“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.”

—	Georgia O’Keeffe We interrupt this trip down memory lane to bring you SPRING!

Ok, it's Phoenix, AZ....springtime is brief here and I can already feel summer nipping at her heels. Still, everything is in bloom and the desert is a beautiful place to be.

 This is from the rose bush directly outside my front door. It was already there when I moved in so now I just get to enjoy it. The roses are pale pink in the center and bright pink at the edges of the petals. Stepping out the door to roses in bloom is definitely a happy moment!

The poppies have been planted by a neighbor in an old stone fountain in the center of our courtyard. Every day I have to run outside to see if there are any new poppies blooming.

This one seems to have just woken up! I love the soft wrinkled petals, just opening up to the sun.

Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without cactus blooms! The prickly pears seem to be among the first cactus to bloom, with the saguaros following later.

Springtime also brings the butterfly exhibit to the Desert Botanical Garden. I've gone several times but got lucky enough this time to see these white peacock butterflies.

Last but not least, a weary traveler stops for a quick drink from the aloe blooms! This was not the most cooperative hummingbird so I was happy to land at least one decent photo.

© All photographs on this site are copyright Deanie Houghtaling, and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.

My little slice of heaven.

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”     ― Henry David Thoreau

There's a reason I haven't started a blog before now--not enough time to keep up with it! Still, bear with me and eventually I'll learn to make time for this. 

I'm still in a reminiscing mood about my favorite little Mill Pond in East Setauket, NY.  I scanned in some old photos recently and am going to share them here today.  

I loved this little house on the pond with the heart shaped wreath. I imagined what it would be like to live here, to sit watching the geese on the pond while savoring a morning cup of tea.

 The sign on the post says "Please do not remove. It may save a life."

     

 Geese!  If you've ever read The Fledgling by Jane Langton, you'll understand my love of geese and ponds. I'm always on the lookout for my Goose Prince. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it.

Autumn at the pond--maybe my very favorite time of the year.

 This one came about as part of a photography class that I took at SUNY Stony Brook about a hundred years ago. I had just gotten my SLR and took a couple of classes to figure out how to use it. We also learned black and white film developing and printing so this photo is all mine from start to finish.

This place was heaven to me--I loved watching the flowers bloom in the spring and seeing the baby geese hatch.I loved seeing the leaves changing color in the fall. I would even go in the winter in the snow to make sure that the geese and ducks were still being fed.  I imagined living in that little house, being surrounded by nature at its finest--plants, water, animals, etc. What more could anybody want? 

Now that I'm in AZ, ponds are a bit harder to find although I have been able to locate a few and have even found some geese to photograph. In fact, I think I'm going to end this post with a recent goose photo from the pond at McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ.  I had a different subject in mind that day when I went out with my camera but when I drove past and saw the geese, I just had to stop for a while. This guy decided to show off for me. 

© All photographs on this site are Copyright Deanie Houghtaling, and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.