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.
 

Reading in the bath tub

Another version of Alphabet Soup?

Reading in the bath tub?

What ever you call it...I call it good clean fun!
Love the little toothies.

His other grandmother is a speech therapist.
I think this would be a perfect photo for her to use on her business card.

 

He still has those big blue eyes.

And his trademark laser stare.
He is walking now and taking swim lessons.
I think his summer is going to be lots of fun!

How we spent (the rest) of Memorial Day weekend.

Sunday...we rested.
We were so tuckered out from all the work (see previous post!)
The house looked like it had been ram sacked by Huns.
Around one o'clock it was obvious that either we should tackle cleaning up inside or get outta town.
We chose the latter option.
A drive out to the Heber Valley and on to the Upper Provo River was a great escape and mini holiday.
Spring has brought forth the aspen leaves; driving through the green groves reminded us that aspen autumn splendor is only one facet of aspen beauty.

I love that we can drive along roads like this and hardly pass a single car, even on a holiday weekend.
(Guess my southern California upbringing haunts me still. There, a trip to the great outdoors is just as human congested as a trip to the mall on a sale day.)

We did make a note to come this way again in autumn.

Some year I want to do the autumn drives in a convertible....

After a bit we arrived at our destination:
The Upper Provo River.
Bernie and I have made lots of fishing trips to the Middle and Lower Provo.
This was our first "look-see" at the Upper portion.
The Jordanelle Reservoir is at the top of the photo above.

The spring run off has created water paths through meadows and even made for colliding streams; the wake in the middle of the picture above is where two streams met head on.

I just puttered along pathways while Bernie tried a bit of fly fishing.

The bird songs were delightful.
I saw several flashes of yellow meadow lark and could hear their sweet notes over the sound of the  running waters.

A few yellow flowers were in bloom.

The wooden plank walkways were just the thing to be able to walk over the flooded meadows.

Tiny streamlets pushed their paths through lush green grasses.

I watched as thunderheads began to form.

 

 

 

The colliding streams.

 

The cottonwood is in bloom.

I had not taken the time to really look at the blooms before.
Quite colorful.
The webby cotton that covers the buds was interesting.

 

I kept thinking my photos were out of focus until I realized the webby white on the blossom tips was actually there and not a focus error.

One meadow was solid dandelion puffs.

I couldn't quite capture the iridescent glow on each puff.

Next to where we parked our car there was this pavilion down a short pathway.
I thought it would be such a great place to have a wedding and reception.
The views in every direction were outstanding.
The price certainly was right...just a $100 cleaning deposit?
A multi flush toilet rest room was just a short walk away on the other side of the parking lot.

Apparently the swallows thought it was a perfect place to raise a family.
Cleaning deposit...eh.
Just try to collect that from a bird!

What a mess!

It looked as though one nest had already been knocked down by the rangers.
The bird looked a bit peeved.
I felt the same way.
The birds should nest somewhere else; I didn't even want to sit in the pavilion as long as the birds were active.

Back outside larger birds were soaring on thermal air.

The group of four...nest mates?

They looked so relaxed as they glided about.
I hadn't seen Bernie for about an hour and decided to head back to the main river to see if I could find him.

As I walked through a campground area along concrete walk ways I thought this really is a tame area.
The concrete ended at the river bank where I found myself exchanging stares with a marmot!

The critter stared and stared as I took slow steps to get closer.
He would duck down, then pop back up for another look at me.

So cute.

I was about five feet from him when he finally stopped popping back up.

Bernie was just a few yards away down the river.

Not great fishing water...too muddy and swift right now.
We are pleased to see that the camp ground area is quite nice though.
The newspaper had reported that all but a few Utah campgrounds were fully booked for the holiday weekend.
Guess they didn't know about this one...I saw three camp sites with campers and the rest went unused!

Just a few more random shots.

 

I like how this wild flower produces pink and purple blossoms side by side.

 

 

Even the dandelions look nice up close.
(I like them so much better when they are not "puffing" out on my lawn!)
 

The same dandelion, seconds later after a breeze whipped by!
We finished the day off by stopping in a small town named Camus for dinner at "Mike's Burgers".
Funny how you can tell when a small town diner has great food:
A steady stream of cars pulled in to the drive through, and another steady stream of folks went inside to order.
Grilling a burger at home should be easy enough, so why do so many folks come to a little restaurant instead?
One bite into our burgers let us know.
Was it the home made ciabatta buns or the sweet onions or the flavorful meat?
The tangy pickles?
The fry sauce?
(Utah prides itself on their fry sauce...it is a kind of catsup/mustard/something else mix that I have never found anywhere else).
Each bite we kept going "Oh my gosh! oh my gosh, this is sooo good!"
I won't even start on the FRESH banana thick real ice cream milk shake except to say we weren't the only ones ordering that amazing treat.
Crazy huh?
Good times in small town America.
Those that we honor on Memorial Day would surely approve that such a kind of day is enjoyed still in America.