Winter Wanderings…..

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” ~ Anne Bradstreet

On the day before the first day of spring, I thought I’d post just a few photos of winter in my woods.   I always feel peaceful when walking in the woods.

After a heavy snowfall, that turned the world into a fairyland……
*click on image to enlarge*

The winter woods.

The spruces stand tall..

Winter leaf…  A fall leaf shows strength and perseverance as it clings to a branch through the long winter months.  I made this photo into B&W, then brought the leaf color back.

 

 

Foggy winter morning…  Sometimes fog greets us on winter mornings.  I’m always trying to capture fog!

Thanks for viewing my post!  Happy Spring!
Judy

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Sunday Post: Surroundings~ “The Woods”

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.” ~George Byron

My surroundings~the pathless woods.
Never more beautiful than in fall…

 

 

Click images for a larger view.

Thanks for visiting my surroundings!
If you’d like to join Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post, click here to go to his site and read all about it.  There’s a great challenge every week for photographers, writers and more!

Judy

All text and images are copyright © 2002-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

Beautiful Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania~

 How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.  ~Benjamin Disraeli

On our recent spring trip, we visited our cousin who lives near Wilmington, Delaware.   There are  at least two beautiful gardens in the Wilmington area that are connected with Dupont estates.  One is Winterthur and the other is Longwood Gardens.   Longwood happens to be nearby in Pennsylvania.   Both garden estates are spectacular and seeing them in the springtime was wonderful, as all the early flowers had bloomed and trees had budded.   Put these gardens on your “must-see” list.  You will not forget them.  I will post Winterthur’s home and gardens at another time.  

Both Longwood and Winterthur have incorporated naturalized plantings.  As you walk through the woods, you are greeted with redbuds, cherry trees, creeping phlox, scattered daffodils, blue bells, azaleas and many more delights.   It truly is a treasure to behold;  a fanciful, magical setting, and one I’d love to create at my home.  (in my lifetime?!!)    Join me as we begin our walk through Longwood Gardens in the more formal flower beds.   Then we’ll walk through the woods, passing a lovely pond, and finally finish in the huge conservatory.  Let’s go!

Please click on a photo to start the gallery.

Allee~a path through trees. (no accent available)

Passion Flower.

another orchid…..

The Orchid Room….

Hanging baskets of geraniums.

Newel post in the extraordinary children’s area.

Massive hanging basket of Fuchsia.

I love these “Cones”! Haven’t looked them up yet.

The “Living Wall”. Plants on both sides of the hallway. Incredible!

Conservatory entrance….

Wisteria was everywhere! Stunning!

Peace….

Purple creeping phlox.

I loved the pond, as you can see!

Some were Double-Bloom Redbuds.

The naturalized plantings in the wooded area were gorgeous.

Redbud.

All plantings are naturalized.

Lovely yellows.

Whisper in one corner, you can hear in the other corner of this bench.

Foxglove setting.

Formal beds.

I hope you enjoyed our abbreviated  tour of Longwood Gardens.  There’s so much more to see than what I presented here.

If you’d like to learn more about the Gardens at Longwood, click here.

Thanks for visiting today…have a great day!

Judy

All text and images are copyright © 2002-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

Snowshooz!

We finally got enough snow last weekend for snowshoeing.   I was so excited to strap on my “shooz” !

My snowshoes and me trekking through the woods.

The snow was not as deep or as fluffy as I’d like, but I figured this might be my only chance this year!

A beautiful day in the woods...

It was a lovely day to be out.  It was so peaceful. The only sound I heard was the swoosh, swoosh of my snowshoes, and the occasional bird call.

Animal tracks.

Lots of animal tracks criss-cross our yard in the snow.  Deer, rabbits, squirrels and turkeys are the most common ones.

The end of a nice walk.....

Now that I’ve enjoyed winter, and finally used my snowshoes….there’s just one more thing I want to do!

Beach babe!

Time to hit the Beach!  😉

Thanks for visiting!

All text and images are copyright © 2002-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

2012 Water Dragon Weekly Sunday Post: LOVE ❤

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 Love is the enchanted dawn of every heart.  ❤     ~Lamartine    

Good night friends!
Judy 

All text and images are copyright © 2002-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

From the ground: a different perspective on the woods

I have been spending a lot of time on the ground with my camera lately.  I have always enjoyed taking photos of plants, rocks, shells and surfaces on the ground, but now I’M on the ground.  I have particularly enjoyed taking photos from the ground in the woods, especially with the fall colors.  Recently I spent about an hour on the floor of the woods~the only sound was my shutter clicking.  I was enjoying the peace and quiet.

I felt a bump on my boot and turned to look around.  There, about 4 feet away from me was a gray squirrel.  He was eyeing me with surprise and curiosity.  He appeared to be thinking:  What are YOU doing here?   We both were very quiet for a moment, staring at each other, and then he scampered up a tree and was gone.

My favorite day this year in the woods started out cloudy, but then the sun came out ever so slightly.  I grabbed my gear and went to the woods.  It was perfect.  The sun was pale, but bright enough to cast shards of diffused light in areas of the woods.  I was lucky enough to capture some interesting photos that day of the trees and leaves alight with golden touches.