A passion for peonies - Part 1

Some of my friends reading this blog may remember that last May and June I went a little crazy taking shots of peonies at my local Audubon Center. This year, I was disappointed that my camera was not working, and I was afraid I'd miss the peonies altogether. But luckily, I didn't have to! My camera + new batteries + 30 minutes + a visit to the peonies = more than 100 photographs and a very happy me!

This picture (above) shows the larger of the 2 beds of peonies at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. My first visit to take pictures was Tuesday, June 27th. Being so late in the season, a lot of the blossoms were rather bedraggled, and many had lost the majority of their petals. This did not deter me since I actually like the fading flowers as much as, or possibly more than, the fresh blooms.

I had to really hurry, because as you can see above, a storm was threatening. (This spring in Maine has been like monsoon season -- I think we've had about 8 weeks of on and off rainstorms.)

You can see the raindrops on the flowers above. [Please click on photos to enlarge them.]

I don't know anything about the different types of peonies. I've never been good at memorizing things like types of flowers or birds.



I just enjoy looking at them and photographing them.

Even the fallen petals on the ground are colorful and pretty.

There were a lot of bugs out and about, but I think a fly on a flower is a nice little embellishment.

You can see that the rain and the passage of time have left many flowers with brown patches.

And yet aren't they still really gorgeous? Kind of like trees in autumn -- resplendent in their last cycle of life.

I tried taking shots from different angles just to make the photos a bit more interesting -- like the one above.

There's something about the contrast of a pale pink petal with the brown edging that really grabs me.

I have many, MANY more photos, but I will share them with you in another post. I also want to fill you in on a really helpful book that I've been reading. Please stop back soon -- I'll be posting again within the next few days.

Wishing you a creative, relaxing, & beautiful weekend!!