Flowers – Sandy Connolly

April 14, 2017

I Found Spring in Maine!

I’m visiting my mother over spring break, and you would think there would at least be a SIGN of spring SOMEWHERE – anywhere! But here’s what I’ve been getting:

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And then my mother told me about YELLOW FLOWERS BLOOMING in the gravel down the road. Well, weren’t they crocuses? Cause those don’t count. Not native. No, they weren’t crocuses. Forsythia? But my mother knows what that is. No, it wasn’t forsythia. There was a native yellow flower in bloom NOW? I had to go check it out.

How fun are these?! I’ve lived for 52 years and never heard of Coltsfoot. Have you? Spring has come to Thrush Cottage on Little Webb Pond in Waltham, Maine.

I love them.

September 12, 2016September 13, 2016

Spoils from a Chittenden Raid

Woodland Sunflower, Helianthus strumosus

My good friend Glenn Levinson came over the other day for something of an impromptu visit with our family (Uncle Glenn!), and I had just come back from a grass, flower, and other types of plants raid at Chittenden Park in Guilford. Now, I hadn’t seen Glenn in some time, and I was so happy to see him and be able to spend time with him, but precious sunlight was slipping away, and I had all these lovely things from Chittenden that were crying out to be photographed before it was too late. Fortunately, there were other family members on deck to keep the conversation going, and Glenn had to watch while I dragged out a Canon 5D Mark III (a non-descript-but-I-mean-business-sort-of-looking-camera), my very favorite 1.4 50mm lens, and an extension tube for close ups (all of these things given to me by my father). I started shooting, but it just wasn’t cutting it. I dragged out a tripod. Then a table. Then a backdrop. You might as well go all out. Let’s iron the backdrop! Glenn just kept saying, “Wow!” I felt a bit rude, but it had to be done.

Glenn! I’m so sorry if it was rude, and let’s have dinner together soon, but I hope you can enjoy the results.

I found ALL KINDS OF FREAKY THINGS at Chittenden that I had never seen or heard of before!

All this time, I thought I was collecting things against the law, but I read just this moment: “Wild flowers According to Dominic Price of wild plant protection charity Plantlife, “it is not normally an offence to pick the ‘Four Fs’ – fruit, foliage, fungi or flowers – if the plants are growing wild and it is for your personal use and not for sale.” I’m SO HAPPY!

I formatted three photos for use as wallpapers for 1920 x 1080. Please download to your heart’s content.

Here are the goods:

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August 1, 2016August 1, 2016

Garden Boys: Aaron (7) & Noah (5) Are a Raging Business Success

The moment I heard that my friends Aaron and Noah (ages seven and five) were running a flower business by selling arrangements in the park with flowers they grew in their own backyard, I was seized with a dire need to document the story. The cuteness factor was just too overwhelming to live life another moment without action. Combine that with the fact that I will forever be indebted to their parents, Grant and Amy, for providing a safe and encouraging environment for all three of my children to thrive in our church’s youth group, well… it would be a very small way to express my undying gratitude.

What I experienced went way beyond what I ever expected. A salesman was being born right before my eyes (watch for when Aaron convinces two women to buy two arrangements instead of one because they couldn’t decide which one they wanted). And his description of what happened with the cone flowers made me laugh so hard, I broke the boundary of “the silent interviewer.” Their stamina for work was impressive at such young ages… a quality we can all be inspired by. Noah’s “sideman antics” are to die for, Aaron’s powers of articulation go well beyond his seven years, and the simplicity and beauty of their arrangements are stunning. I especially enjoyed watching everyone’s response to them. The boys were professional and respectful in all their dealings… and the response was beautiful to behold.

Grant and Amy, thank you for all you do for our church community and for my children in particular. I am grateful for your tireless work and for the parenting example you set. Your children have become precious to me.

August 24, 2015

What Can You Do With All These Lady’s Thumbs?

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It happens every August, and maybe it happens to you too: we’re being invaded by Lady’s Thumbs. They grow in all the places that can’t be reached by the lawn mower. Here’s what they look like as you come up our driveway:

But if you pick them and squinch them up next to each other, they are so much prettier!

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July 26, 2015July 27, 2015

Are You Paying Close Attention to Your Bee Balm?

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I love our bee balm; it brings the hummingbirds. Seems like an awful lot of trouble for a being to get his dinner… sticking his beak into each one of those flowers (or whatever those individual petal thingies are) while flying at the same time.

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July 24, 2015July 26, 2015

Dinner Conversation with Rachel & Abigail

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Rachel: What kind of flowers are those?

Me: Here! Here’s the [wildflower idenfication] guide. Take it out there. Is it Wintercress? Golden Alexanders? Yellow Milkwort? Go look at it!

Rachel: My life is hard.

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Abigail: I’m feeling really poopy… literally… I just pooped a lot.

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Me: I LOVE GOOGLE CALENDAR! You can just make up all kinds of crazy events [that you want to have happen], fill in all the blanks, and invite whomever you want! Press send, and VOILA! Stuff happens.

Rachel: That’s too much power for you to have.

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April 20, 2015July 27, 2015

It’s Spring, & I’m Taking Pictures of Dead Things

"Beads" of the Bead Fern Onoclea sensibilis

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A miracle happened today: I actually raked out some of the beds in our yard today before it became an impossible task with all the plants coming in. This has never happened once in my life.

I started out thinking I would take pictures of the beautiful bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), which, by the way, I think is a far superior flower to the non-native crocuses, daffodils, and bluebells. (Am I wrong? Aren’t all of those flowers non-native?) Those other flowers are such a slap in the face compared to the gradual awakening inspired by the bloodroot.

I did take pictures of the bloodroot. I love how they’re like, “We’re busting through this leaf floor NO MATTER WHAT!” and I find it very humorous that they don’t even bother growing around the leaves, they just grow right through the middle.

Anyway, as I was packing up to go back inside, I was taken with the fertile fronds of the sensitive fern left over from last year. My sister, I call her Poupie, takes very cool photos of lots of dead things (ha! Go visit her blog and see for yourself!), so I wanted to take some photos for her.

But then I got to wishing for the sensitive fern and knowing that they didn’t have nearly the chutzpah of the bloodroot, I thought I better rescue them from all the leaves that had piled up over them. It turned into a two-hour raking session. That’ll probably be the extent of my gardening for the year.

I learned that the fern is also called Bead Fern, and the fertile fronds on these are also called beads. These are for you, Poupie! I decided that different processing brought out different cool qualities of them, so here are six different processes on the same photo:

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August 31, 2014July 27, 2015

Yay for Dead Leafhoppers & Asiatic Dayflowers!

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I suppose I have weird obsessions. I’ve been wanting to photograph these Asiatic dayflowers next to my garage for weeks now. As soon as you even look at them funny, they start to wilt, though, dang it. I just love the structure of the flowers.

And leafhoppers are my very favorite insect of all time with their funny little faces. But you can NEVER photograph them, because they’re always HOPPING! Imagine that. So imagine my delight when the universe brought me not one but TWO DEAD LEAFHOPPERS IN ONE DAY! Their expressions leave a bit to be desired, but perhaps you can get the idea.

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