Look what we woke up to this morning…..
Have we skipped fall all together? The autumn leaves are still clinging on the trees!
Snow came early this season. This could be a long, long winter.
(*photos taken by my wife)
October Snow
Tag Archives: photography
Brighter Sunrise After A Storm
We are blessed to have a scenic view in front of our home. Many times after a difficult day, all I want to do is sit at home and stare beyond the horizon.
When we were looking for a place to live 15 years ago, I made a decision to get this house after standing outside at the front, before even seeing what it looks like inside. For me, if you don’t like the layout of the house, you can always renovate or change it, but not the location or the view. You cannot just place an ocean or a mountain in front of your house. Or maybe you can, but that will be a great undertaking to create an ocean or move a mountain.
When we moved in, one of the movers complimented our view. He said that it be better still if a lightning would strike the two trees which are actually in my neighbors yard, and that would give us an unobstructed view of the river valley below. Though I told him we were already satisfied with what we have.
One thing that I really enjoy here is watching the sunrise right in front of our porch. It is just so magical (photo below, taken autumn of last year).
However, there would be times of the year that the sunrise would be blocked by my neighbor’s trees. Because as you know the sunrise (and sunset) is not always in the exact location throughout the year. Remember our earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis, so as it revolves the sun’s path across the horizon changes.
Here’s another beautiful sunrise (photo below, taken spring of this year). I know it is partially obstructed by my neighbor’s trees, yet it is still majestic, isn’t it?
Few weeks ago we had thunderstorms and gusty winds in our area. It broke some branches of out trees and flattened some of our plants. It downed some trees in our neighborhood too, including the one of our neighbors’. Yes, the one right in front of our house. So our neighbor has no recourse but to cut down the whole tree.
As I have said before, storms are part of life. We will go through some that will almost break down our will and flattened our spirits. But if we weather them we could have a brighter outlook, a more glorious sunrise, if you will.
I feel bad for the downed tree and for our neighbor, but not too much. For now that the tree in front of our house is gone, we have a less obstructed view of the valley (photo below). Storms can indeed bring brighter sunrise, literally.
Here is a time-lapse that my wife took of the magnificent sunrise.
Follow the Sunflower
A couple of weeks ago, when we were coming home from a week-long international camporee, we happen to drove by a sunflower farm here in Iowa. We were unaware that there’s a sunflower field here. Since we were all tired from the camping, we did not go down to check it out, but promised ourselves that we’ll come back and visit it some other time.
Last Friday, after we helped our daughter get settled back to her dorm, we trekked down to the sunflower farm, which was less than an hour drive from our daughter’s university.
When we arrived at the field, we were a little disappointed, as the condition of the sunflowers has passed its peak. Summer after all, is almost ending and plus the heavy rains earlier in the week did a number on the sunflowers. In fact some of the sunflowers had already fallen to the ground.
Since the state of the farm was not that picture perfect anymore, the $3 entrance fee had been waived, and instead a box for voluntary donation at the gate was placed. It was also free to take some flowers home.
I have to say though that overall, peak or past their peak, the sunflowers were still a beauty to behold.
I noticed something peculiar as well. I always heard that sunflowers always face and follow the sun from sunrise to sunset. This phenomenon is called heliotropism. However in this field the flowerheads were actually turned away from the sun as they were facing east, though the sun was already starting to descend in the west. Why?
I asked one of the farm attendant and she told us that young sunflowers follow the sun across the sky, but when the plant mature, the stalks become stiff already so they lost their ability to turn. So the mature sunflowers face east permanently the rest of their days.
Isn’t that like people? When we were young, we were impressionable and we follow rules without questions. But when we get old, we become “stiff neck” and become pasaway (hardheaded).
Speaking of pasaway, here’s one:
Don’t worry, I did not really “water” the sunflowers. It was all for photo effects.
For some reason while I was on this field, I had this certain Beatles song playing in my head. Maybe because I know that the sunflowers follow the sun:
One day, you’ll find
That I have gone
But tomorrow may rain, so
I’ll follow the sun
Yeah tomorrow may rain, so
I’ll follow the sun.
From the sunflower field of Iowa,
Pinoytransplant
(*photos taken with an iPhone)
Summer Colors
Summer has arrived as temperature in our neck of the woods is now climbing consistently into the 80’s Fahrenheit. Though the official start of summer, which is the summer’s solstice – the longest day of the year, is not until tomorrow. I am sure our mercury will rise above 90’s F (above 32 C) or even in the 100’s F (37.5 C and above) in the days to come.
Here are some of the summer colors I captured in the past week:
The first photo was taken in downtown Kansas City, when we made a stopover here on our way to visit our son who is working for two months in a summer camp in Missouri.
The next photo was taken in the downtown Botanical Garden here in Des Moines when we checked it out a few days ago.
My wife also got new planters and have started planting annual flowers that hopefully will not just last for the dog days of summer but late until the cold winter wind blows. Here are some flowers in our deck:
The photo below was taken two days ago when I drove down to southern Iowa for our outreach clinic. As you can see, even a summer’s day can become foggy, dull, and gloomy.
However. even if the day gets gray, there is still a possibility of beautiful colors shining through. And that is true in all aspects of our life. Photo below was taken from our front porch:
I am wishing you all a fun, delightful, and colorful summer.
(*all photos taken with an iPhone)
Alliums and Peonies
This period is one of my favorite time of the year when it’s not too cold and not too hot either. Plus the flowers are blooming. Smelling flowers are much more enjoyable than shoveling snow, you know.
