I blame Patty

My friend Patty was over the other day. She was showing me the note cards that she's made with some of her photos, and then we went outside so she could look at my beautiful weeds. When I saw her camera, I said, "hey... do you think my camera could do that?" She said that all digitals have "macros".Well now. You know how the Charlie Brown cartoons always portray the teacher's voice as, "waaa waaa waaa"? That's the sound I hear as soon as anyone tries to explain anything vaguely technological. Somehow she managed to get through. Patty and I go back to 7th grade, so she's been around when I learned a LOT of things I didn't want to learn.A cell phone is completely beyond me. Once I start pushing buttons, I'm lucky if it doesn't dial 911. Or the most recent wrong number (again). So for the past 5 years, I've just been taking really big pictures and cropping the snot out of them.
I'll just go ahead and apologize right now for what I'm about to do. It's beyond my control. All of the sudden, I can't stop thinking about flowers, buds, seedpods, weeds, grasses - and whether or not they can be captured. AND the camera can see better than I can! Give me a week or so to pull myself together and get over this crazed mania. In the meantime, the daylily buds are starting to look a lot like dinner...

This delphinium has been attempting to grow and blossom for 3 years now. No kidding! The resident groundhog (oh, don't get me started....) has nibbled it to the ground repeatedly each year, denying me this beauty. This year I put flexible drainpipe around it, and he didn't notice until it was too late. It was worth the wait.
The echinacea out in the front garden is preparing to bloom. Already you can see the pattern in the center that will become the rusty cone. Down by the pond the jewelweed is about optimum for harvesting. Those succulent stems are between 1/2" and 3/4", filled with juice, and still soft and pliable. It has not yet begun to bloom. Perfect.The Munstead lavender is already past the budding stage, blowing out flowers.The blush pink roses climbing up the front of the soap workshop are about mid-way through their bloom. They are one of my favorite colors, although looking over these pictures, I notice a lot of deep blues and purples....
An ornamental sage is spreading across the front walk, but it's so pretty I don't have the heart to tear any of it out yet. However, it does seem to provide my arch nemesis the groundhog with excellent cover, so you never know.In the field, the thistles are already flowering. The patterns in the buds and base of the flowers are perfect for copying in embroidery.Even the bursting heads on the top of the wild onions are so pretty to look at. I think I might have a problem. Again.... sorry. It is Patty's fault for showing me how to do this.