Back to the Real World!

Vacations are so much fun but, man, what a job getting everything back in order!  Laundry, watering plants, catching up on mail, laundry, catching up on email & Facebook, laundry, unloading the RV, putting stuff away, and, oh yea, laundry.  Whew!  I worked today from the time Country Boy left for work until early evening.  *smile*! LOTS of laundry due to the leakage problem we had.  Sheets, mattress pads, blankets all had water stains on them.

I did manage to carve out some time to check out the rest of my vacation photos.  I have a bunch to show you but I won't bore you all at once... I'll post some snippets here & there!  I also cleaned the front porch and brought a few plants out of the greenhouse since I do believe Spring is here to stay!  And yes, it gets cold enough here that I have to put my plants in a heated greenhouse.  I know, I live in Florida, what can I say, but it does get in the teens here which is low enough to kill some of my plants!   I got tired of losing my plants to Old Man Winter so Country Boy built me a nice greenhouse!  Yep, I'm spoiled!  It's so nice to have plants on my front porch again!

(The one chair is covered because one of my black kitties loves to lay on it!)



I even sat out here this afternoon while I was working on my photos!  The weather was perfect!

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Last night, I glanced out my office window and saw an orangey pink sky.  I grabbed the camera and ran out the door.  I had to walk a ways down the road to get clear of the trees but this is what I saw....

I thought it was 'purty'!  Course I do like pink so I'm a little partial!

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Are you ready for some more vacation photos?  Here ya' go...

I fell in love with these pink flowers; I know... probably 'cuz they're pink *smile*!  But also because the butterflies & hummingbirds like them.  I so wanted to take some home with me but you're not allowed to mess with the flora & fauna in the park *sad*.  I'll have to find out what they are.  They grew in clusters in the strangest places; on the sides of rocks, amongst ferns on the ground, they were everywhere.

Here's another cool plant we found.  We don't know what it is but I named it the camo plant!  Country Boy thought this one was cool and wanted to bring one of these home!



I was also drawn to this cedar tree that hung over the small river.  I felt like I was in a Japanese garden!  The leaves looked so soft.  Here it is after the rain.

The Bluff Trail was my favorite!  Lots of scenery, rocks, water, plants and caves to photograph plus I got some exercise!

And last but not least for today.... these lillies grew all over the place too.

I hope you enjoyed a piece of Florida Caverns State Park!  We sure did!

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I ran across some photography tips for better flower photos from Diana Aubuchon in my Birds & Blooms magazine.  If you want to take better photos of flowers, give these a try!

1.  Take pictures early in the morning while the light is soft and before the sun can damage the petals.  Don't hesitate to shoot on cloudy days.

2.  Use varying angles to get the best point of view.  Don't be afraid to shoot the flower from below, beside or behind.

3.  Look for the best color combinations.  Colors at opposite sides of the color wheel always make great combinations.

4.  Use a wide aperture to put the focus on the flower and blur the background.

5.  Move in close and use the macro setting on your point-and-shoot camera or a macro lens on your SLR.  You'll be amazed at what you see when you get close!

6.  Consider buying a polarizing filter to decrease glare in water gardens or a lens hood to prevent lens flare.

See how creative you can get while behind the lens!  And, most of all, have fun!

Till next time,