We’ve had sunny weather for a week. I planted pea seeds (and nicked and soaked the sweet pea seeds to plant tomorrow) and took the usual stroll to see what has come up. Crocus!

For more flowers in general, you’ll always enjoy Flowers For Today, and do visit Blooming Friday when you get the chance. What about more macros at Macro Monday?

New navigation: Now you can always get back to the latest entry here by clicking on the “Sara’s Fave Photos” title in the header, no matter where you’ve wandered in the blog. I invite you to click on the categories or tags on the left, or whatever strikes your fancy today. Hope you enjoy your visit.

It’s cleared up and the sky was showing the change the other evening. This one is SOOC, or straight out of the camera. For more skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Navigation Note: Now you can always get back to the latest entry here by clicking on the “Sara’s Fave Photos” title in the header, no matter where you’ve wandered in the blog. I invite you to look at the memes or tags on the left, or whatever appeals to you today. Hope you enjoy your visit.

This quick bit of sunshine we saw last week was the last time I did see the sun, so I’m happy to post the brief reminder here. It’s been gray and rainy, typical for this time of year, but it does get a bit gloomy sometimes. Especially when I want to go out in the garden and get things done. Sigh.

This is a SOOC, or straight-out-of-the-camera shot, like most of mine. Visit Shadow Shot Sunday for more interesting shadows. See more windows (and doors) in Window Views. Visit Blue Monday for more things of all kinds in blue.

Navigation Note: Now you can always get back to the latest entry here by clicking on the “Sara’s Fave Photos” title at the top, no matter where you’ve wandered in the blog. I invite you to look at the archives of Flowers, Cloudscapes, or Water tags on the lower left, or whatever appeals to you today. Hope you enjoy your visit. Thank you, Marsha Perry of Perry Internet Consulting!

They do smell heavenly. But be super careful about getting the pollen on your clothes, as it can stain permanently, I’ve found out, unhappily. I grew this and it bloomed in August. They are actually pretty darn easy to grow, but do put in stakes early, because they get tall and delightfully covered with flowers and then maybe a wind comes along and pfffft, it’s a mess. All you gardeners out there, stake early and stake well! You’ll be glad you did.

Visit Macro Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday for more great photos in blogland. And for sure, Color Carnival, too.

Here’s another saunter into the archives, this from May 12 of last year: my backyard. I planted every single one of those bulbs the previous fall and was so happy to see how they looked. This year they might even look better, but only the barest tips of the crocus leaves are showing now.

For more entrancing flowers, visit Flowers for Today. I also call this pretty darn Scenic, too! And sunshine makes taking a perfect (or at least pretty good) photo so easy, so this is SOOC as well. But do you think it’s colorful enough for Color Carnival?

Yes, it’s from the archives, but very soon flowers like this will actually be blooming. The weather here in Seattle has been in the 50s, which is a good bit above normal, and some plants are taking it seriously, I saw on my walk today. Personally, I think we’re in for some cold weather yet.

For more blissful pinkness, visit Pink Saturday.

That amaryllis ‘Red Lion’ has bloomed and I do love it. Very satisfactory. They don’t always do so well, in my experience. The south-facing window with mostly cloudy days helped, I’m sure, plus I’ve learned to put the bulb in a heavy clay pot rather than the flimsy plastic one that comes with the “kit.” Also, they really mean it about good drainage. No wet feet!

For more interesting visions of red, visit Ruby Tuesday.

That amaryllis bulb from a week or so ago is continuing to open. It’s in a south-facing window, but it’s mostly been cloudy and rainy, which is actually great if you are a plant like this one. I’ll keep you posted.

For more rubine redness, visit Ruby Tuesday. Color Carnival is always a thrill. And go check out SOOC for more straight-out-of-the-camera shots.

This is my first flower photo of the new year, and my first with the new camera. How appropriately a bud! It is an amaryllis, and should open to a big showy blossom with a bright red color (‘Red Lion’), very soon. I’ll keep you posted.

For more flowers from around the world, visit Flowers For Today.

I’ve tagged this image as Best Post of the Week.

A sunny patch in the weather made some lovely shadows the other day. Visit Shadow Shot Sunday for more interesting and entertaining shadows.

It’s also straight out of the camera, or SOOC.

And even a week later this photo still makes me pause, so I’ve tagged it Best Post of the Week.