Grapevine Shadows

It's been a while since I had an opportunity to post to my very favorite meme, Shadow Shot Sunday. I've been rearranging my life a bit, and it's meant less time for photographing and blogging. That's okay, I'll be back in full swing at one point. Maybe just not this week :)


At any rate, one of the rearranging parts has included my walking back and forth to work three times a week. This actually does provide for a lot of previously unseen views, which I do my best to capture! Including this one - of a field, freshly carpeted in purple:

This isn't the only purple field that I've seen in our area - it's pretty common in the early springtime. But isn't it lovely! And I noticed that the vines make interesting shadowy lines onto the purple. How lucky! Feel free to click on the photo, if you'd like a (much) closer view.


And for more shadowy photography, do go and check out Shadow Shot Sunday, beautifully hosted at Hey Harriet. Happy Sunday, everyone!

An almost forgotten door!

I'm so glad that I went through my photos from our trip this past October! I had taken a photo of a strange, futuristic door that I found back then, and it almost slipped through the cracks:

Here, I'll try to give you some context. We were on a layover in France, and we were exhausted. I decided to walk around the airport terminal and look for a water fountain, so I could fill up my empty bottle of water (a great tip that I used this past trip - bottles of water aren't allowed through security, but empty bottles are, and they can be filled up after you get through! Assuming you can find a water fountain...). Anyway, there I was, strolling around, when I came upon this strange structure. I didn't see anyone come in or go out, but wow! What a sight!


Does anyone know what this thing is? Is it perhaps like this? (gasp.)


For more interesting architectural photography from all over, go check out Mary's blog: Window Views... and Doors, too! You'll be glad that you did! Have a great week, everyone!

Ruby Tuesday - Blooming Trees!

Here in Israel, the trees are blossoming all over - it's a truly beautiful sight. Everywhere you look you'll find these, they look and smell wonderful, and remind us that the winter is almost entirely behind us. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know if these specifically are almond blossoms, cherry blossoms, or something else all together, but I was pleased to get a shot of them nonetheless!

and a little bit closer:

Feel free to click on either photo, for a yet closer look. The second photo makes a particularly nice background for your computer screen - help yourself!


Naturally, I'm pleased that they fit so well for our Ruby Tuesday theme! To see more reddish photography, head over to Mary's blog, Work of the Poet, to see lots more. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Skywatch - flatline

Well, I haven't been online as much as I would like - I apologize! But I couldn't let the weekend come without at least posting something to Skywatch. I hope to be more active next week - I promise! Anyway, the weather has turned very warm and dry, with no clouds in sight. Not terribly exciting, I know, but a bit dramatic in its own way. Here is the sun just about to set, this afternoon:

And then, just after - here's the flatline that I was referring to :)

Pretty though - right?


Do go check out Skywatch Friday, that ever-popular weekly meme with participants from all over the globe! You won't regret the click. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Skywatch - from a few weeks ago

Sadly, this wasn't a great skywatching week for me - the skies went from cloud-free to so cloud-filled that there wasn't much to see. And so I'm glad that I have this photo from a few weeks ago that I can post! It was a good one!

Feel free to click on the photo to get a closer view! And for more sky-oriented photography, go check out Skywatch Friday, that weekly meme that attracts hundreds of participants from all over the globe! You'll be glad that you went. Have a great week, everyone!

Ruby Tuesday - finally, some red!

I've said it a few times, and I'll say it again: although I truly love participating in the Ruby Tuesday meme, I often feel that there just isn't that much red in my life. I know it's a little bit strange - maybe it's because I don't live in a big city? But whatever the reason, I find myself constantly seeking out red objects, and not finding an awful lot of them. And so imagine my surprise when I saw these lovely tulips growing near one of our local supermarkets, just over a week ago!

At first I thought that maybe they had grown accidentally, until I found more and more, all planted in  neat rows. How cheerful! 


For more reddish photography, do go to Mary's ever-popular meme, Ruby Tuesday. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

A Double Whammy Sunday

I found this somewhat poignant flower outside my office this week. What do you think?

Okay, fine - it is a little bit poignant. Just sitting there, all alone, amongst the empty branches. No? Anyway, here it is, a little bit closer up:

Feel free to click on either of the photos, if you'd like to see them even closer! 


Anyway, thanks to the interesting shadows - I especially like the ones of the stamens onto the petals in the second shot! - and to the flower itself, I'm going to post this to both Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted beautifully at Hey Harriet, and to Today's Flowers. Go check out both of them, you'll be glad that you did! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone! 

