Ruby Tuesday - it's been too long :)

Wow! It seems that Winter is really over - that sure was fast. I became convinced only after realizing that my red friends in the parking lot where I work were back in bloom:

Feel free to click on any of these, if you'd like to enlarge them. And of course, do check out more reddish photography over at Ruby Tuesday, hosted by Mary's blog: Work of the Poet. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Shadow Shot Sunday - A Patriotic Shadow

In all modesty, I think this is a cool shot!

This past week was Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. Here in Israel we get very patriotic, and hang flags all over our cars, homes, and billboards. And so... here's a shadow of the flag blowing on my always-windy balcony:

You can see a bunch of my previously photographed succulents saying cheese below the shadow :)

For more fun shadow photography, go to Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted at Hey Harriet. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Skywatch - an unexpected sunset

Here in Israel, there isn't really Spring. I mean, technically if you ask someone what season it is now, they might say Spring, but if we're being honest, we only have Winter and Summer. Spring consists of those days where the weather hasn't yet made up its mind. It will be broiling, sandals and short sleeves weather one day, and the next day cold and raining. That doesn't sound like Spring to me.

Anyway, I had thought we were pretty solidly into Summer, and then this morning was suddenly overcast and cold. And then it started raining! Wow. Anyway, the skies were gray all day, and I wasn't expecting to see the sky before dark. When all of a sudden, I glanced out my living room window, and found that it was semi-clearing, just as the sun was setting. Pretty cool, right?
Feel free to click and enlarge the photo, to get a better view. And do go check out more sky-photography, at Skywatch Friday. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

Happy Yom HaAtzmaut!

Today is Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day! We're all feeling very happy and patriotic, and I made some blue and white cookies, to match our flag:

Happy Birthday, Israel!

A Shadowy Flower, just right for two memes...

I've had some succulent plants on my balcony for several years now - they have a pleasing, cabbagy look to them, and they live through anything. They haven't changed much at all over these years, but they live, and I'm grateful to them for that :)

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I noticed that one of them had - how shall I say? Freaked out altogether. Check this out:

Do you see that? Right out of one of those cabbages, popped this huge, budding thing. What could be cooler? Anyway, the buds stayed there, unopened, for a couple of weeks, and finally started to open a few days ago:

I'm also fairly pleased with the fun shadow that it's provided :)

Anyway, here's one of the flowers, up close. Isn't it spectacular?

I'll post more as they open! Feel free, as always, to click on any of the photos, if you'd like to get a better look. 

Meanwhile, check out this week's Shadow Shot Sunday, for fun shadowy photography, hosted by Hey Harriet. And check out Today's Flowers, for more flowery photos. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Thanks, kids! Skywatch Friday

Ever since we changed the clocks, my family has had an easier time waking up in the morning. My kids knocked on my bedroom door yesterday morning around 6:35, and informed me that not only were they up and dressed, they had seen the sunrise. Apparently they were so enchanted that they ran to get my camera, so that I could see it too. How nice of them, right? Here's what I found on my camera:

I can understand the enchantment :)

Go check out more cool sky photography at Skywatch Friday. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

Controversial Windows

There are some apartment buildings in Jerusalem that I pass by pretty frequently. In the beginning I found them to be quite an eyesore, but as time has gone by, I've gotten used to them. I'm still not sure that I'd like to be the guy who lives on that connecting seam, though :)

Anyway, as I was waiting next to them at a traffic light  last week, it occurred to me that they are good candidates for Mary's Window Views... and Doors, too! meme. So I grabbed a couple of shots before the light turned green. I was surprised to discover later that day that these buildings have actually been in the news recently, for less than pleasant reasons. Anyway, here they are:

 

Like them or not, you can't deny that they're interesting! Feel free to click on either photo, if you'd like to get a closer look.

And do check out more window and door photography, at Mary's blog. That's where I'm headed right now! Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Ruby Red Tomatoes

My kids don't like salad as much as I do, but I like them to eat fresh vegetables. So every so often, I make a bowl that looks like this, and it gets finished pretty quickly:

Here in Israel, the cucumbers and tomatoes are sweet as candy, and our kids eat them accordingly!

For more reddish photography of the week, go check out Ruby Tuesday, hosted by Mary. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Succulent Flowers

Remember that wonderful succulent plant that I showed you last August? Well, it started flowering a couple of weeks ago. The only thing I like better than succulent plants are their flowers! Check these out:

Right? What could be better? Feel free to click on any of the photos, to enlarge them.

Check out more flowery photography, at Today's Flowers. And check out more macro photography at Macro Monday, hosted by Lisa. Have a great week, everyone!

A shadowy tree

When checking out the Jerusalem Forest a couple of weeks ago with my kids, I found this nice shadow. I had thought that the tree was too tall to get into one shot, but apparently its shadow wasn't :)

For more shadowy photography, check out Shadow Shot Sunday, over at Hey Harriet. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Skywatch - a modest sunrise

Here's a nice shot I got of the sun rising this morning. Now that we've changed the clocks, this may not be so uncommon :)

Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it, if you so desire. And do go check out more sky-oriented photography, at Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

I am grandmother to a bunny!

I wasn't sure if this was worth posting, until I saw that this week's Thursday Challenge is "SMALL ANIMALS" (Pets, Insects, Birds,...)

And so, just like that, this became blogworthy!

My children adopted a bunny yesterday. We've named her Caramel. Isn't she adorable?

Feel free to enlarge the photo to get a better look! But Caramel will still look pretty small, for now :)

Do go check out more small animal photography, at Thursday Challenge. Happy Thursday, all!

Jerusalem Windows

Here are some windows that I found this afternoon in Jerusalem. I don't know what it is that struck me about them - the colors, the flowers, just the general feeling, or something else - but I'm glad that I stopped to take this!

Please feel free to click on the photo to get a more detailed view! And for more Window Views... and Doors, too! check out that great meme, over at Mary's blog. Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

A lacy wildflower

Here's a pretty little flower that I found last week, while hiking in the Jerusalem Forest with my kids. Isn't it lovely?

According to this amazing site (where you can search for Israeli wildflowers by color - what could be cooler than that?), it's a Tordylium trachycarpum. Whatever it is, I like it a lot!  

Do go and check out other great flower photography, over at Today's Flowers. Have a great week, everyone!

Skywatch - glad I saved this

It's now officially Springtime here in Israel! Trees and flowers are blooming, and everything looks cheery, but those wintry, cloudy sunsets that I love are becoming a thing of the past. I'm glad that I saved a few nice shots from last month! Here's one of them from February - isn't it majestic?

I guess I'm going to need to find some non-sunset sky shots, for upcoming Skywatch Friday entries. Don't forget to go there, to see all sorts of beautiful shots, from around the world! Happy Skywatching! And Happy Springtime, everyone!