in the garden

Saturday was a day for walking in warmth in the conservatory at Longwood Gardens, a day for capturing photos with my phone.

More photos can be seen in the gallery Longwood Gardens.

waiting

I love this large sculpture of a dog living in the waiting room of a veterinary office.

faces

It's always a surprise to see faces on objects. We drove past this wonderful decorated truck on our way to Longwood Gardens. When it popped up again as we were heading home I asked my sister to stop so I could jump out and see if the truck would consent to posing for a photo.

I'd love to see "him" again when the sun was at a better angle!

design in apples

It was a day for a first visit to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. It won't be the last!

The season isn't right for outdoor flowers so much of our time was spent in the conservatory where we were greeted with bright colors. Only some of the colors were from flowers... this shot is of a design in apples, floating in a frame in a pool of shallow water.

It was clear to me that I'll need to return to this beautiful place with my camera in addition to my phone!

early

Oh, it's very early in the morning...

I'm at Logan Airport waiting for a plane. The bus from the off-site parking lot was almost full - somewhat of a surprise given the time. There were two other people traveling; the rest of the people were dressed for outside ramp work at the airport.

The airport is waking up. Security and airlines are fully staffed and the shops are slowly opening. After a quick stop to grab a cup of coffee and a banana, then I headed to the gate area to sit and wait. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, a little mouse scurrying across the gate area, running under chairs. It's a good thing the woman sitting across from me saw the little creature too - we both thought that we were seeing things!

I was fascinated enough by the JetBlue signs to grab a photo with my phone; they look like they are full of bubbles!

snow and sand

As I got closer to the coast the sky was decorated with a subtle cloud cover, perfect! It was a good day for a walk on the beach, covered in a thin layer of snow above the high tide line, sand below.

I love the ripples in the sand, visible under a coating of snow.

More photos from today's walk can be viewed in the gallery Crane Beach 2013 starting with this photo and ending here.

bare branches

Blue sky and clouds provide a backdrop for winter trees wearing bare branches.

photo by phone

top 13 images, 2013

Funny, I tried to come up with my top 10 images of 2013 but 13 jumped at me - the same number that I selected last year. Of the thirteen, three are flowers and 10 are landscapes. Hmm... if I wanted to stick with a "top 10" I guess I could find another 7 flower shots and have two top 10s.

I'm happy with a "top 13". In date sequence, here are my favorites from 2013.

cherry blossoms along the Charles River esplanade

along Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park

iris, perfection

reflections, Popham Beach

turquoise water, along the Bow Valley Parkway, Banff National Park

Vermillion Lakes, Banff National Park

Vermillion Lakes, Banff National Park

late day light and reflections, Bow River, Canmore, AB

shimmering water, morning reflections, Acadia National Park

late bloom in white and light purple

boats on calm waters, Portsmouth NH

reflections, a peaceful scene, Portsmouth NH

rocky coastline and shimmering water, along the New Hampshire coast

These photos are collected into the gallery Top 13 images, 2013. If you'd like to see larger versions of the photos or you would like to view them as a full screen slideshow, click here to jump to the gallery.

icy

Today's freezing rain created subtle decorations on (almost) bare branches.

And yes, the subtle lines in the photo are from the rain drops!

flowing water

I was fascinated to find a sculpture using flowing water in the desert. This series of tea pots is in Tohono Chul Park, on a wall that contains 3 sets of pots pouring water from higher to lower to lower. It was a soothing place to sit, to watch the water flowing, to listen.