I took these last photos on Dec. 30 (I didn’t take any on Dec. 31), and am now posting for Bushboy’s Last on the Card for December 2021.
We finally have snow for the first time this season! It was not a white Christmas, but definitely a white New Year!
And with that, I say good-bye and good riddance to 2021!!
Cee’s fun Foto Challenge this week is Basically Two Colors.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge this week is to find a subject in a photo she posted. Here it is:
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What follows are photos from my archives that fit the topic.
Boots
Fall foliage
Purple
Mother/Mom (who is wearing purple!)
Bicycle
The topic for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is twisted & squiggly shapes. Many are found in nature, such as twisted trees…
…and saguaro cacti, which can be quite humorous to look at!
Artists have used the patterns and fractals found in nature since ancient times, such as
petroglyphs
and modern sculptures,
and a swirled “mane” on a Chinese lion statue.
And here’s one more…try to guess what it is!
Lens-Artists’ Photo Challenge #163 invites us to share photos of our walking trails and discoveries!
We used to hike much more than we do now. Even so, when we are traveling and there is an opportunity to take a walking tour, we take advantage of it! Also, we go on day trips in the Chicago area, to a variety of places to find something artistic or unusual.
On our first day in Tanzania, we spent the morning on a genuine hike! This ficus tree captured my interest.
On that same hike, our guide stopped to pick up something off the ground – a giraffe turd! Holding it in his open palm, he told us it was the turd of a male giraffe, because of its somewhat football shape. Female giraffe turds are flat on each end! Several of our group of hikers crowded around to get a close-up of this unusual find! The guide patiently waited, while with his other hand he looked at something on his cellphone!
Where there is giraffe poop, you can be sure there are giraffes nearby! This one walked nonchalantly away from us – since it was also a male giraffe, I wonder if his was the deposit we had been examining!
Later during that trip, on the day we arrived at Serengeti National Park, another hike had been arranged! I love to walk because that is when I see the small things that would be missed on a bike or traveling in a vehicle! I took photos of these three small things on that hike.
Most of my walks are short treks either around campus or somewhere else in town. On campus one day, which happened to be my birthday, Dale and I were taking our usual walk around campus, when we came upon two other residents who were walking their dogs and had stopped to chat (while social distancing!). It’s common for residents to greet each other or chat on these walks, but before long, someone says, “Well, I need to keep walking” and they go their separate ways.
During the pandemic, we’ve taken day trips to far-flung suburbs and nature reserves.
Some of my favorite walks are in sculpture parks! Our walk at Morton Arboretum, which happened to be on my birthday this year, was in search of a new installation of sculptures by a South African artist.
For Becky’s penultimate day of trees squared, I decided I’d go with her theme somewhat. Here are some winter trees, enhanced!
One of the most wonderful features of the Moorings campus is the number and variety of trees! I am not a fan of winter in general, but I am awed by the complexity of their interwoven branches, which are best seen when they have no leaves to cover them.
I love playing with SnapSeed on my cellphone, so I enhanced (and squared) some of the shots!
This next set of comparisons was actually taken in early May – I just like the effect! And these are not squared but see below.
Here is the altered image squared:
I don’t know why this enhanced picture came out so blurry!
Trees in the background in this pair:
I decided to include this photo taken in February – it’s not enhanced/altered, I just like it!
This tree is called “paper maple” because its bark is thin like paper. This tree at Morton Arboretum is my contribution for Becky’s July #TreeSquares.
These tree photos were all taken at Chicago Botanic Gardens or Morton Arboretum. I found these trees to be amazing or astonishing, due to their shape or special characteristics. My contribution today for Becky’s July Squares: Trees.
For Becky’s July #TreeSquares challenge, I continue featuring trees in Tanzania, with things hanging from their branches.
I don’t know, or don’t remember (if I was told at the time) the name of this tree, but was fascinated by the strange pods or fruits hanging from it.
On the other hand, we saw many acacia trees with these tightly woven birds’ nests hanging from them.
These nests are made by the male weaver. He attracts a mate by having woven the best nest in the neighborhood!
When the weavers’ nests are abandoned, they hang bedraggled from the tree.
Wanderlust & Wonderment 