Growing Things

I've been spending most of my writing time over the past two weeks pounding out an original fiction submission for Untold Press for a new anthology they are putting together. The first direction I chose simply didn't work at all. After several days I abandoned it and chose a different direction. The second theme worked much better, but it was hard writing. Some parts just jumped from my brain to my fingers, other parts were slogging through the marshes being eaten by midges. After the initial write and editing it several times, I decided I needed new eyes.and sent the story off to two friends to read through for me. Thank goodness for friends. Errors were found, comments were made, and I'll have a stronger story after I'm through implementing their suggestions. I'm much happier about the story now.

The flower ball almost floats above the water in the Sunken Garden room.

On Sunday DH and I went to the Como Park Conservatory for several hours of photographs and warm air. We had a really lovely time wandering all over and playing with our cameras. DH is starting to get more comfortable with his camera and starting to take some decent pics, and I was very pleased on my hunt for textures and colors. So, since today is a crazy day and I'm running really, really late, I'm just going to put a few pics up for sharing.

I loved the patterns that the palm fronds made against the sky.

The thorns on the trunk of the Silk Floss Tree are very
random but so amazing.

This fluffy guy is the European Ran Palm. It's actually soft to the touch.

These thorns were narrow, long, and wicked. A very protected tree.

The gentle colors moving up this palm frond were so attractive.

My friends in warm climates will laugh at me, but I fell in love with oranges on the
tree, even if they were quite small. They're so colorful and pretty.

I took a lot of pictures of this palm. I adore the ombre coloring of the base.