Beautiful morning and some unexpected finds :)

I know - it's the middle of February, and it’s supposed to feel like winter, right? But it feels like... just kidding, I have no idea what it feels like, but definitely not like any winter I remember :) Last Saturday morning I woke up with the strange feeling that something interesting was waiting for me. I didn’t know what it would be, but the feeling was there. So I drove to City Park, hoping to find some cormorants. Unfortunately, I was disappointed, they haven’t arrived yet. The lake was iceless, and geese were everywhere. Just ordinary geese, not even snow geese. That was a bummer for sure.

 

With just a splash of color...

Last time I did something I usually don't do - I converted my photos to black and white (click here to refresh your memory - Beauties in monochrome). Don't get me wrong, I love black and white images... but I chose the wrong subject that time :) Actually, I knew that flowers in general and orchids in particular are better in color. And it seems like you agreed with me (I always listen to your feedback). So let's look at the same photos again, but this time with some color added :)

 

Beauties in monochrome

What do we like most about flowers? I think it is color.. Or at least color attracts our attention and makes us turn our heads towards these stunning flowers. And today we are lucky because we have a small (but amazing) device in our pocket that allows us to capture this beauty instantly and have it on our screen any time we want to see it again... But not so long ago we did not have this luxury. Photography meant black-and-white film... and the world of images was monochrome. Yet people still loved taking photographs and printing them.

 

Slow morning, snow morning...

Sometimes you wake up in the morning, open the curtains, and are surprised to see that everything around you is covered in fresh snow... And you quickly get dressed and go outside to take a walk, breathe in the frosty air, and enjoy the untouched white snow before it's spoiled by the footprints of people and animals...

 

Face to face...

Last Saturday I had a late start… I didn’t get out of bed until eight-something and decided to allow myself a lazy morning. And when I finally left the house, I realized that the weather wasn’t nice either… It was windy and really chilly. You know, the kind of chill you can feel in your bones, when it doesn’t matter how many clothes you put on… you just don’t want to stay outside. So I decided to hide inside the covered (and nicely warmed) gallery at the Denver Botanic Garden. Orchids were calling, and I couldn’t find a better way to start a late and lazy day…

 

Around the lake...

That morning I was driving past Washington Park when something made me slow down, pull over, and step out of the car. No plan. Just a walk around the lake. Just to look. Just to breathe the cool December air.

 

Beautiful, beautiful. beautiful...

January is the month when no one expects to see many flowers... Well, if you live in Australia, that's a different story... Hawaii is another exception too... but generally, we know that January is not the time for flowers... And even more so, no one expects to see exotic flowers, at least not outdoors... but indoors, things are different indoors, aren't they?

 

December beauties...

We enjoy bright flowers all summer long, but in the winter there are no flowers at all (well, not exactly true, but they are definitely scarce). Still, even during cold, short winter days you can find something beautiful, and sometimes even something bright… like these nandina leaves, still clinging to the branches and still glowing red.

 

What a view...

I have no idea what this Northern Harrier saw while soaring high in the sky, but the view across the lake was simply amazing...