All Things Natural

Winter's Refusal. You will bow before Winter! An April storm that came with three days of ice and frost forced these flowers to the ground. They recovered nicely, however.

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:29:39 -0700

ryans
Winter's Refusal. You will bow before Winter! An April storm that came with three days of ice and frost forced these flowers to the ground. They recovered nicely, however.

Disappointing Catch. Not much use to the occupant, this web is holding weight that is 100s of times its own weight, thanks to a late Winter storm. You can almost hear the spider saying, "i ...

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:28:42 -0700

ryans
Disappointing Catch. Not much use to the occupant, this web is holding weight that is 100s of times its own weight, thanks to a late Winter storm. You can almost hear the spider saying, "i ...

One of our many birdhouses as seen through the frosty pines in our backyard. The "hoar frost," as it is called, results from moisture-saturated air, temps below 32F and a slight wind. Cond ...

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:27:28 -0700

ryans
One of our many birdhouses as seen through the frosty pines in our backyard. The "hoar frost," as it is called, results from moisture-saturated air, temps below 32F and a slight wind. Cond ...

You can tell which way the wind was blowing by the direction of the frost crystals-- a close-up of a bush that the week earlier was breaking bud until the pause button (cold) was hit.

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:26:22 -0700

ryans
You can tell which way the wind was blowing by the direction of the frost crystals-- a close-up of a bush that the week earlier was breaking bud until the pause button (cold) was hit.

Two crocuses (croci?) that didn't get the memo; Spring would be late this year.

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:25:29 -0700

ryans
Two crocuses (croci?) that didn't get the memo; Spring would be late this year.

Florsythia (not sure on the spelling) blooms in early spring and often sees such weather-- so it made it through the cold snap without any issues.

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:24:31 -0700

ryans
Florsythia (not sure on the spelling) blooms in early spring and often sees such weather-- so it made it through the cold snap without any issues.

Permafrost! Not really, just my grass that was trying to come out of dormacy, forced back to sleep by lots of continually falling ice.

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:22:59 -0700

ryans
Permafrost! Not really, just my grass that was trying to come out of dormacy, forced back to sleep by lots of continually falling ice.

Suspension-- a daffodil that is frozen in time-- the ice perfectly suspended its blooming-- it continues to bloom, without ice, in our backyard.

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:21:24 -0700

ryans
Suspension-- a daffodil that is frozen in time-- the ice perfectly suspended its blooming-- it continues to bloom, without ice, in our backyard.

A bull elk sticks his tongue out to catch some snowflakes on a nature preserve in Alaska. His women are busy eating up some grass before the snow covers everything!

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 11:42:21 -0800

ryans
A bull elk sticks his tongue out to catch some snowflakes on a nature preserve in Alaska. His women are busy eating up some grass before the snow covers everything!

Take on my farm in Pennsylvania during Christmas time, 2001. I had arrived home that day and then the snow began!

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 11:01:06 -0800

ryans
Take on my farm in Pennsylvania during Christmas time, 2001. I had arrived home that day and then the snow began!

ryans' photo

nobody@smugmug.com (ryans) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 11:00:20 -0800

All Things Natural

Winter's Refusal. You will bow before Winter! An April storm that came with three days of ice and frost forced these flowers to the ground. They recovered nicely, however.

Disappointing Catch. Not much use to the occupant, this web is holding weight that is 100s of times its own weight, thanks to a late Winter storm. You can almost hear the spider saying, "i ...

One of our many birdhouses as seen through the frosty pines in our backyard. The "hoar frost," as it is called, results from moisture-saturated air, temps below 32F and a slight wind. Cond ...

You can tell which way the wind was blowing by the direction of the frost crystals-- a close-up of a bush that the week earlier was breaking bud until the pause button (cold) was hit.

Two crocuses (croci?) that didn't get the memo; Spring would be late this year.

Florsythia (not sure on the spelling) blooms in early spring and often sees such weather-- so it made it through the cold snap without any issues.

Permafrost! Not really, just my grass that was trying to come out of dormacy, forced back to sleep by lots of continually falling ice.

Suspension-- a daffodil that is frozen in time-- the ice perfectly suspended its blooming-- it continues to bloom, without ice, in our backyard.

A bull elk sticks his tongue out to catch some snowflakes on a nature preserve in Alaska. His women are busy eating up some grass before the snow covers everything!

Take on my farm in Pennsylvania during Christmas time, 2001. I had arrived home that day and then the snow began!

ryans' photo

Just as it says--winter solstice-- take just North of San Fransisco, Christmas time, 2003.

Ever wonder what the inside of a snow drift looked like? Now you know! This thing grew all day long during Dec 20 2006ths Blizzard here in Colorado. It is still snowing as I type this, bu ...

Picotee Amaryllis.

Close-up of Picotee-- this flower reached a height of 3 feet on its stalk and bloomed over 8 inches wide before it crumbled under its own weight.

Picotee, again-- but with Christmas lights in the background!!

ryans' photo

ryans' photo

ryans' photo

ryans' photo

ryans' photo

Ice-- these very delicate frost crystals formed from freezing fog over night. They're so delicate, despite their appearance, that the faintest breeze or touch send the shards of "glass" flo ...

Nothing escaped the frost, proven by this 15+ foot tall aspen in our garden, which was covered in the ice from root to tip. The dark blue Colorado sky is a good backdrop for this scene, ...

"Zero"-- nice and warm on this December morn! Check for frost bite.

"Frost Bite"-- The Leaf of the Aspen tree is seen many times on my site-- here it is again. Only this one is under a shield of ice. Pretty good chance this one is done for the season :o)

The stark contrast aspens provide is unrivaled by any other tree in Colorado. This grove is seen on a summer day on the Rampart Range.

