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.




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.
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!
“Bright Rectangles” is the photo challenge theme for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge being guest hosted by Becky at The Life of B this week. Go to Becky’s blog post here and Cee’s post here for a little background and to see their photographs with bright rectangles.
I took these pictures Saturday, April 3rd, at Reiman Gardens on the Iowa State University campus. Plants aren’t particularly rectangular, but plant identification tags, stone steps, stone walls, railings, bricks, windows and their various shadows are!
When I started a list of possible subjects for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge I soon had a long list of words with “ch” or “ck” in them. I finally chose childhood as a common theme.
While extracting my childhood rocking chair from the piles of stuff in the basement, I had to move a box of children’s books my mom brought to me rather than throw away. There was also a bag of vinyl records my husband couldn’t bear to see discarded, including a few child friendly recordings.
Three Charlie Brown stories by Charles Schulz!
The last two photos are from my archive. Taken at a special exhibit at Reiman Gardens a couple years ago, they are of larger than life-size childhood games.
My favorite of Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenges is the week we get to Pick a Topic from her photo. You can see it here. There are always so many possibilities!
I went on a photo scavenger hunt for Railroad Crossing Arms. My first thought didn’t work: boring gray sky and too much traffic. So I decided to head north on a road running parallel to the railroad tracks. Found a RR Crossing in Elkhart where one of the taller structures in town – a water tower – and some spring trees could be captured in one photo. Even better, the sun finally came out!
The picture of a road to Alleman with its grain elevators dates back a couple of years. I tried to duplicate it yesterday but the clouds in the original photo are ever so much better! Topics: road with yellow and white lines, tall structure, and blue sky with clouds.
The third photo is of the tallest building in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. And it’s one I’ve shared before – for a photo challenge with the theme “city.” Not only does it have a tall building, there is a traffic light too.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge the third Wednesday of February is to use her picture to pick a topic (or two or more!) for your pictures. Click here to see her picture; it shows yard/gardening tools as well as a portable outhouse on a trailer with trees in the background.
In my search for a picture (just one!) with a garden tool, I discovered photos of an old outhouse that had been hauled to the ranch dump. Tipped on its side, it’s definitely no longer in use!
Besides just general messing around with a camera in hand that day, Dad intended to dig a few potatoes. So here’s a picture of a shovel in use.
Same ranch, same characters, same intent and maybe the same shovel four years later. This time with trees in the background.
Finally, for a little winter work, here’s a broom and a snow shovel being put to good use.
Blue-Green was the February color for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge. I gathered the pictures and had them uploaded to share on a blogpost, but did not get around to finishing it. (Sigh.) Though more than a week behind, here it is.
It was a cold and foggy morning in central Iowa. Since Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge today is Macro or Close-up, I put on my winter boots, warmest coat, hat and gloves before heading outside with the camera to attempt to digitally capture the frost.
These are my three favorite pictures of the morning (2/3/2021). And I didn’t even have to leave the yard!
Hope the temperature is just right wherever you are! (Indoors, with a quilt and a hot chai latte.)
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2/3/2021: Just learned that the white stuff on the trees this morning was not frost. It was rime ice. There’s a difference that has to do with how it formed. Since it formed from freezing fog (think water droplets), it’s rime ice.
In her post for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge: Alphabet – Word that Ends in W, Cee included a photo of a window with a shadow that made me think of my first picture in response to the challenge. Being able to see things through the window as well as seeing the tree reflected in the window caught my attention.
Two pictures of snow, both taken while out walking.
There’s plenty of snow to photograph in central Iowa if you don’t mind being out in the cold. We finally had a day with enough sunshine to create a shadow on the snow.
As much as I like snow – and I do as long as it doesn’t interfere with safe driving – it needs balanced with a little color. Here at home, I walk by this row quilt every day. Each row in the quilt was a free pattern from a different local quilt shop. The theme was “Home Sweet Home” and the way the designers at each store chose to interpret home still makes me smile!
A few pictures in response Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – January Pick a Topic from [Her] Photo. All three of my photos were taken when I was in Montana visiting my parents in November and December. My topics: yellow, river, and clouds.
I took the picture of Clarks Fork National Bank in Fromberg because of the mural. But the yellow color of the building made it my first choice for Cee’s challenge.
These two pictures were taken at Riverfront Park in Billings. It was a beautiful December morning and I thoroughly enjoyed wandering the trails and traipsing along the Yellowstone River. Figuring out which river picture to share for the challenge was a challenge itself!
On my way back to the parking lot, I paused to take pictures of the sky over the pond. Clouds over trees and water seem to fit Cee’s challenge.