Tag Archives: Cee's Midweek Madness Challenge

CMMC June Color – Yellow

1 Reply

“Oh! Hello!” The goldfinch at my home office window was a surprise five years ago. This picture of Iowa’s State Bird was taken through the windowpane glass.

Compared to the goldfinch, the yellow perch on the birdfeeder looks almost orange! It tended to attract house finches.

April visits to Reimann Botanical Gardens yielded more than a few photos of yellow daffodils and yellow tulips. Other yellow flowers were in bloom in early June.

My Aunt Clara has addressed the challenge of growing flowers in the Arizona desert by decorating her fence with a variety of “sunflowers” – found round objects painted yellow.

Posted in response to Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge June Color – Yellow. Click here to see Cee’s pictures and to find links for other responses to this challenge. It’s likely to make you smile.

CMMC June Close-Up or Macro Photograph

6 Replies

One of my early thoughts for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge June Close-Up or Macro photo challenge was a picture I took of the bark on a palm tree. But it wasn’t as interesting as I remembered. So I set out this morning to photograph the bark on trees along my usual walking path. (No palm trees here in central Iowa!)

Leaves growing directly from the trunks of trees caught my attention on the way home.

The spider on the underside of the leaf in the next photo was serendipitous. (Don’t worry, Cee, it’s the only one with a bug in this week’s collection.)

Finally, one set of leaves in the sunlight shown from two different angles.

CMMC – May Alphabet – Letter “G” in the Word

5 Replies
Saguaro Cactus. Desert Arroyo Park, Mesa, Arizona. May 15, 2021.

“Words with the Letter G” is the theme for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge May Alphabet. My photos this week were taken on a recent trip to Arizona to see family. So grateful to be fully vaccinated!

Golden Barrel Cactus. Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. May 16, 2021.

My sister-in-law and I spent a marvelous morning at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. We couldn’t talk anyone else into going with us!

Bougainvillea. Gila Bend, Arizona. May 18, 2021.

My aunt uses collected glass bottles to create “flowers” and “gardens” in her yard. These pictures of green glass fit Cee’s challenge well.

My last tourist type stop was Painted Rock Petroglyph Site near Gila Bend, Arizona.

Couldn’t resist one final photo: grandmother (right), daughter (left), and granddaughter (center).

Three Generations. Gila Bend, Arizona. May 19, 2021

CMMC – May Pick a Topic – Mural

3 Replies

My casual query after breakfast Sunday led to a field trip to see – and photograph – the 6th Street Mural in Billings, Montana. Thinking of Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge Pick a Topic from her Photo (see it here), I asked if there were any murals in Billings. Although he thought it a strange question, the young dad in the room quickly did an internet search. We soon had plans for after the baby’s nap!

I played in traffic and dodged pigeon droppings to get the sixth shot. The last picture was taken from the passenger seat as the dad drove under the underpass.

The mural was planned and the details painted by Elyssa Leininger. She had help from volunteers who prepared the walls and added wide swaths of paint as directed by the artist. Find more information about the mural and the process as reported by a radio station here and the local newspaper here.

CMMC – May Color – Purple: Flowers

4 Replies
Lenten Rose. Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University. April 3, 2021.
Hyacinth. Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University. April 3, 2021.
Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University. April 18, 2021.
Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University. April 18, 2021.
Johnny Jump Ups. Dilworth’s Yard, Billings, Montana. May 11, 2021.

Posted in response to Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – May Color Purple.

CMMC – May Close-Up or Macro Photo: Locks

3 Replies

Dad recently refurbished an old secretariat desk. Antiques Roadshow aficionados would not approve but I imagine without Dad’s efforts the piece of furniture would have landed in the landfill. He’s pretty pleased with result – from the chalk paint finish to the carving he imitated to the new lock and key.

While helping with the yardwork, I noticed the slide bolt for the shed. As far as I know there is no lock on it so no key is needed!

The deadbolt on the backdoor is a different kind of lock. It’s not as eye-catching as the lock on the desk, but it does what it is supposed to do.

Posted in response to Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – May Close-Up or Macro picture.

CMMC April Letter: “E” at the Beginning or Ending of a Word

1 Reply
Tricycle. Fisher Farm. April 22, 2021.

Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge is to share photographs illustrating words beginning or ending with the letter ‘e’. I considered words that begin and end with “e” – envelope and epistle made my short list – but opted to use photos I’ve taken in the last week.

The tricycle in the first picture is hanging upside down next to a four bicycles which are also dangling from the ceiling. Another fun find at a friend’s farm!

Gate. Reiman Gardens. April 26, 2021.

This gate made me chuckle since there is no fence on either side. I wonder if it is newly installed since I don’t remember it on earlier visits to Reiman Gardens. Perhaps something magically wonderful happens for those who walk through it.

Geese on Shore. Reiman Gardens. April 26, 2021.

The goslings have hatched! I first saw the nest in early April so it was fun to see the parental geese and their young.

Geese on Pond. Reiman Gardens. April 22, 2021.

Once on the pond, the little ones practiced how to dive under the water. Notice the splash one made in the final photo.

Geese at Play. Reiman Gardens. April 22, 2021.

CMMC April Pick a Topic from the Photo

1 Reply

Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge: Pick a Topic from her Photo was, for me, quite a challenge this week. Decided to just go with what I could find in my digital files: no moving trains, no bike helmets, no graffiti, no green hedges, no ladders. The two photos I found show deliveries on the way to undisclosed locations.

Windshield Wiper Framing Semi. Interstate 90, Western Montana. October 2, 2018.

Through a windshield does not create the highest quality photo, but it accurately shows a rainy, gray, fall day in the mountains! The illusion of the windshield wiper coming down on the cab of the truck was not planned but makes me smile.

Fruit Boxes. Interstate 82, South Central Washington. October 8, 2018.

Scenes of harvest in central Washington are quite different from the harvest scenes where I live. I had not imagined large crates of fruit being trucked from one place to another so they definitely caught my attention.

Both pictures were taken with a pocket camera from the passenger seat of a moving car as my best beloved took his turn driving. We were on our way to and from his oldest grandson’s wedding.

CMMC: April Color – Light Green or Neon Green

2 Replies

Figuring out what was light green or neon green was the hardest part for the April color week of Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge! Here’s what I finally chose.

Green Apples from Jack’s Tree. Central Iowa. October 2, 2017.
Frog. August 28, 2014.
New Evergreen Needles. Ankeny, Iowa. May 20, 2020.
Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University Campus, Ames, Iowa. April 13, 2021.
Panoramic Awareness Pavilion Panels (Sculpture by artist Olafur Eliasson). Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, Iowa. January 8, 2021.

CMMC: April Close-Up or Macro

1 Reply

As I looked at photos I took at Reiman Gardens last Saturday (April 3, 2021), I found three of the same tree that I think work for the April’s Close-Up or Macro Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge.

The shapes and patterns of both the flower buds and the unopened leaves are interesting.

But it was probably the color of the leaves that first caught my eye.

Because I knew I’d never remember it is a Wayfaring Tree Viburnum, I snapped a picture of the identification tag!