Saturday, September 10, 2011

A Morning Walk

Yesterday Jo and I walked around our lake. We do this at least once a week, right after our kids have left for school. Often we start our walk in the fog and finish it in brilliant sunshine. We almost always see wildlife, watch birds - it was during one of those walks that we discovered the owls' nest.

While we walked and talked (that's of course the other pleasant thing we do!) Jo bent down and lifted up this beautiful leave. While we both admired the colors and the beautiful pattern on it, it hit me that this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue is "Patterns". So why not highlight nature's patterns? For me, nature is the most accomplished artist. So I took a few pictures of the leave before we left it where we found it.


This had opened my eyes, and we were both looking for more patterns. We did find a lot - here are our two other favorites. The first one is poison oak - isn't it interesting how something that can hurt you so much is so beautiful?


The other favorite was this tree bark - I just love it and I'm very tempted to incorporate it in some work or other. The colors were so rich and the texture so yummy - I could do an entire blog post just on this bark.


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17 comments:

Deborah Tisch said...

This afternoon I took a walk with two dear friends, along with our cameras, and I also found some lovely leaves on the walk. Hard to believe that fall is on it's way, isn't it? The colors on the leaves you show here are just beautiful, a work of art on their own. I also love the tree bark with all it's varied color and texture. Thanks for sharing the beauty you found!

patty said...

"Nature is the most accomplished artist." I'm sure it won't surprise you to know that I wholeheartedly agree! Walking in nature with a camera?? Doesn't get much better!! Amazing what you can find when you don't have any expectations but just go with the flow and keep your eyes open. Beautiful images!!

Kay L. Davies said...

I love all the colors on the first leaf. But poison oak? Very scary.
Tree bark, however, is one of my favorite things! No two trees have identical bark patterns. Similar, yes. Identical, no.
Good thinking, Carola.
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Carol said...

Awesome photos and I"m so IN LOVE with that bark....! Tomorrow I must get out with my camera and tour nature :)

Chantal said...

the signs of fall

Marianne said...

Walking through the woods with my camera and a few dogs is one of my daily routines. I have more photos of leaves, trees, bark and moss than I have of my children.

Kat W said...

Stunning photos Carola! Wow - they beautifully illustrate the wonderful patterns found in nature. Gorgeous rich colours and vibrant detail. Fab!

Kat :-) X

bluegiraffe (Sherry) said...

These are absolutely stunning!!!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

As always, you have found an ideal example, this time of patterns for this week's IA challenge. I would never have known that was poison oak. Yes, it is lovely. I don't believe I've ever seen it before. I guess I need to walk with you.

That bark is phenomenal. I see lots of patterns, but even more than that, I see layer after layer of imagery and beauty.

Anonymous said...

So love nature's patterns :). Thanks for sharing.
Stay inspired!

Craftymoose Crafts said...

No question about it--nature sure has the best patterns! Beautiful photos for the challenge!

Nancy said...

I'm noticing many different leaf patterns too. So pretty. Your photos are great, Carola! I'll have to look at the meme you mentioned. Sounds interesting.

CherryPie said...

They are all very pretty and the leaves remind me of the turning colours on our trees here.

Lynn Cohen said...

You did find exceptionally beautiful pieces of natures art. I love looking for this same kind of art.

Chantal said...

OT BTW I will be gone for a few weeks, vacation break, so be back at the end of this month!

Maria Ontiveros said...

Very cool! One of the assignments for this week in the photo class I'm taking was to take pictures of nature and focus on the "texture." It was fun. I took several pictures of lichen and one of a spider web. I'm sure they'll end up on my blog eventually.
Rinda

Darla said...

Your photo's are wonderful. I really like the fact that you stopped and really looked at patterns. Isn't it great when inspiration kicks in?

Darla