Teeny tiny blossom

To the best of my knowledge, this is the whorl-leaved loosestrife - it’s name is bigger than the plant. Seriously! The petals are less than half an inch lengthwise and the entire plant stands about 4 inches high. I found some only a couple of inches off the ground. It is (I think) a member of the primrose family and is rare in our area. I’ve looked all over the internet and cannot find any photos that look exactly like this little guy. If any of you know more about it, I would really appreciate the info. Thanks so much for all the time you spend with my photos, I’m so grateful for all your comments & encouragement…. :-)) 05/26/19

Reaching for the light

Another Whorl-leaved loofestrife, found hiding under the grass. The sunlight seemed to be seeking it out, and coaxing it upwards… 05/25/19

Rising from the ashes ....

This tiny native flower is the Whorl-Leaved Loosestrife (primrose family) and is popping up all over the Prairie, literally rising up out of the ashes. It is quite rare and it is growing in some very rare lichen, so it’s wonderful to see everything thriving after the burn. I wanted to include the remains of the burn in the photo, which meant spending considerable time crawling over the burnt ground & lying flat with my neck bent at a 90 degree angle trying to find & focus on these minute little plants - it really was loads of fun, felt like a kid again - until I tried to get up! Ouch.. then I felt my age, lol. 05/24/19

"This Bud's for you..."

Mastering my new macro 60mm lens is proving more challenging than I thought. You ‘Macro Masters’ out there (and you know who you are! We all do!) make it look so easy & it's not. One thing I have quickly learned is that Wind is our Enemy! After a couple of hours of shooting, this is one shot out of only two, that were in focus … the only way I got this one was to hold the twig with one hand and try to shoot with the other. And yes… a tripod would have been an excellent idea. Another lesson learned - don’t leave home without one if you've got that macro lens on the camera! 05/23/19

The grand awakening

Spring unfolds in the most mysterious of ways. Thank you for all your comments & well wishes for Shelby - so greatly appreciated… :-) 05/22/19

Shelby - fully recovered

My little patchwork dog… back to her normal energetic self after the removal of two lumps & one tooth - it was a rough couple of weeks for all of us & I am so thankful it’s over. It will take a little while before she looks normal again but luckily she’s not worried about that at all. 05/21/19

The Wool Store

My sister is an expert knitter & quilter - skills I greatly admire & envy, but will never have the patience to master. However, I do like to tag along when she goes to her favourite fabric & wool shops, sometimes I can find little photo ops here and there…. 05/20/19

Loading up

Loading up with latte’s at Starbucks - while there, Starbucks daily load of supplies arrived… 05/19/19

A touch of Gerbera

Playing with the Macro lens in the midst of the bouquet, then playing in Topaz Impression for a painterly effect... It's a long weekend here in Canada (Victoria Day) and we are on our way up to the Lake first thing Friday. Commenting may be spotty & I'm never sure about the internet, but hope to keep up as usual. Have a wonderful weekend everyone & many thanks for all the time & attention you give my photos... :-)) 05/17/19

Little pink flower

Maybe you know what it is? So many pretty flowers in my Mother’s Day bouquet, I just had to take more photos…. with my NEW Macro 60mm F2.8…!! 05/16/19 edit: ID'd by Elizabeth & Terry as a carnation, thanks.. :-)

My Mother's Day bouquet

Beautiful flowers from my beautiful girls… 05/15/19

Last one standing

Somehow this one little crocus survived the fire and is now standing proud and tall, all alone, in the middle of the prairie. It's a little miracle. 05/14/19

the Prairie now

This lovely misty foggy morning brought the prairie to life yesterday morning. I shot this from pretty much the same spot as the photo I posted yesterday, hoping for a comparison so you could see the 3 week transformation. Still hoping for a nice long soaking rain. Sure wish you folks in Texas could send us some of yours - many thanks for your generous offers! 05/13/19

Later that same day

The view from our deck, a few hours after the fire was over - it was a good clean burn. This shot was taken 3 weeks ago (when we did the burn) and green is now beginning to appear, slowly but surely. We are in desperate need of rain, if it would only rain we will see a magical transformation to spring! Hope to get a half decent shot of how it looks now to share tomorrow …. thanks so much for all your comments & encouragement, I appreciate them so much! Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's ... wishing you a lovely family day! 05/12/19

Almost done

The burn… winding down. We let the fire burn through this small stand of oak trees because they are burr oak, native to the prairies. They are a small oak with very thick bark that can tolerate fire easily so they remain unharmed by the burn. It never ceases to amaze me how Nature creates the perfect solution for every situation. Thanks so very much for all your comments on my fire pics, hope they haven’t become boring or redundant - before that happens, I'll finish up with this one, or maybe just one more.....:-)) 05/11/19