Renoir's Flower-- a tulip in our garden that was originally feared many years ago as the stripes and "blood lines" of the petals were the result of a virus. They eventually became highly pr ...

A Plumeria flower that fell on the patio table while I was sipping a refreshing beverage during my stay in Guam. I never saw a flower like this and the smell was so sweet. It begged to be ...

Three, Tri, Trilogy, Trinity, trios, triads, Pi-- the divine number. Though Pi is actually 3.14, the number three seems to be appear everywhere and is most apparent, if you really search, i ...

Kauai Waterfall-- looks like a well-maintained garden-- but it is a waterfall, naturally occuring on the side of the island on our way to the Queen's Bath.

Hawaiian Tide-- I have this thing with taking photos of water-- it is a fascinating subject as it is almost never still. Even on a windless day, water is dynamic, constantly moving, changin ...

Waves Crashing-- against the Kauai coast. Incidently, Kauai receives more rain than any other place on Earth-- and I think we witnessed a majority of it fall on our honeymoon here :o) Beau ...

Lost World-- seems like something out of Jurassic Park movie-- in fact, I believe they did film the movie here in Kauai.

Spring's Promise-- that one day winter will give way again to summer. Just a few of the 500+ bulbs living in our gardens now.

An amaryllis called, "Minivera," grows in our home brightening up things in November.

A close up of Minivera-- this exotic flower originally came from Asia via the Dutch and has become a sign of the Holiday season.

I wish I had a picture of my face at this moment as we both caught each other by surprise. Seen here, this buck is still in velvet and was enjoying an evening snack in the brush before I ca ...

Strutting his stuff around Denver Zoo, this peacock is wasting his energy since all the hens seemed to already have chicks amongst them. Take Summer 2005.

A tender moment between these two polar bears, who were enjoying a swim on a very hot day in Denver, Colorado. Incidently, did you know polar bears are the only animals that actively seek o ...

Red sunflowers taking in the evening light in August 2006. I have never seen red sunflowers, but found some seeds and gave'em a try this year. I'll definitely have them against next season ...

"I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky." A fitting quote from John Denver's "Rockie Mountain High"-- shown here with the Rockie's on the very bottom of the shot. This scenic view presented ...

Lonely Leaf-- An Aspen leaf clings to its branch, proloning the inevitable. It was the only leaf remaining on the branch.

Hanging on-- the only aspen in our yard that retains her leaves just doesn't get it-- winter is upon us!

Japanese Laceleaf Maple leaves are delicate, especially in the harsh Colorado environment, these leaves rest quietly, insulated from the cold air by the snow. Only a few more days for these ...

Disappointing catch overnight, our first snow fall of the season, and completely worthless to the occupant. Seems webs can catch snow, too.

A recent addition to our backyard, as we found nothing is "blooming" this time of year. The flowers are a deeper red in real life.

An Aspen Leaf, compliments of my backyard, shot on black background and was apparently made in Colorado.

ryans' photo

ryans' photo

"I've Got Your Back," one flowering seemingly hiding behind another. My red sunflowers, the second round of blooms, were not nearly as red as the first flowers. Most of the "yellow" is due ...

"The End of Day"

"Come Walk with Me." People taking a stroll by the sea with the remainder of the day.

"Flowerda"

When Peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When Sorrows, like sea-billows, roll, Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.

Just beautiful... not much else to be said.

"One, if by Sea." Pelicans are funky birds. But this one seemed a little sleepy.

Red isn't monopolized by roses any more! Caught in the backyard, I planted this red sunflower in May. It bloomed in late August after an unusually wet Colorado summer (or so I'm told). Th ...

I have no idea where these yellow sunflowers came from but I suspect they are natives as it seems they grow everywhere around my house. During the heavy rains, they placed their burden on m ...

Not a great shot but the detail is amazing. This is what the correct lighting can do!

ryans' photo

I call this "The Ravages of Time." Caught in my back yard, this poor old flower is accompanied by its grandflower and another, younger flower in the background.

Another version of the red sunflower, but of different variety. This plant is suppose to bloom profusely on purple stems, almost like a vine. These were the only two flowers. :-(

"The Boundary"-- this photo speaks to me as it was so beautiful to watch this cloud form. All around us there were thunderstorms with instense lightning and hail. This one, spawned on the ...

"Tears the Sky" Photo was featured on KOAA WeatherFirst broadcast.

ryans' photo

Smurf homes!!!!

White columbines, too! This plant had both blue and white flowers and apparently, this can change to any other color, depending on what part of the plant grows more.

Blue columbines....seems them come in all sorts of colors.

Purple columbines.

These plants appeared as clumps of grass but they put these little guys out through all of May and June.

A little reminder that even if today is 70, tomorrow could be 10, here in mile-high state.

Some plants in the garden look like they're just xeroscape or desert plants (as it is ofen very dry here) but they keep suprising me and putting out flowers.

I thought this plant was just a clump of grass but it started shooting out these little things.

A bug.

First color to appear in the garden-- this crocus peaked out back in March and went through many snows and thaws without a problem.

No idea what these are but they line all the rocks in the garden-- very nice color.

A rembrandt tulip. Wilst looking on the gardenweb.com site, I came across a story about these neat plants. Apparently, a virus infected a group of tulips many years ago during the famous a ...

Pennsylvania has flowers that look like these though I'm sure they're not the same. The PA flowers are called "Heathers."

Carrie's geraniums that I keep calling germaniums (sounds like something from ancient rome!).