Skywatch - another week gone by

Well, I didn't have the bloggiest week - things have been very busy at work and at home. But there's always next week! They seem to go by so very quickly nowadays...


Anyway, here's the view I had while waiting for the bus late this afternoon:

Feel free to click on it, if you'd like a closer view! And for more sky-oriented photography from all over the world, go check out Skywatch Friday right now. You'll be glad that you did!

A decorative window

Here's a sweet little window that I found while visiting Kibbutz Tirat Tsvi not long ago. For those of you who don't know, Tirat Tsvi is not only a lovely place to visit, but also holds the record for the hottest recorded temperature in Asia! Nowadays it's not quite that hot, but still plenty warm :)

Anyway, I thought that the placement of these shutters was cute. They don't seem to be at all functional, but they do add a nice look!

Oh, and the ladybugs are nice too :)

For more architectural photography, go check out Mary's blog: Window Views... and Doors, Too! Have a great day, everyone!

Skywatch - a three part sunset

Here's the sunset that I was lucky to witness a few evenings ago. As I was leaving work, I found this:

By the time I got home it had melted into this:

And about ten minutes after that, into this:

(Feel free to click on any of the photos, if you'd like a closer look.)


As you all know, I'm a sucker for clouds. But I'm a real sucker for wispy clouds! Now that the days have been getting longer, I'll have a better shot at catching these great sky shows!


For more sky-oriented photography, check out Skywatch Friday, right now! You'll be glad that you did. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tsfat Architecture - that's all for now

Well, for the last few weeks I've been showing you the photos of interesting windows and doors that I saw in Tsfat this past summer. And here comes the very last installment of the series!

That's all, folks! Tune in next week for some more recent photography! And for now, go check out Window Views... and Doors, Too! graciously hosted by Mary. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

A personalized shadow

At my office/factory, we have a sandblasting cabinet. For those of you who may not know (as I didn't before I started working there) it's a kind of machine in which one can safely shoot very fine sand at an object; it's wisely in a cabinet so that the sand doesn't fly all over the place. It's used primarily for cleaning paint off of things, but has the interesting benefit of adding texture to things that it shoots. I noticed not long ago that people were using it to personalize their coffee cups, and decided to join in the fun. Basically, you cover your whole cup with protective plastic, except for the area that you want textured, and voila!

Naturally, the happy side-effect is the cool shadow now projected onto my desk! I guess we now have a newer version of this older post:

And so I just couldn't resist posting this to Shadow Shot Sunday! It's beautifully hosted as always at Hey Harriet. Go check out her weekly selection! And have a great week, everyone!

Skywatch - better late than never!

Well, sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. Not important things, mind you, just working full time and keeping the kids fed :) Anyway, I apologize for the delay in this post, but since I'm blessed with so many good sky views, I figured it can't hurt to post a little late. Hey, it's still Friday, after all! Here you go!

That's the sun rising, two mornings ago. Lovely, don't you think?


For more beautiful sky views, check out Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Some more interesting windows and doors... from Tsfat!

Well, it's Wednesday! Here's my next installment of interesting windows and doors from our vacation this past summer, in Tsfat:

How lucky for people to live in the midst of that beauty! I hope we get to spend more time in Tsfat the next time that we go. Tune in next week for the last installment!


And for more architectural photography from all over, go to Mary's meme, Window Views... and Doors, Too! You'll be glad that you did! Happy Wednesday, everyone!

A ruby - I think the end of my Christmas Cactus

Three years ago, the Christmas Cactus on my office desk flowered beautifully, and I happily posted the results. Wow, I can't believe I've been blogging here for so long!


Anyway, last year it flowered again, a little less intensely, but beautifully. The color is really special, and if makes the whole office happy for a few weeks each Winter. But last year, I noticed that making those huge blooms was apparently very stressful on my plant, and it never really recovered. A lot of the plant ended up dying altogether.


And so now I have a little left of my plant. Imagine my surprise to see that it made one last flower! I'm not sure that there will be anything left by next year, so I wanted to show you now, just in case. It starts out by making this interesting bud, and then starts peeling itself back:

There you have it - maybe the last flower! If anyone out there has any advice about how to save this poor thing, feel free to leave some advice in the comments!


And in the meantime, I'm enjoying the flower that I do have, and I hope you do too! 


For more reddish photography, go check out Ruby Tuesday, hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet. Have a great Tuesday, everyone! And a great week!