Bookmark - Fall Cedar (Other Plants and Foliage)

Took this in the parking lot of the Houston Zoo in the fall.

Bookmark - Ornamental Pear (Other Plants and Foliage)

...from an ornamental pear in our Houston back yard.

Bookmarks - From the Houston Arboretum (Other Plants and Foliage)

 

Bookmark - Arboretum Stamen (Other Plants and Foliage)

As in the pic from yesterday's post, this too was captured at the Houston Arboretum.  Tomorrow's will feature two more taken during two different visits there...

Bookmark - Red Berry Tree (Other Plants and Foliage)

Caught this at the Houston Arboretum.

Bookmark - Grasmere Fall Foliage (Foliage and Other Plants)

Captured at Grasmere, England.  It was September, but the fall foliage already displayed striking color contrasts.

Bookmark - Zhuqi Prickly Green Plant (Other Plants and Foliage)

This guy was captured probably on the same day as that from yesterday's post, on one of our many early-morning hikes up the mountainside where Chenjean grew up.  This was back in May of 2019.

Bookmark - Zhuqi Bell Flower (Flowers and Blooms Series)

 

This will be the last of the Flowers and Blooms Series for this run of bookmarks created from years past.  Next up: Other Plants and Foliage.

Bookmark - Wilmington Flower (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Still in the States...a pic from Wilmington, NC, on a visit with my sister and her family there.

Bookmarks - More Trinity County Flowers (Flowers and Blooms Series)

These two were also captured in Trinity County, back in 2008 on two different Girl Scout trips with Allison.  One of the dads had acreage up there, which we were able to use on glamping adventures.  Thankfully I had the Fuji 7000 with me on both trips.

 

Bookmarks - Trinity County Bluebonnets (Flowers and Blooms Series)

 

Bookmark - Trinity County Dogwood (Flowers and Blooms Series)

 

Bookmark - Herriot's Flowers (Flowers and Blooms Series)/The Bucket List

Flower cluster taken inside the back garden of the fabled James Herriot's house.  Being there checked off a true bucket list item as I approach the golden years of life.

So what are the other bucket list items?  Let's see...

• Overwintering in the Alaska wilderness, to become a sourdough.  Would be better to spend the entire year in that awesome state.  In fact I told Chenjean that we're ready for such a venture, as I've studied the western coast and now know of its ins and outs, its pleasures and dangers.  No problem.  When pressed, however, I was forced to admit that it was from the deck of a passing cruise ship, but no matter...I read a good book that makes up for the fact that I've not yet actually set foot on those shores.
  
• Hiking the Grand Canyon.  At the right time of year of course.
• Driving up to Maine.  At the right time of year of course.
• Visiting Sweden.  A holdover from having a Swedish childhood friend.  His family was fresh from across the pond, and they all had an accent when speaking English, as Swedish was still their primary language and was what they spoke at home.  I very much enjoyed hearing them speak to each other, especially during heated arguments.
• Returning to spend three consecutive weeks in West Texas.  Would like to get some good rest, and heal a little bit.
• Sharing England's Lake District with Chenjean, plus a visit to Highclere Castle.
  
• Etc. etc...
  

Bookmark - Capitol Rotunda Pic (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Captured at just the right time of year for these blossoms in the foreground of the capitol rotunda in Austin.  Taken more than a dozen years ago with the Fuji 7000 point-and-shoot; the greater extent of this photo at one time was printed and posted in my cubicle at work.

And that's part of the beauty of digital photography.  Years later a photo like this can be easily located (or stumbled upon, which is the case here) and re-purposed for whatever reason, such as making this bookmark...

Bookmark - Another Favorite from the Taipei Zoo (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Another favorite, we were on our way to a gibbon fight at the Taipei Zoo when I saw this guy - story related here.

Bookmark - Favorite from the Taiwan Zoo (Flowers and Blooms Series)

A favorite, this one was initially posted here.

Bookmark - Showboat Abstract (Flowers and Blooms Series)

I've often used blur to capture abstracts such as this one of a flower swaying with the wind on the grounds of the Showboat drive-in theater near Tomball, Texas.

Wind was also used to capture this abstract on the first of our two trips to Seattle.

Bookmark - New Taipei Flower Favorites #8 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

This flower is everywhere in Taiwan and grows wild in many places, though this pic was captured in a temple garden area.  One of the greatest compliments I've ever received on my photography - such as it is - is when my wife Chenjean's father saw a pic of some of these taken near his house, a very small village halfway up a mountainside.  He exclaimed, "I never knew it was so pretty around here!"

Bookmarks - New Taiwan Flower Favorites #7 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

This one lends itself pretty well to lettering, and besides is one of my all-time favorite flower shots, so created the one below to print for distribution to friends and family:

Bookmark - New Taipei Flower Favorites #6 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

This guy is so perfect the petals look almost like plastic.  During our most recent trip to Taiwan when this was captured, I bracketed for exposure just about every shot taken, and to my surprise almost ran out of chip space (128 GB).  Many thousands of photos to sift through, but it was worth it.  And as a measure of security I have both the Big and Bigger Cahoonas set to mirror backups on the second chip.

Bookmark - New Taipei Flower Favorites #5 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Much like the one posted back on the 6th of this month, only with a little darker background...good for lettering at the bottom.

Bookmark - New Taipei Flower Favorites #4 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Another one bursting with that purple color.  Captured all of these favorites in one outing, and there are times like that, when you're in the right place at the right time for keepers.

Bookmarks - New Taipei Flower Favorites #3 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Couldn't resist de-saturating the background to make the bookmark below.  Have been trying to duplicate the effect that I accidentally stumbled upon in this shot from the Bahamas.  Looks like this one may have come close:

Bookmark - New Taipei Flower Favorites #2 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

 

Bookmarks - New Taipei Flower Favorites #1 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

 

Bookmark - Windermere Flower (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Of all the flower pics captured in the Lake District of England (which weren't that many), this one popped with enough color and luminescence to be called a keeper.

Bookmark - Kleb Flower #2 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

Printed this guy in its greater extent and posted in a collage for my cubicle at work.  In the early years of this hobby I'd take the best from a given year and print them, most often four to a page, on letter-size glossy photo paper.  Each year I'd switch them out for a fresh look.  Sure was nice to have all that color in an otherwise drab workspace.

Bookmark - Kleb Flower #1 (Flowers and Blooms Series)

A colleague at work introduced me to the Kleb sanctuary here in far northwest Houston, where I captured this and tomorrow's post.

Bookmark - Kemah Roses (Flowers and Blooms Series)

I've always liked photos that show something beautiful peeking out from behind an otherwise dull background.  This is also in Kemah, captured with the Fuji 7000 during a site visit back in my criminal justice days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the same theme - the photo below was captured below during a Jersey Village High School band parade performance back in 2011:

Bookmarks - Kickerillo Flowers (Flowers and Blooms Series)