The flower season has begun in much of the northern hemisphere, but it takes a while for this part of the world to catch up.  It all begins with woodland flowers.  Those blossoms that crave both light and forest at the same time. That means they need to “get the job done” before the leaves choke out the sun.  Then the first prairie flowers and the marsh flowers bring color and beauty to our world.  Today is mostly about those prairie flowers.

As I browsed a few folders looking for today’s flower images, I was not looking for single flower macros, nor was I looking for groups of flowers that complemented a larger landscape, with mountains or some such thing. I wanted either fields or small bunches, where the flowers themselves were the stars.  In most cases you are looking at wide-angle shots with my lens set for hyper focal distance.  In other words everything covered in focus, from front to back.  The images were created in both little meadows and great prairies in Wisconsin, and in mountain valleys as well as alpine tundra in Colorado.  Usually I accompany these sorts of flowers with compositional comments.  How might explain I used a tree or even a building to balance out a field of flowers. Not a lot of trees etc. in these shots. No specifics today, let’s just celebrate the beauty they bring to our lives.

I would like to introduce to you the poetry of Shannon McManus.  Shannon is 12 years old and is wise beyond her years.  Her intelligence and talent are obvious and I intend to share other works from Shannon in the future.

Compassion by Shannon McManus

It is a warm freshly baked batch of cookies from your neighbor

It is a cool lemonade given to you after a sweaty hard day of working in the garden

It is the soothing words from someone you love after a horrific day

It is the gooey taste of a box of chocolates from a friend when you’re wearing a cast

It is the sweet smell of a beautiful rose given on a special day

It is a bunch bright balloons for a get well gift

It is the cozy blanket wrapped around you when you’re freezing cold

It is a warm embrace when you’re feeling down

Thank you Shannon and thanks to all of you who support this blog on a regular basis.   Wayne