Go ahead, pull one forward. These flowers have a job to do.
Ask any tenant in an urban apartment, “Where are the closets?” “Where are the shelves?” Well, you have to make things fit in small spaces. Ever hear of IKEA?
Close view of six patterned storage cubes in gray shelving, with the green floral cube and two pastel checked cubes pulled forward, revealing stored bathroom items.
Four floral cubes and two checked ones. There’s my six for Saturday! And somewhere behind all that pattern, the bathroom necessities get a place of their own.
The green one seems determined to be noticed.
Same six cubes, a warmer view. Look how the light catches those daisies. I do love fresh flowers in the bathroom. “Always keep flowers (and plants) in your bathroom!”
I can count these bathroom flowers without watering a single one.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Make Room for Beauty, Ha!
I’m all for giving our stuff a home, especially when I enjoy looking at the place it lands. Tell me where you’d put a few cubes of your own; we’re heading to the bedroom next.
“Which corner of your home could use some pretty storage?”
“Pretty can pull its weight around the house, too.”
— Robert
📍Savannah, Georgia
Collection Six on Saturday, Bathroom Flower, Bathroom Beauty
Captured with iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 18 Pro Max
Weekend Sky – Sky, Clouds, Star, Moon – Good Drink
The Sun’s on the Rim
Hold that pose, sunset. One more photo before I take a sip!
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Stay for the afterglow
Stay for the afterglow. Should I have another? I’ve settled in beside the pier, watching the light on the river. Tell me how you’d spend the rest of this evening.
What would tempt you to stay past sunset?
“Tonight, I’m giving myself the evening off. The river can do the running.”
— Robert
📍Matanzas River, Saint Augustine. Beaches at Vilano Resturant, Vilano Beach Pier.
Collection Good Drink, Weekend Sky, Sky, Clouds, Star, Moon
An October walk with Christmas colors growing wild beside the dunes.
The Flower Hour – Beach
Poinsettias? Here at the Beach?
Neal and I were walking one Thursday afternoon beside the sand dunes next to our condo at Ponte Vedra Beach. I love the fact we can do daily walks here. Red among all that green caught my eye, and I stopped to look. Strange plants.
Wild poinsettia? Only after I had some looking up to do!
I asked Siri and checked my go-to iNaturalist app, which then pointed me toward wiki and Euphorbia cyathophora. Poinsettias make me think of Christmas. Big red and green leaves, holiday cheer.
Yet here these were, pretty and plentiful beside the beach in September and October!
“I went out for a walk, and came home with a plant name I never expected to learn at the beach.”
– Robert
I have walked this very path for months, passing plants I am still getting to know. Then a Thursday afternoon comes along and… “Surprise! Something new!” Now I’ll be looking for these red markings when Neal and I pass this way again.
Once I started looking, those flashes of red were all through the greenery.
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
Walk This Path Again
I can know where a path goes and still have plenty to learn along the way. There’s the turn, there’s our condo, there’s the way down to the beach. Familiar enough that I could start thinking about what we’re doing afterward.
Hold on, Robert. You’re still on the walk! Slow down, be right here, right now. Give this stretch another look.
The Red Caught My Eye
Come closer and look at where that red begins. I learned that the colorful parts are leafy bracts around the tiny flowers. Florida Wildflower Foundation. A flower foundation, who knew?
A closer look gave me quite a bit more to examine than that first splash of color.
Those yellow-green centers would have been easy for me to overlook. Shades of green everywhere. The red certainly did its job of getting my attention!
Red Among the Green
Let your eyes wander through this patch with mine.
Everybody seems to have claimed a spot in this patch.Those rounded capsules earned a second look of their own.
Look how much is growing together beside our path.
I came to photograph one plant and kept finding more to look at around it. INaturalist goes hand-in-hand with my photography these day!
One more look before we continue our walk; I’m really getting acquainted with these beach neighbors.
A bit of red here, another bit down there. I can see how I walked past them.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Walk Beside Me Awhile Longer
We’ve still got a stretch of dune path ahead, and I’d enjoy hearing what grows along yours.
“What’s bringing a little holiday color to your October?”
“Wander, notice, observe, respond. I have to tell myself that, even when I passed this way yesterday. Today, Robert, look again.“
An overnight guest, a floor disguise, and an unexpected flight.
Monochrome Monday · Macro Monday · Insect World
Wait, Look Down Again
A moth flew through the condo’s open sliding doors during the night. Our ocean facing condo shines light into the infinite darkness of night and attracts all manner of flying insects. “Thud!” “Plunk!” Another hit on glass walls.
By morning, we couldn’t find him anywhere. Strange! Well, where could a moth go in here?
Yes, there is a moth in this photograph. Take another look.
“I looked at the floor. Then I looked for somebody on it.”
– Robert
Oh! There he was, tucked into the marbled pattern beneath our feet. Look again with me. He nearly fooled this photographer!
Not Even an Antenna Twitch
Once I spotted him, out came the iPhone. Well, at first I actually told Neal to stay out of the “photo zone”. He has a habit of disturbing my desired subjects before I can get one shot.
Up close, his wing markings gave me plenty to photograph.
Quite the cooperative model. I hadn’t even asked him to hold still!
I moved around him, trying several different angles. Not even an antenna twitch. As you can image. That had me wondering.
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
Camouflaged Life
I walk across that floor every day without giving its pattern much attention. After finding our visitor, I started looking at the flecks and patches around him. The floor suddenly had details worth stopping for. How many times had I crossed it while looking somewhere else?
Now that I’d found him, I wondered what else I’d been walking past.
Out on a photo walk, I’m ready to notice things. Inside the condo, I’m usually headed from one room to another. Apparently, I had decided the interesting wildlife would wait outdoors. This fella had other arrangements.