I would like to share some photos of what are blooming now in our garden, that have not been eaten yet by the deer or the wild rabbits.
Purple allium and white alliums:
By the way, Allium is the Latin word for garlic. As you can surmise these plants belongs to the family of onions, garlic and shallots. Since these blooms are in the family of onions, they have the trademark smell.
Peonies:
Peony is named after Paeon, the Greek god of medicine and healing. I don’t know if these flowers have curative properties. But one thing for sure, they are fragrant and maybe that’s healing enough.
These large flowers last about two weeks only, so might as well take the opportunity to gather them and display them inside as well.
Below are flowers not from our garden but from a grocery store. I included them here since I like my photo of it.
Despite allergies and all, there’s one unwritten rule in our household: No fake flowers allowed.
The last photo is the harvested peonies. And a selfie of course.
(*Credit to my wife, the master horticulturist; all photos taken with an iPhone)
When in Rome
When in Rome…..
Do as the Romans do…..
You strike a pose!
By the way, the last above photo is at the Vatican, and is not the Star Wars’ Death Star.
I think my modeling was kind of boring. Maybe I should have assumed a more gallant stance like this…..
Or perhaps I should have taken a more dramatic pose like this…..
On second thought, I don’t suppose I should shed off my clothes, so I’ll pass.
Posing from Rome,
Pinoytransplant
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(*All photos taken with an iPhone; credits to my unofficial photographer.)
Kanal, Eskinita at Sinampay
Kahit na bumibisita sa isang banyagang lugar, bakit kaya mga pamilyar na bagay pa rin gaya ng aking kinagisnan sa Pilipinas ang tumatawag sa aking pansin?
Noong isang araw ako’y natuwang maglakad sa tabi ng mga estero o ng malalaking kanal…….
Naglagalag at sumuot sa mga maliliit na eskinita…….
At tumanaw sa mga pinapatuyong sinampay (ngunit hindi ko naman ito sinungkit).
Pero may pagkakaiba rin naman sa bansang ito. Dahil dito, kahit sa kanal ay may mga namamangka.
Kahit na tabing-kanal ay maari palang maging romantikong lugar.
May mahuhuli kaya kaming dalag?
(*photos taken with an iPhone in Venice, Italy)
Flower-Strewn Pathway
I was going out for my morning run a few days ago and as I got out of the front door I noticed that our walkway was covered with flower petals.
Beautiful morning. Flower-strewn pathway. What else could I ask for?
Maybe our crabapple tree was treating me as royalty, shedding and laying its flowers on my path.
I remember an old movie “Coming to America,” where the character played by James Earl Jones, the king of Zamunda, a fictional wealthy African nation, visited the United States, New York City, to be exact. He was looking for his son, played by Eddie Murphy, who was the crowned prince of that said nation. In one scene, as the king steps out of his limousine, royal attendants strew flowers on the ground where he would walk on. I know, I am no royalty.
Come to think of it that is what flower girls in a wedding do too. These cute little girls would scatter flowers in the path where the bride would walk on. But I am no bride either.
By the way the tradition of flower girls scattering flower petals has its origin from the Greek and the Romans. The young girls walking before the bride in ancient practice, scatter herbs and grains to wish the bride fertility. But nowadays it is replaced by tossing flower petals as a wish for happiness for the bride. And maybe fertility too.
Our journey in this life though is not always filled with happiness or a flower-strewn pathway, so to speak. Or perhaps it is, as our path could be littered with roses but including its thorns. Maybe the flower vase is thrown in the path as well with its broken pieces of glass!
A poem by Annie Johnson Flint said this, “God hath not promise skies always blue, flower-strewn pathway all our lives through.”
The author of the poem, Annie, was only 3 years old when her mother died while giving birth to her baby sister. Her father who also had an incurable disease decided to give Annie for adoption as he couldn’t take care of her, and he died not long after that. Annie was sent to school by her adoptive parents and was able to finish her education and became a teacher. However she developed painful and debilitating arthritis at a young age which extremely limited her mobility. She was resigned to a wheelchair most of her life.
Yet she still penned this poem:
WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
many a burden, many a care.God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deepBut God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
What a great reminder for us indeed.
As for my morning run that day, it did start with a flower-strewn pathway though it got a little thorny especially on the last mile. But I did fine.
I am thankful for the promised strength for the day. And I don’t mean just for running.
(*photo taken with an iPhone)
We’ll Be Alright
We had a very cold winter this past season. It was among the snowiest too that I can remember. According to the weather almanac, this past winter in Des Moines set some records in snowfall.
In the 15 years that we have lived here in Iowa, this last one was the most brutal winter we’ve experienced.
But winter is gone. Everything is forgotten. Above photo is our front yard in mid March when snow and ice were beginning to thaw.
Here it is today:
Life is like seasons. You may be undergoing harsh winter now, yet keep in mind that winter will not last forever. Life will flourish again.
Just like what the song “Leaves” of Ben and Ben (a Filipino indie/pop band) says:
Leaves will soon grow from the bareness of trees,
And all will be alright in time,
From waves overgrown come the calmest of seas,
And all will be alright in time.
In this case, flowers grew too from the bareness of trees. Yes, we will be alright in time.
(*photos taken with an iPhone)
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Here’s the official lyrics video of the song “Leaves.”
Mirrored Blooms
If flowers would take selfies…….
(*photo taken with an iPhone)
