Texture, colour and form for inspiration.

I found this stand of birches the other day and was intrigued by the peeling bark and what was exposed by nature.

 The angles and the movement of the peeling bark is lovely.

 Flesh colour on the underside and white on the outside.

 The natural way it just peels off on it's own.

 Now to Rita's garden, I like the periwinkle blue of these bulbs.

 These star shaped flowers are tiny and delicate.

 Some water drops left over from the rain the night before.

 Anemones in another shade of purple amongst the flower beds on the quay.

 I'm not sure what this bulb is called, but the blue and white is again very delicate.  The gardeners who work for the city have let one area of the gardens naturalize and it is fun discovering what is blooming each season.

 I like these soft mauve and white flowers.

 Rhododendrons in bloom and in bud.

 This bud looks so velvety and lush.

 Tulips showing off their bright colour.

 A bright pansy face greeting the day.

 I call these dandelion narcissus.

 The weeping cherry tree in our courtyard, if you look closer you will see our resident ducks sitting by the edge of the pond.  They come each year and nest in the undergrowth and surprise us with ducklings.

 Here they are taking a bit of a nap and figuring out where they will nest.  Our gardeners have really trimmed back our undergrowth so picking a spot is a bit more challenging this year.

 Today Rita's garden has some raindrops dripping of the bulbs.

 I like the delicate arch of the blooms as they emerge.

 This hyacinth is almost florescent in its colour

 This tete a tete daffodil can't wait to bloom.

 This grape hyacinth is also anxious to put on a show.

A bit of a rainy day today, but beautiful flowers to enjoy.

Luscious Wools and wool thread

I recently purchased these lovely luscious wools from Primitive Gatherings in Wisconsin.  I have several projects that need some larger longer cuts and these should be just great.

Here are some of the Aurifil Lana Wool Threads that I purchased.  I got these at Tristan Threads that are located in Richmond B.C. a short drive from me.  You order one day and they arrive the next!

 My friend Ethel has been going to thrift shops and shared cuts of wool with me.  I need to bring some of mine over to share with her.  Our friend Debbie sold us a lovely cotton candy blue wool to add to our selection.

 Here are the variegated wool threads I've collected.

 A sampling of greens from dark to light.

 Purple through blue.

 Lovely yellows, one of my favourite colours.

Now to get going on some new projects!

March 20th the First Day of Spring has arrived!

A quick trip down to Rita's garden to find this lovely little crocus which seems to have suddenly appeared in a corner of the garden.

 I'm not sure what this little bulb is, but plan on taking another picture once the flowers open.

 Little Tete a Tete daffodils peeking over the wooden rail.

 Interesting tips on the ends of these leaves.  We think it is due to frost damage, flowers yet to be seen.

 Onto the quay where the crocuses have filled this planter.

 Little mini irises standing tall.

 Little flowers on the witch hazel.

 Beautiful striped purple crocuses.

 A random yellow crocus in the middle of  purple.

 Close up of a striped purple and white crocus with a bit of dew lingering.

 First bees of the season out checking out the flowers.

 How delicate and rich a colour these crocuses are.

 Pink winter flowering forsythia.

 Cherry blossom buds are getting bigger everyday.  Soon they will be open.

Hope your first day of Spring was a great one.

Full Moon Rising

Tonight the moon is the closest it will be for quite a few more years.  I got out at just before ten tonight and took a couple of pictures.  The first one is taken with my standard lens with a flash augmenting the shot.

 This second picture is taken a bit to the right of the first with the orientation towards the Surrey side of the Fraser River.  It is a gorgeous night to look at the moon. Hope you had a chance to see it.

This last shot has the moon filling my 300mm lens, it isn't in the greatest focus, but if you click on it you can see some detail.

What a great last day of Winter to celebrate the coming of Spring.