It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I missed out seeing these Iris beauties last year while I was cavorting in Washington State with my brother, Matthew...and my firlgriend, Lorie Joey. Jeff was kind enough to photograph them for me...so I wouldn't go through a complete springtime flower withdrawal and I appreciated it. This year I am able to see them and photograph them for myself and they're as beautiful as ever.

After following a wonderful Seattle photographer's blog for several weeks...I was inspired to create my own "signature stamp" for some of my photos. And the sand dollar image is one I've had on my List of the things to draw for a long while. So I converged the two inspirations and came up with this art stamp image. I uploaded it to my Adobe brush presets....and Voila! I can digitally stamp it anywhere.

Spring Showers

Is it any wonder that we have a lot of greenery here in the southeastern part of the U.S.? I read somewhere just recently that Alabama is the wettest state in the lower 48. On average, Alabama gets 55 inches of rain per year (Mobile gets 65 inches)...compared to Seattle's mere 37 inches. Even during a drought year, Alabama gets more rain than its sisters and brothers.

This video was taken yesterday, March 28, 2009. Today is a gloriously sunny spring day. The lake has receded closer to its normal levels, the kayak is at rest on solid ground and the bog lilies beneath the catalpa (catawba) tree are drying out their feet.

I really do love spring in this part of the country. Other places I've lived offer a charade of spring. Often cruel in its intentions. But Alabama invites me to start anew...sincere in its welcome to begin fresh...and maybe a bit chagrined, knowing what's to come and begging me to enjoy its offerings before the summer thermostat gets cranked up to HIGH.