Hello, my friend! I could just feel my heart swelling and beating with excitement looking at your photos. Oh, how I wish I could be wandering on the land here intimately inspecting every flower but, alas, the biting flies are relentless this year. I have to completely suit up to go outside and it's hot and humid so I feel a bit like a human sauna. I know it's good to sweat, but... And yet, I know how important bugs are to our environment so I'm keeping my complaining to a minimum. In mid-August I will be free to roam again un-assaulted. This morning I was up to greet the sun and took my binoculars and was taking in the beauty all around me. I pinch myself every day. Seeing the magnification of Nature (like in your photos) takes us to a whole other level, doesn't it?
Those closeups of Yarrow had me swooning. I just picked some yesterday along with Mugwort and Willow to hang on my kitchen door. They are all wonderfully protective plants. Thank you, again, for sharing my Yarrow post on your Yarrow post. :)
I have a Turkey family of five who come by every day. First, they eat the seeds I've left for them and then they do tick management for me. :) A young black Bear has discovered their leftovers and has come a few times to nibble on the seeds and the Clover that blankets the grass. The name Buddy flew into my head when I saw him, splayed out on Turkey Rock, nibbling away. So Buddy he is. I stood in my doorway just twenty feet from him. No fear, just awe. He looked at me with curiosity - my friend says he's probably three or four - and then hobbled away down the hill and into the woods. I never thought I'd be living somewhere where the only reason I have to lock my doors is because of the Bears. They are very clever and I'm pretty sure Buddy would love the Wild Alaskan Salmon I eat. :)
Gavin, I'm reading the book "Rooted" per your recommendation and loving it. Although I'm way more interested in the Nature and Spirit part of it than the Science. :)
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos. Wish I could smell them. The Milkweed is in full bloom here and the Monarchs have arrived! The first time I smelled Milkweed was in a meadow in Upstate NY. I will never forget it. One of the best scents on Earth. Well, there's Pine.
Ok, I'll stop. This is turning into one of those comments that's more like a post! Much Love to you, my Nature-loving friend! 🌸🌳💚
Greetings my friend! :) I was actually thinking of you when I walked up in the high alpine flower fields and was able to identify (and then respectfully harvest) some alpine yarrow foliage and blossoms for making tea. It is funny you mention being eaten alive by winged insects as that was the plight I faced up at 7000 feet above sea level near the beautiful lakes where I took many of the pics above (mosquitoes, midges and black/horse flies). I ended up deciding I would use the fact that I was being eaten alive by bugs and the fact that I was surrounded in potent medicine plants and trees rich in essential oils as an opportunity to test out what plants could most effectively deter blood sucking bugs when applied to my skin/cloths as a poultice.
I used my senses and intuition as measurement instruments to gauge what might work best for that intended purpose. First I tried spruce (mushing up some new growth between my palms and applying to the areas the bugs preferred to attack on my body) it worked okay.. they avoided the area where I had applied the poultice but then began targeting other areas of my body. Next was Balsam Fir, it worked slightly better, the bugs avoided about 6 inches away from where I directly applied the mushed up foliage to my skin/cloths. Lastly (but not leastly) ;) I tried Yarrow. After receiving the amazing aroma therapy blessing gifted to me when I massaged the alpine yarrow foliage and blossom buds between my fingers (feeling enlivened, refreshed and nourished just from the aerosolized essential oils I breathed in) I applied the poultice to my skin and cloths. The effect was immediate, the various blood sucking bugs wanted nothing to do with me and hovered about one foot away from my body in a big cloud (not touching my skin/cloths even once as far as I could tell for over half an hour after the application).
If you have not tried using yarrow to to make an insect repellent mixture of some type I highly recommend it. I suppose it is possible that my success in using yarrow to repel insects in the way I did may have been (in part) due to the particularly potent essential oils that were present in the alpine yarrow that worked so well for me in my case (I have read that high alpine growing conditions potentiate the production of medicinal compounds and essential oils in plants) but it worked like a charm for me and I immediately thought of your love of yarrow and your situation with the bugs where you are.
