Chrysanthemums are some of my favorite flowers. My mother grew lots of perennial mums where I grew up in Queens, New York City, and I loved the spicy smell of them. This one is from a florist, but it still smells like the backyard ones she grew.

Visit Macro Flowers Saturday for more floral close ups. And if there’s only one photo here, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog.

Palm trees silhouetted against a sunset sky . . . what could be better? I feel relaxed just looking at it. Our conference in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel did keep me busy morning to night, but I did sneak some pictures, thank goodness.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more fascinating skies seen round the world. This one is definitely SOOC, or straight out of the camera, and Scenic Sunday has some more scenery for you, too. Pink Saturday has more pretty pinks!

I like this photo a lot and am calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Last week that visit to Furney’s Nursery, south of Seattle, was such a fun browse. They had so many kinds of gourds and pumpkins, including little ones with swoopy stems, and this big pumpkin with a big stem to match.

Visit Thursday Challenge for more photos with a theme of Autumn, and Macro Friday for more macros. Color Carnival has more bright colors for you, too! And these are straight out of the camera, or SOOC.

I’m back from a conference at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, and here’s a pretty fountain with flamingo sculptures for you, taken early this morning. The statues were metallic but the light was pink.

More water photos at Watery Wednesday and more scenic things at Outdoor Wednesday and Scenic Sunday. It’s also straight out of the camera (SOOC), with no tweaking at all.

If there is only one photo here, be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos to see the rest of them.

Had a half hour to kill so I went to a local nursery, just to browse around. Time well spent, believe me. I’ll show the amazing pumpkins and gourds they displayed in another post. Here are just some perfect pink pansies in the afternoon light.

Visit Pink Saturday for more pretty pinkness, and Macro Flowers Saturday, too. Some shadows qualify it for Shadow Shot Sunday, and it’s also SOOC or straight out of the camera.

If you only see the one photo below, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for access to the whole shebang.

I’m going to be away for a few days, so look for some new stuff when I get back on Wednesday. Ta-ta!

At a garden club flower show last week, amazingly enough there were quite a few specimens in the “hort” (horticulture) section. It had been raining the evening and morning before the show, so I did not traipse around my garden for blooms to show, however I certainly enjoyed what others brought. This branchlet of fuchsia blooms probably did not win a blue ribbon, because I understand that blooms must be at their peak of perfection, not in bud. But I think it’s lovely, anyway.

Visit Macro Friday for other close ups of all kinds, Color Carnival for other brilliantly colored images, and Macro Flowers Saturday always has floral heaven on display.

Do click on Sara’s Fave Photos if there is only the one photo showing here.

That overlook near my house in Normandy Park, Washington didn’t disappoint in yesterday’s good weather at sunset. Mount Rainier is lookin’ picture-postcard good. Those tiny orange-leafed trees and houses seem very much like a painting that I’ve seen somewhere. And did you realize that even though it’s pronounced rah-NEER, it’s spelled like “rain-ier” (rainy-er!) which I think is a hoot. And that helps you remember to put in both i’s.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies around the world, and Scenic Sunday for more scenery (of course).

One post only on this page means there’s lots more to see if you click on Sara’s Fave Photos. Do try something new here, perhaps a search for “Rainier”?

Nothing like a waterfront park, is there? Seahurst Park, this little gem of a local park in Burien, Washington, looks out over Puget Sound to some islands and the Olympic Mountains in the distance. I think it’s lovely in the late afternoon, with the soft light falling on the new grass, happy with all the rain we’ve been getting. The leaves are going to sleep, but the lawns are waking up!

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Midweek Blues (a new meme!), Blue Monday and Scenic Sunday for more photos on the theme.

If you’d like to view the complete blog and there’s only one photo on this page, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the whole enchilada.

From a couple of weeks ago, a bouquet of dahlias and late zinnias at the Pike Place Market. My plan is to go every month throughout the year to see what flowers they have, as they may only sell local flowers that they grow themselves. I know that soon it will be the dried arrangements, but for now there are still fresh blooms.

Visit Ruby Tuesday to see more photos with great reds, and Color Carnival for more brilliant colors.

If there is only one post here, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the main blog. Thanks!