Picture Perfect: DISCOVERY

In an empty lot that looked abandoned, hundreds  of cornflowers grew in the end of spring last year. The fence that surrounding the lot was rusted and I saw two or three junk cars in the far side of the lot. One morning I went to the lot especially to see rows of light-blue, white, pink and purple cornflowers. When I snapped some pictures, a man greeted me and he turned out to be the lot attendant. He took interest of me and offered me to come inside the lot. He told me how he planted the seeds, in the hope to beautify the lot, and that there will be some morning glories in summer. The view before me was sublime. It certainly felt like I was in a meadow, not an empty lot with junk cars. When I took several pictures, suddenly I spotted a ladybug. Its black and red shell looked brilliant and contrast amongst the cornflowers. So I took some pictures of it too, when the ladybug jumped from one flower to another. The ladybug was my discovery that day.



This picture is my contribution for Picture Perfect: DISCOVERY.

Saat Gladiolus Berbunga

Sebetulnya saya bukan orang yang suka sekali berkebun, meski saya suka sekali mengagumi, melihat atau mendatangi taman dan kebun yang terawat indah. Tapi sejak kami pindah ke rumah yang ada halaman di sekelilingnya, saya tergerak sekali untuk berkebun. Tahun lalu saya menjajal menanam bunga matahari dan Nasturtium dan semuanya tumbuh dan berbunga cantik. Selain itu saya menamam juga tanaman rambat Morning Glory berwarna pink tua dan itu pun tumbuh indah. Musim panas tahun ini saya mencoba menanam Gladiolus, bunga matahari dan beberapa jenis bunga yang beragam. Sepertinya sejauh ini yang terlihat tumbuh subur hanya Gladiolus dan bunga mataharinya.

Akhir tahun lalu saya beli sekantong bibit Gladiolus sebanyak 6 umbi. Di kantongnya disebutkan jenis Gladiolusnya sebagai "mixed", tapi saya tidak tahu bakal berwarna apa bunganya nanti kalau muncul. Aturan menanamnya yang dicantumkan di kantong bibitnya disarankan pada saat musim semi tiba. Tapi karena repot, malas dan segan akibat cuaca yang kurang bagus, membuat saya menunda menanam bibit Gladiolusnya sampai musim panas tiba, tepatnya di akhir bulan Juli. Saya girang sekali melihat tanaman Gladiolus dan juga bunga mataharinya tumbuh subur dan dua minggu lalu Gladiolusnya menunjukkan akan beberpaa kuncup bunga. Kejutan yang saya dapat bibit Gladiolus hari ini adalah 3 pohonnya berbunga merah menyala dan 1 pohonnya berbunga kuning segar. Sementara itu saya masih menunggu 2 pohon Gladiolus lainnya berbunga.

 

Picture Perfect: TRANSLUCENT

Picture Perfect is a photography community where I belong for sometime now through my old blog on Multiply. The site will be closed down soon and with sadness I have to move several (make that almost all) of my posts here in my new blog. This is one of the photography journal that was included on the weekly competition held by Picture Perfect and was picked as Honorable Mention with the theme: TRANSLUCENT.

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     In the corner of our backyard, there's some plants, make that some unwanted plants, that keep on growing even though I've tried pulling them by their roots and cut them also. I actually gave up because they just grow and grow. But then this Spring I've had some surprise when one morning I looked down from a window and saw something purple. It turned out between those unwanted plants, were purple Irises. This was the first time they bloomed apparently. Of course, I was ecstatic. Six purple Irises added the all-green nuance in that corner or our yard. I cut two, put them in a used soda bottle and placed it on our dining table. When the sun shone through the big window in the room, the rays hit the Irises and made them looked  translucent.