That is so cool about the turkeys and the bear! :) I grew up in Whistler, BC where bears frequented our backyard (one time I went to get my shoes from under the trampoline in our backyard when I was about 8 in the morning and found my self nose to nose with a black bear waking up haha). They were mostly peaceful and majestic beings to be around (unless you let them get into your garbage then they could get a bit intense). I did not see any bears up in the alpine on the trip we were just on but I did hang out with a family of mountain goats on a mountain peak. Check it out: https://archive.org/details/dsc-0248_202307 :)
I am so glad you are enjoying Rooted (I have the same feeling regarding it's contents). I am still only one third through the book as I have several on the go (some of them being more practical manuals I need to reference for current garden/reno projects) but enjoying it so far. I was somewhat surprised by how 'Christian-centeric' the book is but I am striving to stay open hearted to the grounded, humble, compassionate and at times especially insightful messages it's pages offer (despite my misgivings with organized religious institutions such as Christianity). I will check back in with you when I get through it and we can compare notes/thoughts :) Thanks for letting me know you are reading it!
Milkweed!! I actually smelled it for the first time about a week ago near the Okanagan River in BC, what a heavenly honey-esk scent. I recently rescued a few plants from the weed wacking squad at my place of work and intend on introducing them to my garden. Have you ever tried using parts of Milkweed for food or medicine?
I love your comments and always appreciate you stopping by. Wishing you many enchanted, peaceful (and hopefully black fly free) moments in nature this summer.
Hi Gavin! Yes! Yarrow is one of the best bug-fighters around. Thx for the reminder. I'll admit to being a bit lazy about putting anything on. And then I whine when I'm itching all over. I made a Yarrow/Witch Hazel infusion and as soon as I finish typing this I'm going to go put some in a spray bottle. Or, I'll go back to doing what you did and just rub some on me. I don't like using essential oils much anymore. (If you care to go down that rabbit hole, check out April Graham and her thoughts on them. She just published a book and is getting a lot of hate because of it.) https://www.wildwoodapothecary.org/essentialoilfree/tag/April+Graham)
Milkweed is kind of off-limits for me because it's the food of the Monarch and they are just too darn precious in this day and age. So, I leave it all for them and the other pollinators.
Totally agree with you about the book - we're on the same page about religion - I'm also only about a third of the way through. Kind of picking and choosing chapters. I have to admit though that I loved the first chapter about Frog church. I was raised a Catholic and went to Catholic school for 12 years, so her telling of that part of her childhood was sweet. Looking back, I loved the music and the incense and the beautiful old churches. What a scam, though. Especially "confession" to an often creepy old man priest. :(
Sounds like you had a magnificent trip but I don't know how you could endure the bugs. I don't last long and am finding myself spending way too much time indoors, dreaming about mid-August when they'll mostly be gone. The no-see-ums got me yesterday when I dared to sit outside on a rare sunny day. Oh well! We need bugs so I'm trying not to complain. Too much. xo Barbara
That is very interesting regarding "essential oils". I suppose I have been using that term very liberally (and at times inaccurately) as I rarely purchase industrially steam distilled volatile chemical compounds and mostly either use whole plant material to make infusions into oils, alcohol or water (which contain a broad spectrum of phytochemicals, including but not limited to essential oils) or I buy extracts from companies I know to harvest and process respectfully, so I appreciate you sharing that link and info. I`ll have to research the pertinent subject matter further before I render any kind of general judgment on whether or not "essential oils" are as problematic as the author of that article alludes they are but I do appreciate the heads up. I make my own cheap version of essential oils via using an espresso machine to process the foliage of some plants, but really what I am making is just a really strong tea (hot water extraction) that I later infuse into medicinal preserves, foods or just drink strait up.
I respect and understand your stance on Milkweed but I have a slightly different view of the plant in the context of engaging with the plant reciprocally and harvesting for human food. For me (in the context of the honorable harvest, which applies whether I am harvesting in the wild, an abandoned lot or my own garden) the act of interacting with Milkweed as the Monarchs do (to accept her gifts of nourishment and medicine) is an act that serves to strengthen, proliferate and ensure the long term existence of that plant. What I mean is, when I harvest plant material in the wild I do also choose to propagate that plant in at least three ideal locations nearby (whether via seed or rhizome, after which I go back the following season to see that they are doing well, and if not, propagate again) so each time I harvest the quantity of that plant increases, not decreases. In the context of the garden, if people with respect for plants and butterflies like the Monarchs choose to cultivate Milkweed as an act of kindness as well as in order to nourish themselves that offers an impetus that is two fold for continuing to do so (which not only ensures food for butterflies but also ensures a resilient food source for humans going into the future).
