Bestie

My beautiful babe, Hilly, helping me with my gardening chores.  

April Showers

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  I can sleep with my windows open, and enjoy my amazing home.  The scent of wisteria invades the entire house, and it is as if there is a florist's bouquet in every room.  What was a twisted, barren vine only days ago now hangs heavy with blossoms, spilling a lavender carpet on wet stone after the rain.

March Sunset

March, unpredictable.  The end of winter, a promise of spring, ...rain.  How had I forgotten how much I love the rain?  I used to live in places that had rainy seasons, and the rain would come down for days and nights without end.  It would go on for weeks.  Now, an entire day of rain seems like a gift.  It brings back memories, unsolicited impressions of the sounds and smells of rain on earth, rain on tin roofs, rain on sandy beaches, rain on city streets suddenly hushed by the hustle of people rushing to get somewhere, rain seen through the windows of shops, making traffic abstract and beautiful. Running in rain - soaking wet and feeling like a kid again, sleeping with the constant sound of the rain slowly lulling everything in the world into its peaceful reverie.  March is nature's workhorse, setting it all up for the ephemeral spring and glitzy summer, but staying in the background like a good rock drummer.  I like March, and savor her gift of rain even more now that it comes so rarely, briefly wrapping my world in otherness and introspection.    

Palms

Coconut palms display the many fronds that have dropped off in their lifetimes, and are a study in textures and light play.  Full image is below:

Day Building

A winter shoot of the Day Building, designed in 1926 by architect Bruce Goff.

Winter: The Sonoran Desert

Winter in the Sonoran Desert is the subject my first panorama of the new year.  It was made the end of December, 2014.  Below the panorama are two detail pieces of the 19" X 72" panorama.

Click on an image to see it in greater detail.

Cereus Cacti

For those who love the incredible beauty of the western United States, the night blooming cereus cacti is a fitting close for the year that was 2014.  For one midsummer's night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.  Happy New Years Eve to all my family and friends.