April Showers

April Showers ... Bring May Flowers ... It's a rainy Monday here in Vicksburg today. I hope you have a safe and happy day, whatever the weather is where you live.

Could It Be ... Raindrops?

Although our forecasts have predicted "scattered showers" for the past several days, they have mostly been scattered somewhere other than Vicksburg.

But yesterday morning, I heard the pitter patter of something outside our windows, and, sure enough, it was raining!

I couldn't remember the last time it rained enough to be called a rain shower, and stood in the door of our porch, mesmerized by the sound of the rain and watching the raindrops splashing in our pond.

There were actually puddles on the patio ...

And on the stone bridge (the pink things you see are Crape Myrtle petals from nearby trees).

And I could just imagine the plants and flowers "giggling like children playing in a sprinkler" as they soaked up the much-needed rain ...

Needless to say, I couldn't just stand there and watch without capturing some of those fleeting raindrops with my camera, could I? So armed with an umbrella and my camera with a zoom lens, I huddled under the patio table umbrella and managed to get a few semi-worthy pictures in and amongst the raindrops dripping and splashing on me.

They're not as good as I had hoped, but if you click on the pictures to enlarge them, you can see them better.

This is my favorite ...

Some of the drops reminded me of little Hershey Kisses floating on the water ...

I was amazed by the beads of water arcing out from the splash of the raindrop in this last picture ...

We are supposed to have some more "scattered showers" moving through this afternoon, but I'm going to miss them, if we do. I'm spending the day with our granddaughter Avery Grace, and I can't think of anything that can top that -- not even raindrops and puddles.

Magical Raindrops

This is a continuation of my walk around our yard after a rain shower which I began in my post yesterday, Why Roses Have Thorns. You can click on the link, if you'd like to read it before you read this one.

We have a row of Purple Irises planted down a fence on the side of our house, and they stand about three and half feet tall.

As I walked around the yard with my camera, I noticed that the irises were bent over from the rain, their leaves glistening with shimmery, silvery raindrops — they looked like God had sprinkled diamonds on the leaves. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like.

As I got a closer look at the leaves through my camera lens, I was mesmerized and amazed by how the raindrops clung to the leaves, seemingly defying all of Sir Isaac Newton's laws of gravity.

What amazed me most was that there were raindrops clinging to the undersides of the leaves, too!

I took countless pictures of a leaf from the side, trying to capture a clear shot of the drops on top of the leaf and the drops on the bottom, but finally gave up in frustration. This next picture is the best shot I captured.

Here are a few more of my "after the rain" pictures:

This is the stone path leading from our courtyard to our backyard. I think the puddles look as if one of God's angels spilled gold leaf along the path ...

The next two pictures are closeups of one of the last blooms of summer on my Lantana plants in the courtyard. Notice the little "jewel" raindrops in the centers of the blooms.

My love of photography has blessed me in so many ways ... and discovering through my camera lens the magical qualities and dazzling beauty God has wrought in these simple little drops of rain was truly a pleasure.

Why Roses Have Thorns

Have you ever wondered why roses have thorns?

If I was a rabbit or a deer, I would probably think that roses would make an especially tasty "snack" because of their fragrance, sweetness, and bright colors.

[Photo borrowed from Internet]

But can you imagine a rabbit's or deer's surprise if it chomped down on a beautiful rose bloom and got a mouth full of thorns? I don't think it would take but one time for it to decide that roses aren't as good as they look.

So, just as God gave all creatures great and small a way to protect themselves, He gave roses thorns, or "prickles," to protect them from animals that may eat or harm them. The thorns also discourage humans from smelling, touching, and picking them, too, allowing them to blossom and grow strong.

This brings me to the subject of this story which features some pictures I captured during a walk around our yard yesterday after a rain shower. We desperately needed the rain, and everything looked so clean and shimmery, I couldn't resist taking my camera with me.

One of the things that attracted my attention was the rose vine which grows on an arbor over a stone path on the side of our house. The leaves were heavy with raindrops that were clinging to them, literally defying the laws of gravity.

While I was pondering the "magical" raindrops, I couldn't help but notice how pretty the thorns were. I have felt their needle-like tips many times when admiring or photographing the roses on the vine, but I never noticed how beautiful they are until yesterday (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like).

I would like to close with this inspiring quote from Abraham Lincoln:

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.

This is the rose that blooms amongst those thorns in the summertime.

Raindrops

God's Diamonds

A gentle rain shower moved through Vicksburg yesterday morning, and after it quit raining, I noticed our hummingbirds were very active. I got my camera and went out into the courtyard ... and my camera lens immediately fogged up due to the humidity (think: outdoor sauna!).

Every time I'd try to focus on a hummer, I'd have to dry the lens and they would fly away -- needless to say, it was very frustrating. I finally gave up on the hummingbirds, and walked over to the waterfall area and discovered some lagniappe in the form of raindrops on the plants around the waterfall.

They looked like little diamonds God sprinkled with the rain (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like).

I'm so glad I got sidetracked by the raindrops. I'll capture the hummingbirds another day.