Thus, when I choose to accept the gifts of nourishment from a plant (or fungi, or other being) I also take on the responsibility of helping that being's progeny to proliferate and thrive, I become a protector and guardian of that type of being, and that act serves to ensure that the food, medicine, soil/water protecting/building qualities and habitat which that particular being provides to others will be assessible beyond the scope of my lifetime.
Ultimately, it all boils down to how we interact with the beings that provide us nourishment. We can define ourselves as "takers" and a sort of cancer on the Earth (seeing humans as not being conducive to a thriving ecosystem) or we can define ourselves as one thread within a tapestry of reciprocity, giving, receiving, and contributing towards the resilience of the community we are a part of (human and non-human communities) whether we are eating a plant, planting a seed or just saying thankyou to those beings that nourish our spirit in non-physical ways).
Here are pics of a few pages from some books I have that reference Milkweed for some additional perspectives on interacting and engaging with Milkweed.
Yes, dogmatic religious institutions have pushed a great many scams in their time on this Earth. I found her Frog Church chapter to be very moving as well :) and I was intrigued to learn about that Saint that referred to all beings in Creation as brothers and sisters.
Yes the cost of the magnificent mountain lakes and forest had to be paid in blood at times, but for me, that place regenerates my heart and spirit in a way nothing else can, so well worth the cost.
Thank you for the thoughtful, candid and illuminating comment my friend :)
Hi Gavin, Yes for me it's just good to know another perspective about EO's. I rarely use them anymore, mostly because my system is just so darn sensitive.
And, regarding Milkweed - I don't have very much here and so that's why I don't harvest her at all. Of course, I harvest other plants that the pollinators love, too. Like you, I just try to do it with respect. :)
I know, there's something about lakes and mountains and forests that is so serene and rejuvenating. I still pinch myself that I LIVE in the Lakes Region at the foot of the White Mountains. I am literally surrounded on all sides. I will never ever take that for granted! Glad you got to spend some time there! xo B
Somewhere I wanted to yell, stop it! I just can't take anymore beauty! One after the other more glorious than the first. That magenta and blue against the green--I want a silk cape in those colors. And there can be no favorites among perfection but that painted tongue was gasp-worthy.
And that was after I cut down the photos to one third of the original batch I wanted to share from June! :) I do appreciate the kind words and apologize for the visual hyper-stimulation. I felt similar to what you described while hiking through the mountain side, the alpine fields and towering alpine ridges where I took many of the photos above. All the powerful and yet elegant fragrances of trees and flowers, the vibrant colors, crisp sounds of bird song, babbling brooks and waterfalls.. at times is was truly euphoric. It took being chased off the mountain ridge by thunder claps and lighting strikes to encourage me to return back down the the valley!
Yes indeed, it was a gift my wife gave me and it really opened up a whole new world of perceiving beauty, form, geometry (and being able to glean wisdom from) nature.
Love all of this. Personally reminds me of beautiful Larch: we travelled along highway 3 and the luminescence of those trees, especially against the beautiful green of other trees, was awesome. What a trip!
Thanks my friend! Many of the pics in the post above were taken on our vacation out west in the mountains of BC. We live in southern Ontario (once a gorgeous Carolinian Forest horizon to horizon that was only broken by the beauty of the Great Lakes, but now an endless wasteland of GMO corn and soy fields with spatterings of strip malls, walmarts and cloned replica homes in urban suburban sprawls). I know there is still beauty here in Ontario if one really looks with an open heart, but I godda tell ya brother, it does hurt looking out at what humans have done to the ecosystem here after being in the wilderness out west.. it really takes an advanced sort of mindfulness and buddhist type gratitude practice to see the contrast between the two landscapes and yet still be able to be at peace and satisfied with this degraded landscape. I try to do my part to help it to regenerate (planting at least 20 trees a week if I averaged out the whole year) but the pressure on what little forest and intact ecosystems remain in Ontario are myriad and backed by significant, multi-generational money-ed interests, so it is tough. Thanks for the chance to vent.. and for the comment
Twas a pleasure to see your photos and video and read your comment of the wilderness of out west in the mountains of BC. Plus I like learning of your wild harvest seeding practice, something that seems practical and logical to me, kinda happens when you pick and disturb stuff by hand. I also enjoy the sacred geometry of the flowers, that spider web in video was marvelous, my favorite Native Western Australian(I'd grown up and live here now) flower is Spider orchids, my Pop and Nanna on Mum's side of family were florists. The Northern hemisphere's biosphere has always called to me., less poisonous bugs, spiders and snakes :) trust me you never want to be done over by the spiders or itchy grubs from here, you have to try your best to avoid them, sometimes you forget in the moment ;) . I understand your vent completely, how overall corporate structures and farming have raped the biosphere, it never had to be that way either which is a shame. On a positive note, energy, housing and farming practices can change for the better. I lived out Bush in Queensland, cattle and citrus country mainly, some spots had the corn, sorghum, wheat, barley and oat. The old timers left the trees on top of the hills, as the transpiration would encourage more rain to drop. They were all cut down in the 1950's for more grass lands and fences, then diesel and petrol water pumps, took all the fresh ground water off the top to feed grain crops for dairy production, that lasted 20 years. The aquifers are mainly all salt now, still good to water beef cattle and Lucerne, due to high calcium content. Along the side of the roads, native wild flora and fauna survives as it connects them to National parks. So there is a remnant to rebirth from. I seen my first marsupial sugar gliders on my old hobby farm, I had lots of trees along my road, quite a few on the farm, there was one species of eucalypt that produced abundance of nectar and sap.
