In our travels, Pat and I are often amazed at the simple beauty of wildflowers and flowering weeds all along country roads. Here, without comment (other than captions), are some recent images from country roads and one from our garden.

A Few Varieties

The Queen’s Chamber

Reclining Queen

The Queen

A Visitor

Thistles in Morning Sun

Blues Artist

Garden Rose of Sharen

Pat yelled, “STOP!” (That’s our code word for slam on the brakes there’s something to photograph. . . as much as you can slam when doing 25 mph.). Then Pat, as navigator, commanded, “Back up”. (Pat likes short sentences.) That was followed with a milder “Stop.” and then “Look.”. The object of Pat’s attention was a web at least 2 feet across with connectors in both directions extending a total of 10-12 feet. I half expected the web to say “Wilbur is a Fine Pig.”

Spiders, in my opinion, are nature’s best architect. The glimmering, minuscule threads have to be strong enough to capture wayward prey, withstand rain and winds, all while being nearly invisible. Focusing a camera on a web takes a bit of work, but here is the best of what I managed. The wind blew just as I took the last image, but I liked it anyway.

A Connector

Koi are basically ornamental carp. They come in many colors which add beautiful and graceful movement to a pond. Taking photos underwater can be a bit of a challenge, but these images came out well enough to share.

Koi Pond

Pat and I were rolling before the sun had cleared the horizon. We saw a gentle mist over many parts of our morning world and looked for places where our Nikons could capture some of the quiet beauty of the early hour. Our search took some time, but we found two settings that we treasured for our mist-ical mystical morning.

Layers of Mist and Color

Emerging Barn

Above the Mist

Clouds and Barn

Magical Beauty

Copse and Field

Backlit Thistle

No, not summer cookout grills but car grills. This post is for all those who love cars. See if you can guess the make and year. There are some presidential cars included in these grills.

For those thinking of the other grills.

This collection of images was taken around a pond at Greenfield Village. The pond is surrounded by craftsmen workshops (glass blowing, tinsmith, weaver, potter, etc.).

Chimney and Reflections

Flowers and Potter’s Building

Standing Duck

Portrait of a Duck

Duck Herder

Nemecek Clan and Lumber Yard

The Mill

Flowers and Birch

Last Friday we met our three sons and their families – plus my mom (who drove from western New York) – at Greenfield Village , near Detroit. The village is a collection of transported and refurbished historical homes and buildings. It was a very hot and humid day, but a delight to all be together before our youngest and his family head to England for a few years. I didn’t realize how many window pictures I had taken until I got them on my computer. Here are some of my favorites. See if you can imagine a story to connect with the windows, because I can’t remember whose window belongs with whom.

The Meijer Gardens have sculpture all throughout the property, including a large Sculpture Park. Here are some of the art pieces that caught my eye.

At the Entrance to Japanese Gardens

Staredown

Horse

A Different Horse

Joanne and Friends

Water Sculpture

Not a Statue

Sprite

On a sunny day, the man-made lake in the Japanese Gardens provides a number of opportunities for reflection shots. These are all from there except for the dragonflies, which were taken at a smaller pond in the Sculpture Park. Enjoy reflecting on reflections.

Water Art

Dragonfly Squadron

Thought Beacon

Trees