sunshine

Sunflowers bring sunshine to the garden.

looking for clouds

I headed to Harold Parker State Forest this afternoon looking for clouds against the sky. There were a few sitting above the trees; other than that small white edge the sky wore blue.

dahlia delight

A dahlia creates a delightful splash in pink.

what's in a name?

Some echinacea wear the shape of a cone, pointing out a reason for the common name of coneflowers. Others are flatter with petals reaching to the side rather than down.

No matter which shape they wear, the flowers show seasonal beauty.

multicolored

Some gardens are planted so colors are shown in solid blocks; in others the colors are mixed. While sometimes the precision of solid blocks creates interesting patterns I find I like multicolored beds.

This bed of dahlias caught my eye today.

a splash of yellow

A blackeyed susan (also known as rudbeckia hirta) creates a splash of color in the garden.

echinacea in pink

It's a good garden time of year. I love the layers of pink in this patch of echinacea.

a happy bee

Gardens attract living things, birds, bees, small animals, people too.

Today I shared my view of the flowers with happy bees. Even though I was close to them I wasn't concerned; the bees were more interested in the flowers than the people in their space.

hiding

A zinnia in bright pink is hiding beneath a canopy made of leaves.

before the heat

There is an excessive heat warning posted here from noon today through Sunday night.

I managed a good exercise walk this morning while the temperature was still in a reasonable range, a good start to my day. Since I didn't see myself staying indoors I looked to the coast for a cooler place to visit this afternoon. My destination was the New Hampshire coast where today's high was predicted to be in the low 80s.

I skipped the packed beaches and headed to Odiorne Point State Park for a walk along the rock strewn coastline.

opening

As I walked in Maudslay State Park this afternoon I saw patches of bright yellow, black-eyed susans moving in the wind. This one is about to open, petals tightly curled.

rabbit, rabbit

As I walked in the gardens of the Stevens-Coolidge Place yesterday I was greeted by rabbits young and old. While they scampered away as soon as they felt a human presence, this one decided it was best to keep eating.

I'm amazed that I was able to grab a photo given that the only lens I had with my was my 80mm macro lens, perfect for close-ups of flowers but unable to pull anything in closer. I'm glad this bunny decided eating was more important than running!

back to the garden

After being away from the garden for 10 days it was good to visit this evening. Evening light accentuated the bright color of a dahlia's petals.

butterfly feeding

During a quick walk at Jenkins Arboretum this afternoon I saw butterflies flitting through and feeding on the coneflowers. This one was kind enough to pose for me.

photo by phone

mosaics

I spent a few days in Philadelphia this past week, attending Netroots Nation with some fellow volunteers. We were staying in the Penn's Landing section of town, just across the street from the Delaware River, close to the Ben Franklin Bridge.

As we walked back to the hotel after dinner one night we decided to walk down Elfreth's Alley, the oldest residential street in the country. Exiting the alley on Second Street, we turned right to head back to our hotel. As we walked by the home of The Clay Studio I looked through the window in the door to see walls covered in mosaics. I reached for the door, pulling it open and walking inside. I think my companions thought I was a bit crazy to just walk in - but they did follow me. We enjoyed exploring the hallways and stairways, marveling at the art on the wall.

morning light

As I walked this morning I was treated to a view of the Ben Franklin Bridge against a beautiful sky.

on the wall

I try to keep an eye out for interesting things as I walk in unfamiliar places.

Today's photo is a mural on the wall of a building on Race Street in Philadelphia. It seemed fitting to see a painting of a man painting the wall.

gazania

My walk around the gardens of Prescott Park reintroduced me to flowers wearing the name of gazania, also known as African daisies. I was amazed at the different colors this flower splashed across the garden.

I suppose this sign was needed after flowers were planted but before they were standing tall. It seems silly now; do people really need to be told not to walk through the flower beds?

pretty in pink

A dahlia in profile wears a stunning shade of pink.

purple

A walk in the garden showed Japanese iris wearing shades of purple.

Prescott Park

It was a hot, humid afternoon with the prediction of heavy rain. With a blue sky was decorated with puffs of white I decided to risk a visit to the gardens of Prescott Park in Portsmouth, NH.

The colors were wonderful! While only a few echinacea were in bloom I saw bright patches of gazania and even a few dahlias. I love having multiple gardens to choose from when I feel a need for flowers.

I was dripping with sweat by the time I finished visiting the flowers. The sun was still shining but clouds were moving in. I saw lightning and dark skies in the distance as I drove towards home and into the storm.

underground at Ink Block

The morning of the 4th of July holiday felt like a good time to head into Boston for a bit of photo play. My destination was Underground at Ink Block, an eight acre underpass that the Ink Block developers transformed into an urban park two years ago

I visited back in 2017 when the first set of murals went on the walls. Last week 8 artists were hard at work placing new creations on the bridge structure. I toyed with the idea of visiting last weekend but instead of visiting when there was a celebration party going on I thought I'd prefer a quieter day. Saturday would have provided opportunities for people photos but yesterday I was able to enjoy the murals without any distraction.

I have to admit that I found trying to frame shots of murals in a constrained space to be a bit challenging! The mural below on a bridge support was a bit easier for me since there was space in the park to back away from the structure.

Murals live under the road surface too. Some are on the walls, some on the underside of the bridges, some on pillars supporting the structure.

More photos can be seen in the gallery underground at Ink Block :: 2019.

tiny

Yesterday's evening walk in the gardens of the Stevens-Coolidge Place allowed me to capture some early summer flowers. I have only seen this tiny flower in periwinkle before; on this visit I also saw a single bloom in pink.

The flower wears the name Borage; its common name is starflower.

to Halibut Point

Some days I wish I was a bird, able to fly in a straight line from home to my wandering destination. Yesterday was one of those days.

I headed to Halibut Point State Park, at the tip of Cape Ann. The park is the site of an old granite quarry that was active until the early 1900's. The quarry is now filled with water, creating a protected environment for sea gulls and ducks since the surface of the water is surrounded by the walls of the old quarry.

I walked the trail around the quarry, stopping along the ocean to explore the rocky coastline.

More photos can be viewed in the gallery Halibut Point :: 2019.

gardens of Tower Hill

Yesterday was my first visit of the season to Tower Hill Botanic Garden. The gardens wore color, mainly in the form of small flowers.

In addition to flowers, the gardens served as an installation space for the Wind, Waves, & Light exhibit, a collection of large-scale, stainless steel sculptures created by George Sherwood. The sculptures move and change as wind moves through the space.

While the bright mid-day light made these sculptures difficult (for me) to capture with my camera, this sculpture drew my eyes.

More photos can be viewed in the gallery Tower Hill Botanic Garden :: 2019.