Simplify...

Dreamy garden isn't it?

The fleetingness of iris has made this scene now just a memory.
The pictures happily save the memory for savoring over and over again until next spring comes.
(Taken in my son's front yard...he who has cleverly planted his garden so as to be beautiful year around.)

Beauty by seasons...
Houses often will hold on to delights from seasons (or years) past.
This light fixture was just inside our front door entry area.
Cute isn't it?
So 1950s.
Originally it had a brassy colored collar which we painted oil rubbed bronze to match up with our hardware.
On a trip to Home Depot we spotted another fixture that had us re-thinking the original bubble dome style.

This...

Gave way to this.
The  drum shade design has been added to our house in several places over the past five years.

Over the dining table....

And the original too small drum that was over the dining table is now in our library/wine room.
Drum shades are so simple.
Clean, no fuss.

I've taken to using simple, clean, no fuss decorating as much as possible in my home lately.
For summer the mantle is bare. 
The room is decorated only with living plants and a photograph that I took in Colorado a few years ago.

It isn't  hung upside down.
The cloudy sky is being reflected in water.
It almost becomes an abstract piece of art until one figures out what one is seeing.

My simple by design bathroom (white tiles, smooth sink) makes a serene showcase for a vase of flowers.
Am I the only one who finds that having fresh cut flowers in the bathroom makes one feel special and prettier somehow?

Bernie and I both commented over and over again how much we enjoyed having iris in the bathroom.
After all...the flowers last just a day or two, so why not cut the stalk and bring it inside to be viewed up close?
The fragrance filled the room too.

I found that I dawdled in the bathroom,  looking at each bloom closely as it unfurled.

Eventually I had to drag out my camera and start clicking away.
It pained me to think that such beauty would never be seen again after the petals had withered and shrunk away.

Each inch of each flower offered visual delights.

 

Lines, textures, colors, shadows, scent...
Abstract design that composed amazing beauty.

And as long as I was in the mood to shoot, I went out side to photograph other one day beauties as well.

So sensual.

I am considering blowing some of these slightly out of focus shots and framing them for our bedroom.

 

 

 

Focused or soft focus....what do you prefer?

 

 

A complex symphony of colors that I only appreciated after taking a moment to study for a bit.

 

Roses seem rather plain jane compared to the iris...

Still beautiful with veins showing on petals.

Peonies...blooming for a week then gone as well.

Isn't it amazing that such a complex creation would be designed to only last a few days?

As my life is now simplified, opportunity to enjoy fleeting beauty is increased.

Sometimes I feel quite gluttonous; I stare and stare at the colors and textures, trying to drink all the beauty in at once.

Just the fuzzy lines on the center pod is enough to cause me to shake my head in wonder.

A sweet joke: the poppy's petal has the bud casing still clinging on.

Fingerprinted creation.

Each blossom unique.

The flower...is no more, save for the image that was gathered.
I have arrived at a season of simplified life.
Little is being demanded of me right now.
My efforts to simplify has paid off: I have a mostly blank calendar and a house that tidies up in a minute.
I am open to new ideas and new adventures.
Let's see what summer will bring.