Friday, May 16, 2008

Spring - North Florida

A brief note while I have a few minutes. These days it seems the time just slips by while I either head in one of 17 different directions or just spin in circles. You'd think by this point in one's life it would be time to slow down a bit -- not speed up. But the RPMs keep increasing...

At any rate, I did manage to slow down enough last week to shoot this in the backyard...
This Magnolia Grandiflora blossom is from a tree that I planted at the rear of our property in 1990. It was the last remaining crooked little sapling at a parking lot flowering tree sale. Like Charley Brown's crummy little Christmas tree, no one else cared to take this one home -- scrawny and shaped like a J. We've watched  her grow for 18 years now -- to a height of well over 40 feet. Her gifts back to us are the annual celebrations of late spring's transition to more summer-like warmth. She still angles out of the ground at about 20 degrees, then heads strait for the sky -- the disability of her youth now an attactive platform to be climbed by my grandson. Just goes to show you -- you never know.

The image below is a small blossom in my sister-in-law's side yard in Winter Park, Florida, near Orlando. No idea what it is -- but it sure is pretty.
Welcome to spring... With Memorial Day weekend just a few days away, the heat of the Florida summer is about to be upon us.

2 comments:

I am a lover of children's literature said...

Wow, what beautiful flower! Photo is very well done, thanks for sharing.

Christina Schwartz said...

Great shots. Love your blog and photos. Thanks for loving Florida too!