I can’t believe I got last year’s amaryllis to actually rebloom. A miracle! Garden tip: For one thing, they tend to be so top heavy that I’ve learned to plant the bulb in a clay pot, not the plastic one provided in the “kit” sold around here. Toppling over is so not good for those huge blossoms. So after the bloom a year ago I kept the plant on my sunny, south-facing windowsill, kept watering with the dilute plant food I use for all my houseplants, enjoyed the sculptural strappy leaves all year, watched as they died back gradually, and was amazed when I saw a flower stem emerge!

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more photos with red, and Outdoor Wednesday. You might try a tag of RED here (lower right) first, just for fun.

Took this last year around this time, over the roof of my house. I totally love clouds like this, and I hope you do, too. So exciting, somehow.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies around the world. You can post a sky photo and join in if you like. Blue Monday, Scenic Sunday, and SOOC (straight out of the camera) are worth a visit, too. Before you run off, take a look at the newest photos “next door” at Free Photos, and maybe a tag like Cloudscape here (at the right). And one more thing: click on Sara’s Fave Photos if you see only one photo below.

Taken in Windsor, California last month, this photo shows the moss and lichen on the bare winter branches of the oak trees. Amazing what a little sunshine will do.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday, SOOC, Thursday Challenge (trees) and Scenic Sunday for other photos you might enjoy. And definitely check out something like the Nature category if you have a moment.

I love this photo and I’m putting it in the Best Post of the Week category, but it was a hard choice between this and the radishes above! Just click on Sara’s Fave Photos to see the whole blog with those cute radishes a few photos above this one.

Last month I went to Northern California Wine Country, and I am still enjoying the photos I took there and hope you are, too. This was taken at the square in little-but-so-artsy Healdsburg, about an hour and a half north of San Francisco. I love the way some branches are bare, some leaves are green, some still seem to be in autumn mode, and the palm trees wave over all. But it’s all about the blue sky, isn’t it?

Visit Skywatch Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC (straight out of the camera) and Blue Monday for more photos on a theme. And check out Free Photos next door for more scenic and flower photos to browse, too.

Even bare branches can look good when there’s water, sunshine, and reflections involved. This January view of the lake in Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa, California, was something that will look quite different in just a few months.

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Weekend Reflections, Blue Monday and SOOC (straight out of the camera) for some more interesting photos. And you might try a tag like “reflections” or hop over to Free Photos for even more scenic and flower photos. All free for personal use!

I’ve decided I like the almost lace-like texture of the black branches very much and am naming this post my Best Post of the Week. If you see only the one photo below, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the rest of them.

Here’s a view of Santa Rosa from the hills of Windsor, California. I may have mentioned that dusk is my favorite time of day, especially with peaceful winter views like this one. The tangles in the oak tree branches to the right are mistletoe.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more great skies around the world, and Scenic Sunday for more scenery. Post one of your own, if you like; participating is great fun.

While you’re here, do click around here and there to see what you might find. I promise many pretty pictures for you!

Yesterday was a rare sunny day, so even though it was cold I went out for a walk, and was happy that the view of Puget Sound and the sky from the Normandy Park, Washington overlook, quite near my house, was even more beautiful than usual. This late day light is my favorite time of day.

Skywatch Friday has more incredible skies from photographers all around the world (this week the guest “photo” is an awesome time-laspe sky video, complete with shooting stars!), and Scenic Sunday has more great scenery. Do take a look.

This photo really floats my boat. I particularly love the shape of the trees curving around the sky. I am calling this my Best Post of the Week.

If there is only one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for more. And visit Free Photos for even more!

Santa Rosa in Northern California gets almost no freezing weather and so the geraniums live from year to year. This sunlit leaf was photographed on a cold January day.

I am entering the Gardening Gone Wild Picture This Photo Contest for macros taken with point and shoot cameras. I can’t wait to see the other entries using the special camera on a jar technique suggested. Also Macro Friday has lots of neat close ups.

Do browse around here, perhaps the tag “close up”? or at Free Photos next door. New photos coming soon!

What a blessing is a sunny day in Northern California. Spring Lake Park is in Santa Rosa, with many wineries close by, but even without the vineyards the landscape is beautiful. Last week there was weather for a little hike around the lake. Weren’t we lucky?

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Reflections, SOOC and Scenic Sunday for more neat photos with a theme. And while you are here, do click on a new category, here or next door at Free Photos, to see something new.

Wandering through the archives, I came across this sunset taken at just this time of year when I was in Arizona a few years back. Simple but serene, I think. Hope you like it.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday for more photos with a splash of yellow, Skywatch Friday for skies, and Scenic Sunday for more scenery. And you can try a search for yellow here or next door at Free Photos, too.