I've a tip for you, if you ever grow Dragon fruit, tiny black ants that eat fungus from wood, are also attracted to the nectar of Dragon Fruit. Took 10 years to get that to fruit, no pollinators, till those little black ants, like the ones you get in the house in the wooden window seals over time.
Thank you very much, but as you rightly alluded, the real credit should go to the artist, I just do my best to be a keen observer of the beauty that is painted by Creator and allow my lens to capture some small part of the essence of that beauty to share with others.
Thanks! I do love my delphiniums. They make a lovely companion near pine trees in a blueberry patch as both plants love acidic soil and it invites pollinators in :)
Thanks for checking out my photos and for the comment. I agree Mother Earth tops it all :) so called A.I. "art" pales in comparison to the ancient beauty woven into existence by Creator and Mother Earth.
Hello, my friend! I could just feel my heart swelling and beating with excitement looking at your photos. Oh, how I wish I could be wandering on the land here intimately inspecting every flower but, alas, the biting flies are relentless this year. I have to completely suit up to go outside and it's hot and humid so I feel a bit like a human sauna. I know it's good to sweat, but... And yet, I know how important bugs are to our environment so I'm keeping my complaining to a minimum. In mid-August I will be free to roam again un-assaulted. This morning I was up to greet the sun and took my binoculars and was taking in the beauty all around me. I pinch myself every day. Seeing the magnification of Nature (like in your photos) takes us to a whole other level, doesn't it?
Those closeups of Yarrow had me swooning. I just picked some yesterday along with Mugwort and Willow to hang on my kitchen door. They are all wonderfully protective plants. Thank you, again, for sharing my Yarrow post on your Yarrow post. :)
I have a Turkey family of five who come by every day. First, they eat the seeds I've left for them and then they do tick management for me. :) A young black Bear has discovered their leftovers and has come a few times to nibble on the seeds and the Clover that blankets the grass. The name Buddy flew into my head when I saw him, splayed out on Turkey Rock, nibbling away. So Buddy he is. I stood in my doorway just twenty feet from him. No fear, just awe. He looked at me with curiosity - my friend says he's probably three or four - and then hobbled away down the hill and into the woods. I never thought I'd be living somewhere where the only reason I have to lock my doors is because of the Bears. They are very clever and I'm pretty sure Buddy would love the Wild Alaskan Salmon I eat. :)
Gavin, I'm reading the book "Rooted" per your recommendation and loving it. Although I'm way more interested in the Nature and Spirit part of it than the Science. :)
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos. Wish I could smell them. The Milkweed is in full bloom here and the Monarchs have arrived! The first time I smelled Milkweed was in a meadow in Upstate NY. I will never forget it. One of the best scents on Earth. Well, there's Pine.
Ok, I'll stop. This is turning into one of those comments that's more like a post! Much Love to you, my Nature-loving friend! 🌸🌳💚
Greetings my friend! :) I was actually thinking of you when I walked up in the high alpine flower fields and was able to identify (and then respectfully harvest) some alpine yarrow foliage and blossoms for making tea. It is funny you mention being eaten alive by winged insects as that was the plight I faced up at 7000 feet above sea level near the beautiful lakes where I took many of the pics above (mosquitoes, midges and black/horse flies). I ended up deciding I would use the fact that I was being eaten alive by bugs and the fact that I was surrounded in potent medicine plants and trees rich in essential oils as an opportunity to test out what plants could most effectively deter blood sucking bugs when applied to my skin/cloths as a poultice.
