Camera Phone Friday–Nature Edition

I neglected to take my camera with my on our weekend getaway, but I did have my iPhone with me and used it.  I was pleasantly surprised (and pleased) at how well the photos turned out using the iPhone.  I am going to definitely remember to pull it out in the future when I see blog-worthy photo-ops. 

Here are some pictures, taken with my iPhone.  If you click on the collage, it’ll open to a larger picture.

1. Our hibiscus on the deck.  This is its 3rd summer out on the deck (we take it in to the basement for the winter).  We had at best a half dozen blooms in June … and nary a glimpse since then … until early this week when we found a good number of tiny buds.  We just might see a few more blooms yet this summer.  2. The Chihuly exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.  We visited on Sunday … it was a gorgeous day for a tour of the garden.  3. An orchid … inside the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  We learned that 10% of all plants on this earth are orchids … I didn’t know that and I didn’t really appreciate the beauty of orchids until Sunday.  4. Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  We took in a Cardinals-Rockies game Saturday evening … we got there plenty early, long before most everyone it would appear from this photo.  5. The Outer Banks.  Where we’ll be in exactly one month.  I can’t wait … I haven’t had any beach time since our Spring Training trip last March.  6. A clump of grass growing in the standing water in a gutter drain.  I saw this on my walk last night and thought it was strange.  Obviously these neighbors have a sprinkling system because we have had only 1/2 inch of rain in the last 2 months.  7. On Wednesday’s Hodgepodge, I answered one of the questions with “gathering shells”.  As most of you know, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beach (see #5 above) and enjoy gathering shells as we walk along the beach.  The shells in the glass container (sorry for the glare) are from our trip to Sanibel Island last year.  There are a few sand dollars there, from trips to Hilton Head.  There are some pieces of granite … from Hilton Head, Hunting Island State Park, Isle of Palms, and St. Simons Island.  And there are a few rocks from our non-beach trips – Rocky Mountain National Park and the Oregon coast.  8. This is “Lucky”, the “butterfly” that T#2 caught (actually it’s a moth, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that).  She has a butterfly net that she’s been wanting to use, so she brought it with her when the Ts came over the other day.  While the littles were napping, she asked me to help her.  I didn’t expect to be able to catch anything … especially when she’d move sooooo slowly trying to sneak up on the butterflies (aka moths).  So when she caught one, I was totally unprepared.  I had to leave her out in the empty lot behind our house, with the net on the ground, trapping Lucky while I had to run into the house, find a jar (spaghetti sauce in the fridge), clean it out, dry it, and poke holes in the lid … all so Lucky would have a “home”.  She took Lucky home with her that evening, and while she was trying to slip some grass (for food) into the jar, Lucky made his/her escape.  Fly away, Lucky. Be free!  (For those of you who aren’t parents or grandparents of toddlers, that’s a nod to a line from Cars, T#3’s favorite movie … although he’s also a big fan of Cars 2 – imagine that! ha!)