Not Home Alone
Our visitor appears to be a Deadwood Borer Moth, and he had found a remarkably good match for his wings. With two adults and a dog trampling around the condo, how had he avoided getting “squished” underfoot? Keen survival skills, a bit of luck, or both? I kept taking photographs while he stayed perfectly still.
Little fella, are you ignoring me?
By then, I thought he must have been dead. When I lifted him, he suddenly looked a much darker, warm brown. So peaceful and kinda curled up.
Woe!!! A moment later, his wings became a blur and he launched from my hand. So Alive, then!
Okay, Robert, this fella may need something besides another photograph.
My photography session had become a rescue mission, complete with a brief and highly uncoordinated chase. TIB: Our little mister moth was much better at flying than I was at directing traffic. At last, he was safely released from the condo balcony to carry on life outdoors in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Those wings had plans I knew nothing about.
Dressed to Match Marble
Before his sudden departure, I had time to save these closer looks.
I could spend a while following those markings. Apparently, I did.Another angle, same remarkably patient visitor.
The fine lines and scattered dots are easier to follow at this distance. As you can see, step back just a little though, and his outline starts getting lost in the floor again.
The Brown Side of Our Guest
Oh! There was a whole other view tucked underneath.
In my hand, I could finally see the brown underneath those pale wings. In my mind I thought, “Had he changed color? Or had I finally seen his other side?”
“Flutter!” A very brief viewing, as it turned out!
A very brief layover on the Robert express.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Come Compare Your Moth Vision
The pale floor views draw me toward monochrome yet that warm brown underneath has me thinking sepia. Are my eyes playing with me? Tell me which treatment you’d choose, and bring back any surprise visitor who turns up before our next photo chat.
Who was your last uninvited houseguest?
“Sometimes a tiny life needs rescuing, even when it insists on flying away from the rescuer”
Sunday afternoon at Ponte Vedra Beach, and the sea oats are blowing in the breeze. I’m walking beside the dunes, looking at those gorgeous golden-green heads. Already a reason to stop! Neal walks ahead, as usual, not noticing I’ve stopped.
The beach is over there, with powerful waves rolling toward shore. But these sea oats keep moving, and I keep looking. “Hold still a second!” Well, that’s asking a lot in this wind. I guess it’s steady hands and a quick shutter click.
Yes, the iPhone 18 Pro lets you adjust shutter speed now! Please keep up!
“My Sunday beach walk already has a stopping place, and I haven’t reached the sand. Walk a bit, stop a bit. My kind of rules!”
– Robert
Right beside the path. How could I walk past these?
So beautiful! Look at how close they are to the path. The dunes get a fair share of my beach afternoon.
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
Which Way Am I Looking?
The path keeps me moving beside the sea oats; the powerful waves keep drawing my eyes toward the shore. I’m doing quite a bit of looking sideways for someone out on a walk!
Hold Still, Just a Second!
Up close, those seed heads give me plenty to marvel at. Nature can really surprise me when I get close enough to look.
Challenge: Getting these guys into the frame while they’re moving? There’s the fun.
The waves had plenty to say while I was looking over here.
Beyond the grasses, the waves roll in and lap against the shore. The blue sky looks almost painted. I can look over there again in a minute.
Another Look, Different Colors
These shapes deserved a look in color and a different treatment, too. A little variation. That’s the spice of life!
All those overlapping little shapes. Yes, I took another photo!A change of color, and those edges catch my eye all over again.
The gold and green caught my attention first.
In the toned version, I find myself following the edges.
Well, they certainly know how to fill a frame.
There’s room for one more look before I move along. And then another. Thanks for walking with me. You know how that goes!
One last look with the ocean still in the background.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Tell Me Where Yours Leads
My path brought me alongside the dunes, with plenty of reasons to stop. Tell me where yours takes you; I’d enjoy having another place to picture on my next Sunday walk.
Walking along or stopping to watch, what catches your eye first?
“Give me sea oats to watch and waves to listen to, and I can enjoy a whole beach afternoon with dry feet.”
Six Word Saturday – Wildlife: Reptiles – Sidewalk Scene
Everywhere Neal and I Look
After last night’s rain, Neal and I walked down the sidewalk from the condo in Ponte Vedra. There sat this fella on a wall, peering between the green, twisty spider lily leaves. Brown anoles are among Florida’s most familiar lizards.
Walking around the condo grounds, these little guys can be found in various colors and sizes. They scurry, leap and climb everywhere and on everything. On plants, yards, tree trunks, fences, and walls. They love to eat insects, juvenile green anoles and other brown anoles. I am truly surprised that we haven’t discovered a dead one in the condo yet.
“I’ll just take your picture. Go find some breakfast, little guy.
– Robert
“You can take my picture. I’m keeping an eye out for breakfast.”
Back to mealtime. Be careful, though. Something else may be hunting for a quick bite.
Snack, snack!
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
My Feet Can Wait
Not wanting to step on the tiny things that scurry about, I’m watching where I put my feet. My attention pans over to the wall. Our walk can wait a minute. This is Florida. There is green everywhere, but I’ve spotted someone “Brown”.
A Table Between the Leaves
A leafy little table for one. Bring your own bugs.
Ok Robert, don’t get too close! There is no way to know how long this anole has been holding still waiting for an insectoid morsel to get within striking distance. Slowly put the iPhone back into your pocket.
Keep an Eye on the Neighbors
Breakfast lookout, yes. But watch who’s looking at you!
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Who’s Out After Rain?
Our walk brought us face-to-face with this fella. Tell me who’s sharing your stretch of sidewalk once the rain stops.
“Who made you watch your step on your latest walk?“
“Shake a bush and everybody moves. I only came over to take a picture!“