I used my senses and intuition as measurement instruments to gauge what might work best for that intended purpose. First I tried spruce (mushing up some new growth between my palms and applying to the areas the bugs preferred to attack on my body) it worked okay.. they avoided the area where I had applied the poultice but then began targeting other areas of my body. Next was Balsam Fir, it worked slightly better, the bugs avoided about 6 inches away from where I directly applied the mushed up foliage to my skin/cloths. Lastly (but not leastly) ;) I tried Yarrow. After receiving the amazing aroma therapy blessing gifted to me when I massaged the alpine yarrow foliage and blossom buds between my fingers (feeling enlivened, refreshed and nourished just from the aerosolized essential oils I breathed in) I applied the poultice to my skin and cloths. The effect was immediate, the various blood sucking bugs wanted nothing to do with me and hovered about one foot away from my body in a big cloud (not touching my skin/cloths even once as far as I could tell for over half an hour after the application).
If you have not tried using yarrow to to make an insect repellent mixture of some type I highly recommend it. I suppose it is possible that my success in using yarrow to repel insects in the way I did may have been (in part) due to the particularly potent essential oils that were present in the alpine yarrow that worked so well for me in my case (I have read that high alpine growing conditions potentiate the production of medicinal compounds and essential oils in plants) but it worked like a charm for me and I immediately thought of your love of yarrow and your situation with the bugs where you are.
That is so cool about the turkeys and the bear! :) I grew up in Whistler, BC where bears frequented our backyard (one time I went to get my shoes from under the trampoline in our backyard when I was about 8 in the morning and found my self nose to nose with a black bear waking up haha). They were mostly peaceful and majestic beings to be around (unless you let them get into your garbage then they could get a bit intense). I did not see any bears up in the alpine on the trip we were just on but I did hang out with a family of mountain goats on a mountain peak. Check it out: https://archive.org/details/dsc-0248_202307 :)
I am so glad you are enjoying Rooted (I have the same feeling regarding it's contents). I am still only one third through the book as I have several on the go (some of them being more practical manuals I need to reference for current garden/reno projects) but enjoying it so far. I was somewhat surprised by how 'Christian-centeric' the book is but I am striving to stay open hearted to the grounded, humble, compassionate and at times especially insightful messages it's pages offer (despite my misgivings with organized religious institutions such as Christianity). I will check back in with you when I get through it and we can compare notes/thoughts :) Thanks for letting me know you are reading it!
Milkweed!! I actually smelled it for the first time about a week ago near the Okanagan River in BC, what a heavenly honey-esk scent. I recently rescued a few plants from the weed wacking squad at my place of work and intend on introducing them to my garden. Have you ever tried using parts of Milkweed for food or medicine?
I love your comments and always appreciate you stopping by. Wishing you many enchanted, peaceful (and hopefully black fly free) moments in nature this summer.
Hi Gavin! Yes! Yarrow is one of the best bug-fighters around. Thx for the reminder. I'll admit to being a bit lazy about putting anything on. And then I whine when I'm itching all over. I made a Yarrow/Witch Hazel infusion and as soon as I finish typing this I'm going to go put some in a spray bottle. Or, I'll go back to doing what you did and just rub some on me. I don't like using essential oils much anymore. (If you care to go down that rabbit hole, check out April Graham and her thoughts on them. She just published a book and is getting a lot of hate because of it.) https://www.wildwoodapothecary.org/essentialoilfree/tag/April+Graham)
Milkweed is kind of off-limits for me because it's the food of the Monarch and they are just too darn precious in this day and age. So, I leave it all for them and the other pollinators.
