“If we love Flowers, are we not ‘born again’ every Day…”
– Emily Dickinson, Letter 1037
As I sat down this weekend to piece together my latest photo compilation, I could not believe that thirty something days had passed since the last Week in Review. My…how time flies! And, let me tell you, it’s quite the anthology of uploads to sift through when you have a month’s worth of photography. I will try exceedingly hard not to do THAT again anytime soon.
I began this month’s shoot on Mother’s Day when I took about an hour to myself to walk through a meadow near White Rock Lake, close to my home. Walking in a field, or a meadow, or a forest, or even my own familiar gardens is nothing short of poetry for the senses to me, and, with each step, I am refreshed, renewed and somehow reborn.
Today, I desire this post to be less about words and more about the visual life story of nature. Honestly, as I scrolled through some of the amazing captures this month, and selected my top 30 images, I felt at a loss for adequate words. It reminded me of Dickinson when she wrote, “Nature is what we know, yet have no art to say.” As you walk through my monthly outdoor journey, simply feel it’s story through color, texture, light, depth, detail.
Truth is…Mother Nature really needs no words to make her point.
All the best,
A.J.
“Nature” is what we see — The Hill — the Afternoon — Squirrel — Eclipse — the Bumble bee — Nay — Nature is Heaven — Nature is what we hear — The Bobolink — the Sea — Thunder — the Cricket — Nay — Nature is Harmony — Nature is what we know — Yet have no art to say — So impotent Our Wisdom is To her Simplicity.
– Emily Dickinson
“The Tree Stands Alone” (Queen Anne’s Lace meadow near White Rock Lake)
“Lady Luck” (Seven-spotted Lady Beetle on Queen Anne’s Lace)
“Peek-a-Boo” (Gray Hairstreak on Green Milkweed)
“The Stroke of Midnight” (Queen Anne’s Lace bloom ending)
“Good Evening” (Purple Nightshade at dusk)
“Fierce Beauty” (Milk Thistle begins to open)
“Flying Solo” (Clasping Coneflower blows in the breeze)
“With the Sun at My Back” (Milk Thistle in full bloom at sunset)
“Make a Wish” (Salsify “puffball” seedbed)
“Load On My Back” (Female Valley Carpenter Bee on Passion Flower)
“Oh, Sweet Nectar” (Pseudodynerus Mason Wasp on Tickseed)
“And…We Have Lift Off” (Honey Bee with pollen cargo from Texas Primrose)
“Too Hot for Leg Warmers” (Two-spotted Longhorn Bee on Coneflower)
“This Round’s On Me” (Two Honey Bees at the Butterfly Weed Bar)
“They Call Me Mellow Yellow” (Male Valley Carpenter Bee on Passion Flower)
“Taking an Evening Stroll” (Blue Mint Leaf Beetle on Spearmint)
“Look into the Reds of My Eyes” (Immature Giant Leaf-footed Bug on Boxwood)
“How YOU Doin’?” (Male Green Anole Lizard getting his flirt on)
“Hey, Hey…the Gang’s all Here!” (Colony of ants on parsley bloom)
“On the Move” (Gulf Fritillary caterpillar ready for chrysalis)
“If You Give ‘Em an Inch…” (Looper caterpillar on Clasping Coneflower)
“Blue on Black” (Female Pipevine Swallowtail nectaring before laying)
“In the Beginning…” (Female Gulf Fritillary having just laid an egg)
“Winged Tapestry” (The beauty of the Common Buckeye)
“Pure Gold” (California Poppy)
“On Pins and Needles” (Pincusion Flower)
“Remains of the Dove” (Safflower sprouts under bird feeder)
“If the Shoe Fits” (Lady Slipper Balsam Flower)
“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (Sunflower after a sprinkle)
Thirty to be proud of.