Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy.

Caribbean rain cloud
(taken in Cozumel, Mexico)

"Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate."

~Meredith Grey

Flowers

Today's theme is: photography of flowers in my yard, when I am not eating cupcakes (scroll for the orchids on the table at Georgetown Cupcake!) or wandering around Washington DC.

Butterfly bush buds.

Backside of pansy petals.

Tiny white flowers from an unknown bush (B&W photo).

Hyacinths.

Rose with Photoshop's "Paint Daubs" filter applied.

Tiny fruits next to tiny leaves on a not-so-tiny shrub.

Orchids on the table at Georgetown Cupcake
(*highly* recommended, btw... most awesome cupcakes on the planet!)

The National Cathedral, Washington, DC
(which I passed on the way to Georgetown for cupcakes!
Can you tell what the highlight of the day was? heh.)

Pansies, taken with iPhone.

Lily, taken with iPhone, also with "paint daubs" filter.

I'm not sure what this is but found it in the front yard. Looks like a scallion growing upward. I'm pretty sure it's a "weed" but heck, even roses would be considered weeds if unwanted, so I hesitate to denigrate what looks like an interesting plant.

Colorful and entrancing macros by Photographer Debra Wall

I am simply enamored. I want to take photos like this someday. Check out photographer Debra Wall's Flickr photo set - she has over 70 stunning photos in her beautiful collection, like these (and many more):


Dogwood by Debra Wall


Lily Stamen by Debra Wall


Daisy by Debra Wall


India Bangles by Debra Wall


Metal Leaf by Debra Wall


Marigold (?) by Debra Wall


Lily's Beads by Debra Wall

We are here to...

I took this photo of seed pods at Fort Ebey,
Whidbey Island, Washington.

"We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and die. The storybooks are bullsh--. Now I want you to come upstairs with me and get in my bed!"

—Nicolas Cage to Cher in Moonstruck