Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgia

For the last year or so, I have thought about a microscope I owned as a child. I have no idea how old I was then, but I remember spending hours exploring the microscopic world and being fascinated by what I saw. Since it kept coming to my mind, I decided that “someday” I would buy another microscope.

Then this past summer I realized I could add microscopic shots to the photos I publish on this blog. I felt very thankful for the nostalgic memories that led me to that realization.

I purchased a dissecting microscope and began my new venture using an adapter that connects my iPhone to the microscope. I hope someday I have a system that allows me to take photos that more accurately reflect what I see when I look directly into the microscope, but this is a good beginning.

Earlier this week, I photographed a bush that drew my attention. It’s “flowers” were unusual to say the least. Below you will find microscopic views of three parts of that plant. You can click on the galleries to see an enlarged version of the photos.

Red fruit

Brown “flower”

Black dying “flower”

This is what the whole plant looked like:

Do any of you know the name of this plant? If you do, please share it with me and other readers!

Written for Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgia

Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest

Throughout Seattle, there are groups of people working to remove blackberry vines, morning glories and ivy from parks and Greenbelts. The empty lot that is behind my house is in of one of the Greenbelts. During the last three decades, the invasive plants have completely taken over the once beautiful land. So many trees have died.

There have been times in the past where I cleared parts of the lot, but since I can’t take out all of the roots, they, of course, always come back. Lately removing the blackberry vines and other invasives from the lot has become a passion for me. A friend and I have worked many hours cutting them down.

This is my favorite tree on that property. (It is actually two different trees, and each one of them split into two trunks so there are actually four trunks, but I still see them all as one tree.)

One of my first priorities was to remove the blackberry vines and ivy from that tree. I have done that enough times over the years that was a fairly easy goal for me to accomplish. For the first time, however, I noticed that there was a branch on the north side of the tree that was so long that it disappeared into the blackberries. I resolved to free the branch.

But how would I even get to it? There was no easy course.

I planned my route to the buried branch and committed to free it the next day.

Early Sunday morning, I set out to accomplish my goal. First, I went to the storage shed to pick up the tools I needed.

As I started to open the shed door, I walked face first into a big spider web. Yuck. I backed up to see where the spider was. What I saw was a yard spider that was bigger than any I’ve ever seen before.

I had been looking for a subject for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest. The moment I came face to face with that spider was the moment that I knew I had my subject for the photo story. Freeing this tree branch was indeed going to be a Quest.

I picked up my tools and then headed towards the stairs that go to the lower lot.

Shortly thereafter, I again walked into an unseen spider.

Okay, it is time for me to get conscious.

Pay attention to what I’m doing.
Carry the hedge shears downward.
Watch where I’m walking so I don’t slide on the uneven ground as I walk down the hill.
Don’t step in a hole.
Make sure I have my phone safely stored in case I need help.

I inched my way down the hill, drawing ever closer to the tree. As I descended, I appreciated how much clearing we have already done.

Cutting a path through the blackberry vines, I drew closer and closer to my destination. It wasn’t just a matter of cutting down the upper layer of blackberries. If I opened a hole in the mass, I could see that many of the old ones were in layers three feet deep. I had to be careful not to accidentally put my foot into a drop off.

Finally, I got close enough to the branch that I could begin cutting the vines that were holding it down.

I worked diligently, oblivious of the time.

I was excited to see that there were many signs of life on the smaller branches that were offshoots of the larger one.

When I thought I had freed it, I discovered that there was still one part was still trapped. I couldn’t even see where it ended. It occurred to me that none of the other branches on the tree were anywhere near that long, so I decided to cut it just under the areas of growth.

When I made the cut, the branch rose ten to twelve feet into the air.

Free, free at last!

Mission accomplished. As I started to leave the area, I saw so many other trees that need to be liberated from the blackberries. I recommitted to come back and do more of that work, but this quest was enough for one day.

Time to go home.

Before I knew it, I was nearing my back deck.

My quest was complete and it was time for me to have a well deserved rest.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Look Up

I have been sorry that I didn’t create a collage for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Look Up ever since that July 2016 week came and went. I’ve decided that it’s never too late so am going to do it now!

(You can hover the cursor over the photos to see where they were taken. Click anywhere on the gallery to enlarge them.)

Seattle

Chicago

Seattle

India

India- on the wall

Seattle

Fremont Troll- Seattle

Weekly Photo Challenge: Edge 2

When I saw Kathie’s WPC Edge photo on ChosenPerspectives this morning, it reminded me of an experience of my own.

