get a closer look at those beautifully carved doors:
It is always fun and interesting to see creativity and imagination reflected through homeowners' seasonal decorations, and I hope you enjoyed my "drive-by" tour of these beautiful homes. I'm looking forward to seeing and sharing "Christmas in Vicksburg," too. It will be here before we know it!
Today I'm sharing some pictures I captured of the water lilies on Hamilton Lake, in Claiborne County, Mississippi, which is a stone's throw away from the Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant.
The nuclear plant itself is an awesome sight to behold, and I always have an uneasy, eerie feeling when we pass by it to get to the lake.
The egrets seemed to be enjoying the flowers, too (or, more likely, the fishes underneath them).
I'll probably never return to Hamilton Lake, but I will always fondly recall the day I captured these elegant lilies and forever preserved them (and the memory of that day) in my pictures.
It's that time of year again — not even Halloween yet, and our mailman has been stuffing our mailbox with catalogs just about every day for a week now.
I hate to think what it will be like between now and Christmas. Here are just a few of the ones I haven't thrown away yet ...
I am stacking them in the closet in our office until I'm ready to start thinking about Christmas shopping. But first, I'd like to get through Halloween (my least favorite holiday) and Thanksgiving (my second favorite, next to Christmas). Of course, I'm sure the shopping spirit will hit me before Thanksgiving, and by then, at the rate they are arriving, I will have quite a collection of catalogs to browse.
Last year, I did the majority of my shopping online (through Amazon), and it was wonderful! I hope to do as well this year.
How about you? Have you started thinking about Christmas shopping yet?
This time of year, I tend to be easily distracted while driving. Everywhere I look, there are wildflowers, colorful leaves, and all kinds of grasses that seem to be beckoning to me to stop and get a closer look.
These bright yellow flowers have been calling my name for a couple of weeks now, and I finally answered their call yesterday when my husband and I passed this field that was dazzling with bright yellow blooms, their faces all turned toward the morning sun.
I tried to identify them by looking at hundreds of images of "yellow wildflowers" on Google, but never could find anything that looked exactly like them. However, one of my blogging friends, Dorothy at Counting My Blessings, wrote and told me she thinks they are "Swamp Sunflowers," and, after looking at pictures of swamp sunflowers, I believe she's right. Dorothy is a very talented photographer and writer, and I encourage you to visit her beautiful blog. I'm sure it will brighten your day, as it does mine.
Some of the flowers soared high above the others, their stalks bent over from the weight of the pretty clusters of flowers at the tops of them.
I wished for a bucket of water and some clippers to cut a bouquet, but had to be content to capture a few bouquets with my camera instead.
The flowers were beautiful from a distance, but they were even more incredible up close (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like to get a closer look).
I'm not the only one who was enjoying the flowers up close. The honeybees loved them, too!
I hope this has inspired you to slow down and admire Fall's "naturescapes" beside the roads you travel every day — who knows, you might even hear something "calling your name," too.
