During the late summer harvest of the wheat and hay fields here, the air is full of dust which causes the moon to appear the most vibrant of orange. Sadly my night photography is not up to par to capture the full magnificence that this scene had. I thought this photo would be appropriate for the date however, Halloween. I have duplicated this entry on my Palouse Daily Photo blog.

Clematis like this one are so fast growing and once they flower are gorgeous. We have two of them, this pink one as well as a purple one that grow 12 feet up this chain link we have attached for them on the south side of our deck and arbor. They provide a great amount of shade during the heat of the summer and attract bees and butterflies to the back yard. I am thinking of adding another vine like this one to our front planter to shade the front porch and door in the coming summer.

I love train trestles. I can't say why, but they really appeal to me. This old wooden one runs along Idaho Highway 95 South of Lapwai, and is one of several along this stretch of the road.

Our back yard is fully terraced with railroad ties. We have 4 larger lawn and garden areas and several narrow ones that wrap around and have daffodils and tulips planted in them. The lower two tiers of these also are covered with English ivy. This was the first daffodil of the year.

The funniest thing happened this spring. Well not so funny really when I think of all the damage that was very nearly done to my garden, but on June 10th, it snowed. Yes, June 10th. Just when we had thought perhaps winter was truly over...but no. And outside my front door I captured this pretty black iris almost ready to open and topped with a snowy cap. The iris did bloom a few days later, so all was not lost. :)

The vibrant orange color of the poppies in our back yard is a real focal point from any of our back windows. We have a patch about 15 x 15 feet and for about a month and a half, they are just glorious. When the seed pods ripen and the flowers die, it isn't so pretty though, and I am considering moving them to the upper most terrace along our back fence so they will still be beautiful to see, but not so obvious when they don't look so wonderful. It is going to be quite a project if I ever get around to it.

The fragrance from the three lilac trees in our back yard is heady during the spring and early summer. I just love them. Our chickens love them too and enjoy scratching in the shade below looking for bugs to eat!

Before I moved to Idaho, I really didn't have much experience with tulips. I am an Arizona native and the climate in the Valley just isn't conducive to these beautiful flowers. Our first year in Idaho in 2001, we rented a beautiful...if slightly dilapidated and totally UNinsulated old farmhouse built in 1890. It sits on a hill and overlooks a gorgeous meadow as well as rolling wheat fields and Moscow Mountain to the North. I had purchased these tulip bulbs during a brief stint in California and planted them when we arrived in Idaho. They bloomed in June that year and I was thrilled with them...and this capture.

This summer we made quite a few trips south to Winchester Lake in Winchester, Idaho to take the kids fishing. One of the scenes along the way is this one of the valley in which the Clearwater River flows. This is looking East. During the majority of the year, this river is home to an abundance of fish, especially Steelhead and Chinook. Sometime I am going to try my hand at catching one.

When I see daisies, I am instantly transported back to my youth and the plucking of daisy petals in the age old, "He loves me, he loves me not." game (which was NEVER accurate in case you were wondering!). I have killed countless numbers of daisies in this way. These days, I love seeing them in my yard...and I don't pluck their petals.

This little bee was happily going from flower to flower among the hyacinths in search of pollen to take home to his colony. Every year when the bees start buzzing around, I wish for the proper equipment so that we may keep bees and collect their honey. Living in town makes this maybe not such a great idea!

Crocus are the very first harbingers of spring in my yard. I have these white ones as well as yellow and purple ones. They pop up through the last of autumn's leaf debris and the snow to let us know that winter is nearly over.

This past winter was a very loooooooong one. I thought it was never going to end. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about winter...from having to shovel the drive, to sledding with my kids...but when it is overcast, I crave the sunshine and all things bright and spring-like. This Easter Cactus sat on the windowsill in my sewing room and as you can see from the very grey, very overcast sky in the background, these beautiful pink blooms were a much appreciated bright spot for several weeks.

This is the first picture I ever took of the Pansies that grow in my side yard. When we moved into our current home in 2004, it was full summer and I had no idea until the following spring what an amazing variety of flowering plants reside in our yard. You will get to see them all in this blog at some point or another!

It is a hard call for me to pick my favorite flower between sunflowers and poppies. They are both wonderful in their own unique ways. I just love the vibrant color of these poppies and the way the petal edges ruffle.

To celebrate my 41st birthday, I decided to begin a blog just for my photography. I mostly love taking photos of my children, but that is closely followed by flowers and scenes from nature. My wonderful hubby gifted me with the type of camera I have always wanted, and taking photographs teaches me how to use it, so the more the better! Since blogging is something I also enjoy, it seemed like a great birthday gift to myself to combine them both into one. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Sunflowers and poppies are my favorite flowers. I took this photo of the sunflowers that my youngest son and I planted and posted about it on my Palouse Daily Photo blog. This is my favorite flower photo to date.