Totally agree with you about the book - we're on the same page about religion - I'm also only about a third of the way through. Kind of picking and choosing chapters. I have to admit though that I loved the first chapter about Frog church. I was raised a Catholic and went to Catholic school for 12 years, so her telling of that part of her childhood was sweet. Looking back, I loved the music and the incense and the beautiful old churches. What a scam, though. Especially "confession" to an often creepy old man priest. :(
Sounds like you had a magnificent trip but I don't know how you could endure the bugs. I don't last long and am finding myself spending way too much time indoors, dreaming about mid-August when they'll mostly be gone. The no-see-ums got me yesterday when I dared to sit outside on a rare sunny day. Oh well! We need bugs so I'm trying not to complain. Too much. xo Barbara
That is very interesting regarding "essential oils". I suppose I have been using that term very liberally (and at times inaccurately) as I rarely purchase industrially steam distilled volatile chemical compounds and mostly either use whole plant material to make infusions into oils, alcohol or water (which contain a broad spectrum of phytochemicals, including but not limited to essential oils) or I buy extracts from companies I know to harvest and process respectfully, so I appreciate you sharing that link and info. I`ll have to research the pertinent subject matter further before I render any kind of general judgment on whether or not "essential oils" are as problematic as the author of that article alludes they are but I do appreciate the heads up. I make my own cheap version of essential oils via using an espresso machine to process the foliage of some plants, but really what I am making is just a really strong tea (hot water extraction) that I later infuse into medicinal preserves, foods or just drink strait up.
I respect and understand your stance on Milkweed but I have a slightly different view of the plant in the context of engaging with the plant reciprocally and harvesting for human food. For me (in the context of the honorable harvest, which applies whether I am harvesting in the wild, an abandoned lot or my own garden) the act of interacting with Milkweed as the Monarchs do (to accept her gifts of nourishment and medicine) is an act that serves to strengthen, proliferate and ensure the long term existence of that plant. What I mean is, when I harvest plant material in the wild I do also choose to propagate that plant in at least three ideal locations nearby (whether via seed or rhizome, after which I go back the following season to see that they are doing well, and if not, propagate again) so each time I harvest the quantity of that plant increases, not decreases. In the context of the garden, if people with respect for plants and butterflies like the Monarchs choose to cultivate Milkweed as an act of kindness as well as in order to nourish themselves that offers an impetus that is two fold for continuing to do so (which not only ensures food for butterflies but also ensures a resilient food source for humans going into the future).
Thus, when I choose to accept the gifts of nourishment from a plant (or fungi, or other being) I also take on the responsibility of helping that being's progeny to proliferate and thrive, I become a protector and guardian of that type of being, and that act serves to ensure that the food, medicine, soil/water protecting/building qualities and habitat which that particular being provides to others will be assessible beyond the scope of my lifetime.
Ultimately, it all boils down to how we interact with the beings that provide us nourishment. We can define ourselves as "takers" and a sort of cancer on the Earth (seeing humans as not being conducive to a thriving ecosystem) or we can define ourselves as one thread within a tapestry of reciprocity, giving, receiving, and contributing towards the resilience of the community we are a part of (human and non-human communities) whether we are eating a plant, planting a seed or just saying thankyou to those beings that nourish our spirit in non-physical ways).
Here are pics of a few pages from some books I have that reference Milkweed for some additional perspectives on interacting and engaging with Milkweed.
https://archive.org/details/milkweed2023/IMG_sef9420.jpg
Yes, dogmatic religious institutions have pushed a great many scams in their time on this Earth. I found her Frog Church chapter to be very moving as well :) and I was intrigued to learn about that Saint that referred to all beings in Creation as brothers and sisters.
Yes the cost of the magnificent mountain lakes and forest had to be paid in blood at times, but for me, that place regenerates my heart and spirit in a way nothing else can, so well worth the cost.
Thank you for the thoughtful, candid and illuminating comment my friend :)
Hi Gavin, Yes for me it's just good to know another perspective about EO's. I rarely use them anymore, mostly because my system is just so darn sensitive.
And, regarding Milkweed - I don't have very much here and so that's why I don't harvest her at all. Of course, I harvest other plants that the pollinators love, too. Like you, I just try to do it with respect. :)
I know, there's something about lakes and mountains and forests that is so serene and rejuvenating. I still pinch myself that I LIVE in the Lakes Region at the foot of the White Mountains. I am literally surrounded on all sides. I will never ever take that for granted! Glad you got to spend some time there! xo B
Somewhere I wanted to yell, stop it! I just can't take anymore beauty! One after the other more glorious than the first. That magenta and blue against the green--I want a silk cape in those colors. And there can be no favorites among perfection but that painted tongue was gasp-worthy.
And that was after I cut down the photos to one third of the original batch I wanted to share from June! :) I do appreciate the kind words and apologize for the visual hyper-stimulation. I felt similar to what you described while hiking through the mountain side, the alpine fields and towering alpine ridges where I took many of the photos above. All the powerful and yet elegant fragrances of trees and flowers, the vibrant colors, crisp sounds of bird song, babbling brooks and waterfalls.. at times is was truly euphoric. It took being chased off the mountain ridge by thunder claps and lighting strikes to encourage me to return back down the the valley!
