As the Farewell Tour continues — as we say goodbye to old friends who, unaccountably, choose to remain in Ottawa rather than to move en masse to Calgary — my phone also continues to capture moments that lower my blood pressure. May at least one of them be therapeutic for you, also.
First up, a bee methodically coating itself in hollyhock pollen.
Next, an in-traffic study in red and yellow . . .
. . . and an in-parking-lot study just in yellow. I didn’t even see the lights reflected as yellow until I saw the photo.
Then, a gentle sunset in the rearview mirror. Nothing metaphorical about that, I’m sure.
Next, an abundance of perky day lilies. And one backlit hollyhock, just because.
Last up, a fire-extinguisher face, species resemblance unclear, but clearly a species with a real face. Like, not a begonia. Anubis or his dad, Seth? (I admit that I found these two possibilities by mis-typing “dog with pointy snout” as “god with pointy snout”. It kinda makes you want to make deliberate mistakes, don’t it, just to see what’s out there?) Doberman Pinscher? Borzoi? Another dog with a long nose? (These possibilities I found by correctly typing “dog with pointy snout”.)
Anyway, something fierce and alert, as befits a fire extinguisher, and a little windswept, just because.
Isabel – your dog with a pointy snout looks more like a bird with a long beak and a long crest at the back of its head to me.
The rivet that makes the hinge also makes a great eye
John – I expect it was the rivet that caught the, um, eye of my face-detector. And you’re right – more like a big, scary bird.
We also had hollyhocks in the Annapolis Valley. Mostly they grew on the west side of the house where there was lots of afternoon sun most days.
John – Nice. It’s funny how persistent those memories are. I remember my grandmother’s nasturtiums and sweet peas and lilacs.
Love the hollyhocks and the bee(s). The up-side-down pose is hilarious! I often watch the bees working away so hard in my hollyhocks.
The sunset view makes one sigh out all tension. Thanks
Judith – 🙂 Thank you. Bees and other insects don’t seem to care much about up/down, except when flying. Various bugs wander all over the flowers out front with no apparent effort. Me, I have to work at it to crawl like that.
Those day lilies are beautiful.
Tom
Tom – They are lovely, aren’t they? I’m happy to appreciate them without having the work of caring for them – but am glad that someone does.
Therapeutic. Yes, and insightful, for me. I realize now that when I see a flower (or flowers) with your lens that makes my eyesight young again, that I become bee-like. Pollen for the Soul, I will call that feeling.
Each of the photos tickles a different artistic bent. The studies in yellow have a fascination for me. I notice colours in my surroundings that way. They can cheer me, as these do.
Your gentle sunset has a metaphor for you. It could also presage a gentle dawn. So be it.
Laurna – Lovely. Thank you for that – and for the wishes for a gentle dawn.
I tend to agree with John re the fire extinguisher leaning more towards a bird. Faces everywhere!!
Your hollyhocks reminded me of my youth (a year or two ago), Dad had a few hollyhocks next to the house. The blossoms when finished blooming made great darts for us kids
Jim R – 🙂 A bird it shall be. The Big Guy remembers hollyhocks from his yute also – I’m not sure I saw them until I was about 20. Pretty sure we never grew them at home. I guess it’s nice to have choices.
For the gentle sunset in the rear-view mirror, you must have been heading east. Which means you weren’t on THE ROAD across Canada to Calgary. Maybe, when you hit the long-distance trail for real, you might catch a sunrise in the mirror.
Jim T
Jim T – No flies on you! We were heading east (although I had to think about it). The Drive West is later in August. Not sure we’ll be awake early enough for a sunrise, but I’ll keep an eye out.
There was a time when to say, “… my phone also continues to catch moments…” would have left us curious… phone? wrong number? odd message… catch moments?
What a technology has given us — your lovely photos and “good eye”. Kuddos.
The fire extinguisher is a bird with plume head feathers and fierce look, IMO.
Barbara – 🙂 IKR? I thought about saying “my phone camera” but that seemed unnecessary. Glad you liked my distractions. And the majority definitely favour the fierce-bird impression. So let it be written.