Hot, Hot,...Hot!

Hello, all! I'm back again today even though we just had a post yesterday. Today's post was rather unplanned but I had the day off and was outside for a few hours enjoying the nice weather. Of course, I had my camera in-hand, giving us today's collection of photographs.

We'll start first with the Oriental poppy, which is a member of the same genus as the opium poppy. The orange-colored variety is the natural form of the flower and a range of other colors have been cultivated over the years. Last year, I saw the pink variety next to the orange ones but didn't see them this year. Perhaps they'll show up later in the season.

Papaver orientale

With the departure of the mudan peonies from the landscape, we have the arrival of other peonies. The most noticeable difference between these peonies is the petal arrangement. The first photo below shows a peony with a single layer of petals, which is a striking contrast to the multi-layered mudan peony.

The single layer of petals appear to be "frosted" along the edge which has quite a beautiful effect. In the immediate vicinity of this peony is one of another cultivar. This type has a couple of more layers of petals that curl in towards the center of the flower.

A little ways away we have yet another type of peony with even more layers of petals. While the previous two peonies have unobstructed centers, this variety has petals sticking straight out from its center. The flower itself is also larger than the previous two but is smaller than the mudan peony.

Remember the "attack of the clematis" from yesterday's post? Well, I couldn't resist and took more photos today. This multi-layered clematis can take over a week to fully open its petals and once it does, it can last for several days. This being said, I'll definitely be taking more photos of these elegant flowers!

Speaking of elegant flowers, here are some iris photos. For some reason, I find myself drawn in by their crests, which look like fingers.

Last but not least, we have some photos of a visitor who might actually be a long-term resident. Over the years, we've encountered a Eastern box turtle just like this one in the front/backyard. This little guy was hanging out under some hydrangea bushes presumable to hide in the shade from the blistering sun. I wouldn't have noticed it had it not been discovered by one of our dogs.

Are you looking at me?!

What struck me the most was the fiery red eyes and unexpected "speed" with which the turtle could move. While trying to take my photos, I had to readjust my position a couple of times since the little guy was trying to get away from me.

Eventually, it did move further and further away from me. Above is the parting shot I snapped. For now, I must do the same since I will be traveling for work next week. Since I won't be home, the next post will likely be in a week or so unless I take more photos in the next couple of days. Until then, happy shooting!

Summer Weather Is Here!

As the title of this post suggests, summer weather has finally arrived! Temperatures have been kissing 80*F (27*C) and my AC has been turned on for maximum effect. I love summer but unfortunately, don't have much heat tolerance; however, that doesn't hold me back from going outside and snapping away!

We'll start off where we left off last time, with the mudan peonies. A side effect of the spring-summer transition is rain...lots of it. This year, the timing seems particularly bad as the warm weather brought about a lot of blooms, only to be followed by rain. This has the undesirable effect of withering the flowers prematurely, which ironically, presents a photographic opportunity in and of itself. Here, we have the fallen petals of a mudan peony:

Near the mudan peony is a clematis bush. I hadn't intended to take pictures of this particular flower but did since there was a bee on its petals. Last year I got some nice shots of bees gathering pollen from a sunflower, which was pretty cool to watch.

All of the photos is this batch were taken with the DMW-LC55 close-up lens installed on my DMC-FZ35. This lens works great in capturing the fine details as seen below. I was also quite pleased to see that the white clematis was not overexposed.

Okay, let's take a break from the clematis flowers. We actually have several varieties of them in the front/backyards but we'll take a look at them later on and give other flowers a turn. I'm not sure what the purple flower in the first photograph below is so if anyone does, then please let me know! The latter two are a rosebud and and iris, which is a spectacularly elegant flower with beautiful colors.

Guess what? It's back to clematis flowers! These flowers are from a clematis bush in the front yard and I just couldn't resist the perfect lighting the sun provided at the moment. The DMC-FZ35 really shines when there is adequate lighting.

The variety of clematis below is different from the magenta and white-petaled ones above in that it has blue-purplish petals arranged in a much more intricate pattern. Personally, I like this type of clematis the most because of its beautiful colors and multitude of layers of petals.

All around the front/backyards, I am seeing peony buds preparing to bloom. There are actually a couple that have already bloomed but the majority have not. I will be traveling for work next week so hopefully they will hold on until after I return home to bloom. Stay tuned!