I am glad you enjoyed the photos and if you wanna try to grow those Patagonian painted tongue flowers here is where I got my seeds: https://www.rareseeds.com/salpiglossis-grandiflora-mix
And that super-closeup lens of yours is magical!
Yes indeed, it was a gift my wife gave me and it really opened up a whole new world of perceiving beauty, form, geometry (and being able to glean wisdom from) nature.
Love all of this. Personally reminds me of beautiful Larch: we travelled along highway 3 and the luminescence of those trees, especially against the beautiful green of other trees, was awesome. What a trip!
I will add that to my road trip wish list :) Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
Beautiful photography, you live in Gods country. :)
Thanks my friend! Many of the pics in the post above were taken on our vacation out west in the mountains of BC. We live in southern Ontario (once a gorgeous Carolinian Forest horizon to horizon that was only broken by the beauty of the Great Lakes, but now an endless wasteland of GMO corn and soy fields with spatterings of strip malls, walmarts and cloned replica homes in urban suburban sprawls). I know there is still beauty here in Ontario if one really looks with an open heart, but I godda tell ya brother, it does hurt looking out at what humans have done to the ecosystem here after being in the wilderness out west.. it really takes an advanced sort of mindfulness and buddhist type gratitude practice to see the contrast between the two landscapes and yet still be able to be at peace and satisfied with this degraded landscape. I try to do my part to help it to regenerate (planting at least 20 trees a week if I averaged out the whole year) but the pressure on what little forest and intact ecosystems remain in Ontario are myriad and backed by significant, multi-generational money-ed interests, so it is tough. Thanks for the chance to vent.. and for the comment
Twas a pleasure to see your photos and video and read your comment of the wilderness of out west in the mountains of BC. Plus I like learning of your wild harvest seeding practice, something that seems practical and logical to me, kinda happens when you pick and disturb stuff by hand. I also enjoy the sacred geometry of the flowers, that spider web in video was marvelous, my favorite Native Western Australian(I'd grown up and live here now) flower is Spider orchids, my Pop and Nanna on Mum's side of family were florists. The Northern hemisphere's biosphere has always called to me., less poisonous bugs, spiders and snakes :) trust me you never want to be done over by the spiders or itchy grubs from here, you have to try your best to avoid them, sometimes you forget in the moment ;) . I understand your vent completely, how overall corporate structures and farming have raped the biosphere, it never had to be that way either which is a shame. On a positive note, energy, housing and farming practices can change for the better. I lived out Bush in Queensland, cattle and citrus country mainly, some spots had the corn, sorghum, wheat, barley and oat. The old timers left the trees on top of the hills, as the transpiration would encourage more rain to drop. They were all cut down in the 1950's for more grass lands and fences, then diesel and petrol water pumps, took all the fresh ground water off the top to feed grain crops for dairy production, that lasted 20 years. The aquifers are mainly all salt now, still good to water beef cattle and Lucerne, due to high calcium content. Along the side of the roads, native wild flora and fauna survives as it connects them to National parks. So there is a remnant to rebirth from. I seen my first marsupial sugar gliders on my old hobby farm, I had lots of trees along my road, quite a few on the farm, there was one species of eucalypt that produced abundance of nectar and sap.
I've a tip for you, if you ever grow Dragon fruit, tiny black ants that eat fungus from wood, are also attracted to the nectar of Dragon Fruit. Took 10 years to get that to fruit, no pollinators, till those little black ants, like the ones you get in the house in the wooden window seals over time.
I don't like the ticky tacky houses either. :)
Stunning, spectacular, glorious!
Nobody paints like our Creator God! 💜
Thank you very much, but as you rightly alluded, the real credit should go to the artist, I just do my best to be a keen observer of the beauty that is painted by Creator and allow my lens to capture some small part of the essence of that beauty to share with others.
especially Love the blue delphiniums & blue butterfly! all the photos are magnificent!
Thanks! I do love my delphiniums. They make a lovely companion near pine trees in a blueberry patch as both plants love acidic soil and it invites pollinators in :)
Thanks for the nice photos. Mother Earth tops it all. OMG AI. OMG AI. yeah right????
Thanks for checking out my photos and for the comment. I agree Mother Earth tops it all :) so called A.I. "art" pales in comparison to the ancient beauty woven into existence by Creator and Mother Earth.