One day, when my son was a young driver, he came home and parked the car in the driveway. Even though that was a frequent occurence, this time he forgot to pull up the parking break before he got out of the car. Our driveway is on a hill so the car rolled down the driveway and over the four-foot retaining wall at the end. It stopped at a two-foot statue of Buddha.

What I remember most about this incident is that I didn’t “lose it.” It has been a parenting moment that I have felt proud of ever since. At least in my memory, I stayed very calm. I felt relieved that my son wasn’t hurt and knew he would learn from the experience. I promptly called a tow truck and had the car pulled up. I don’t believe there was even any damage to the car. I remember thanking the Buddha statue for stopping the rolling car.

I took this photo with a Polaroid camera. As I look at it now, it occurs to me that this incident may be why the trees in that area bend to the left. I’ve always thought it was because they were stretching towards a sunnier part of the yard!

Edge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Edge

I wandered around Lincoln Park this morning looking for shots I could take for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Edge. I took so many interesting photos and wasn’t certain which I would use for the Edge challenge.

Then, just before I left the park, a tree stump caught my eye. I knew I had found my subject! That stump contained so many different types of edges.

And here is a view of the stump as a whole.

Edge

A Glimpse of My Life as a College Freshman (1966-67)

When I was writing Sixty-Eight Years of Hair, I poured through my scrapbooks and photograph albums. This week I went back and looked through the college scrapbook again. I found it primarily focused on the non-academic part of my freshman year of college.

There were two letters I had written my parents and a letter one of my classmate’s mother had written my mother about me in the scrapbook. Looking at the photos and reading the letters was like standing in front of a mirror, one which reflected that year of my life. Continue reading “A Glimpse of My Life as a College Freshman (1966-67)” →

My “Frame” Adventure

When I walked into Seattle’s Lincoln Park for my Tai Chi class yesterday, a dark green tree caught my eye. (It looked MUCH bigger in reality than it does in the photograph.) I wondered if the tree might be a possible subject for this week’s The Daily Post challenge- Weekly Photo Challenge: Frame. After the class, I returned to that area to take a photo and see what was on the other side of the foliage.

What I discovered when I walked into the foliage was that the dark green wasn’t from a single tree, it was from many. And there was indeed a frame. The frame made a complete circle, a circle that included the dark green foliage as well as the leaves from many trees that had lighter leaves.

Walking inside the frame was like walking through a magical land.

Soon, I noticed that there was a frame within the frame. It was comprised of a group of trees surrounding a pile of raked-up needles, branches and leaves which in turn were framed by the green foliage on the perimeter.

I continued to walk the magical land. Moments later, I found another frame in a frame. This time it was a tree that was being framed by other trees.

And then I saw another tall tree that was framed by smaller trees.

After leaving that segment, I saw a sight that took my breath away. I felt like I was viewing the Mother/Father/Guardian of the whole area. It stood like a giant, towering above all of the other trees.

(As I write this post and remember the experience, I think that the name Guardian fits the best.)

My journey had come to its end. I looked around the magical land, feeling very grateful for this blessed adventure.

After walking out of the outer frame, I turned around and saw that the Guardian itself was framed by the greenery.

I gave thanks to the Guardian.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is to share a photo of something rare. I believe that the microscopic nature photos I have been sharing on my blog are rare. This is one I took yesterday of the center of an Echinacea flower.

Photo Journal of a Snail’s Adventure

Last week, when I removed an overgrown chive plant from my garden, I discovered it had been covering two snails. One appeared to be missing a big part of its shell and mucous was pouring out of that area. It looked like the other snail was eating the mucous. When I separated them, the wounded one didn’t move but the other one did. I followed its movement taking photographs along the way.

Notice in the photos below that the snail is approaching a crevice in the piece of concrete.

Wow!

Turning to the right.

And then pulling his shell up.

He has almost made it to the top.

Success!

As I continued to watch, I decided to follow him by video.

You are about to enter a snail’s world. [The snail you see at the very end of the first video is the wounded snail. The snail from the photographs above is the star of the first video (47 seconds) and all of the second one (2.59 minutes).]

I thought he was headed in a particular direction but I was wrong!

After about 20 minutes, the wounded snail began to show signs of life. In time it started on its own journey. So was it really wounded? If not, had they been mating?

I looked for information and videos on snail mating but nothing that was described or shown looked like what I had seen. There is so much I don’t know. I appreciate the glimpse into the wonders of nature that this experience has given me.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fun (for me!)