Pink Orchid

This beautiful pink and yellow orchid was on display at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Orchid Show in Richmond, VA.  I couldn’t resist the temptation to try and get a Georgia O’Keeffe style image of it.

Tulip Bloom

Of course tulips are at their peak while the flowers are still slightly closed.  This purple tulip, at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, looked pasted its prime but I thought the vibrant colors had a beauty all their own.  While it no longer had that new tulip shape, the open flower revealed a lovely contrast between the yellow pollen and the deep purple and blue flower pedals.

Lichen Bloom

Sometimes it’s the little things in nature that really catch my eye.  This lichen was growing on the side of a very large pine tree.  I approached the tree to get a closer look at something else when I noticed the tiny, bright red blooms on the lichen.  Who knew that lichen actually bloomed?

Seed Pod

I can’t identify the plant which produced this seed pod but I can confidently say it wasn’t a dandelion.  It was low, leggy bush with dried up leaves when I took this photo in November.  Regardless of my ignorance, I thought the plant’s seed pod was worthy of a close up photo.

End Of The Season

Summer is behind us.  Countless wild flowers seeds have been disbursed and silently rest in the earth, waiting for spring to begin their cycle again.

 

Mistflower After the Rain

I came upon these mistflowers in a meadow, after a rain storm in early September.  The rain drops weighed down the flowers and made them difficult to identify.  Regardless, these wildflowers provided the meadow with a pop of purple color.

Praying Mantis on Pine

This praying mantis was on a picnic table when I found it.  I moved it to a pine tree where it began climbing as I began shooting.

 

Grass Seedpod

The long stem of this wild grass silently hangs above competing weeds, wildflowers and native plants, patiently waiting for its seeds to drop.  Some will be eaten by birds and field mice.  Others will fall in places they cannot germinate.  But for eons these simple seeds have dropped from similar pods carrying the lessons of their ancestors.  Each year enough find their way into the earth to continue the silent tradition.

 

Blue

This picture was taken after a rain shower in the early evening of a warm September day.  Between the rain dripping off the porcelain vine berries and the bright, mixed colors of the ripening fruit I couldn’t resist getting a few photos of them.

Grasshopper

The grasshopper waited quietly in the tall grass and weeds while I watch and photographed it.  When I attempted to coax it into a “better” pose it decided I was no longer trustworthy and quickly disappeared into the foliage.