@PHSgardening Philadelphia Flower Show 2022 and Photography Competition!

 Philadelphia Flower Show

In Full Bloom

We loved the 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show "In Full Bloom"! The show is open to the public from June 11th to Father's Day, June 19th. This was the second time outdoors in the historic FDR Park located in South Philadelphia.

We took public transportation, which wasn't a great experience. Patco was strangely very light in ridership. We were thinking perhaps from so many people working from home. 

We encountered the homeless problem at 13th street station and could not walk underground to connect with the Septa line to get to the show; we went above ground and walked further down. Thankfully, we managed to get ourselves to Septa and on to the NRG station to get to the show. 

There was so much to see once we got there. Of course, we stopped at the Photography exhibit. Harry and I both had photos that made the show! Congrats to Harry for his spectacular photo of sunset taken in the New Jersey Pinelands at Franklin Parker Preserve. My image was a macro shot of an Italian Anemone (shown below). 

Anemone blooms are very interesting and quite beautiful. Out of the 48 accepted photos into the exhibition, of the 6 that got accepted in the category of Macro Blooms, two were Anemones! That is incredible considering there are thousands of varieties of other flowers that could have been photographed. 

 

We really enjoyed visiting the children's exhibit by Fresh Artists. The kid's comments about their artwork was heartwarming. What a wonderful innovative, nonprofit program. See below link for more information. 

There were so many gardens that we ended up missing a lot. As always, it is impossible to see it all in one visit. The pollinator gardens were great. Hopefully more people replace a patch of their lawn grass with a mini meadow with pollinator and native plants.

This year we made it to the Olmstead Pavilion and Wow! what a sight. Valley Forge Flowers created quite an impressive display loaded with cascading orchids.

My pictures don't do it justice. It really was spectacular and was still in great condition by the near end of the show when we saw it. 

I also loved that the flower baskets surrounding the walkways on the show grounds included my favorite coleus, Inky Fingers or a variety similar.

As we were leaving we saw people getting a watering can sprinkle of water to cool off from the 90+ degree heat of the day! All in all it was a terrific show and we can't wait to attend again next year. 

Special thanks to all who worked so hard in organizing the flower show and everyone who participated in the competitions - the creative works are inspiring!

Related Links

Young Fresh Artist and their Art Bloom Big at the Flower Show

Photographs and blog post Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Enjoy the Outdoors this Summer! Check out my nature photos taken yesterday in the NJ Pinelands #Happy4th @ConserveNJ

Enjoy the Outdoors!
 

Another great weekend to explore South Jersey and take a walk in the NJ Pinelands. And, as always we took our cameras.

Our happy place is Franklin Parker Preserve with its pristine wetlands. Below are a few of my photos taken on our walk yesterday. Harry took some photos too. He may post some of his on Fine Art America. 

Take a look; the clouds really add to the photos; what do you think? There was a lot of bird activity too, especially in the wetland grasses; even baby birds being fed.

As the sky was darkening, we made our way back to the car before another round of much needed rain.

Franklin Parker Preserve Wetlands - by Diana Wind

Preservation Mirror - by Diana Wind

Wetlands Wonder - by Diana Wind

Free as a Bird - by Diana Wind

That's all for now. Stay well. Enjoy the holiday!

Happy Fourth of July!

ps: Also, just fyi, the email blog post service will be stopping soon from Blogger. I'm not sure what other service to switch over to. Any ideas, please let me know. In the meantime, to read future posts, you may have to log on.Thanks for reading! -DW

Related Links

Franklin Parker Preserve

Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

@journeynorthorg Annual Monarch Migration #NJ @PinesAlliance @cumberlandctynj

New Jersey Monarch Migration

Monarch butterflies in New Jersey are headed south as their annual fall migration continues. Yesterday, along the bay shore, we saw lots of Monarch's feasting on the native yellow goldenrod plants located in the front of East Point Lighthouse along the dunes. 

East Point Lighthouse is located on the Delaware Bay at the mouth of the Maurice River in Cumberland County. The area is along the edge of the federally designated Pinelands National Reserve.

The lighthouse overlooks the Delaware Bay and is the second oldest lighthouse in NJ. It was fully restored in 2017 after a fire in 1971. I was surprised how many people were touring and visiting at the time of our visit. 

We kept our masks on and decided not to go inside the lighthouse until after the pandemic. It was open though for those who wanted to see the gift shop and the view. Instead, we took a walk to the waterfront.

And, yes, I reported our Monarch sightings on Journey North (see link below)! I had hoped to see more Monarchs at our home in Mt. Laurel, but even with all our milkweed plants, this year we have hardly seen any compared to last year.

We also saw a beautiful Common Buckeye butterfly mingling in with all the Monarch activity!

Related Links

Fine Art America prints and greeting card of Common Buckeye photo by Diana Wind

Visit NJ East Point Lighthouse

Monarch Migration 

Journey North Report Your Monarch Sightings!

Photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

@ConserveNJ Sunset last night Franklin Parker Preserve - NJ Pinelands #wetlands #naturephotography

Pinelands Sunset photograph by Diana Wind

The biologically diverse, 9,400 acres of the beautiful Franklin Parker Preserve located in Burlington County, New Jersey is a serene place to visit to find peace, hope and joy.

According to the Preserve's brochure (link below), the land was once a former cranberry farm owned by the Demarco family; they sold it in 2003. The sale was the largest private conservation transaction in NJ state history. The NJ Dept of Environmental Protection purchased 40% interest in the land, which will help to preserve it forever.

The individuals in the NJ Conservation Foundation and all the people involved in the restoration efforts must be really proud. Just listening to the chatter of a colony of Great White Egrets perched in a spot along the 5,000 acres of freshwater wetlands says it all.

The park is named after Franklin E. Parker III who was the first chair of the Pinelands Commission. We're enjoying learning about the wonderful parks and natural beauty right here in the Garden State.

Related Links
Brochure for Franklin Parker Preserve
Take Action for Conservation
Pinelands Preservation Alliance 
Blog post and photograph Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Bald Eagle photobomb! Scenic walk in the NJ Pinelands #naturephotography

Weekend Walk in the 

NJ Pinelands with our cameras!

Bald Eagle Photobomb!

Dusk on our walk out...

Photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

@ConserveNJ Some photos from our walk on the loop trail in Franklin Parker Preserve NJ Pinelands

 

Harry and I made time to get outside to take a nature walk with our cameras to explore one of the best New Jersey parks: Franklin Parker Preserve. The preserve is home to stately Great Egrets, Eagles, snakes, frogs and many species of birds. Below are a few of my photos from our recent walk on the loop trail. I did see an Eagle, but he was too far away and all I got was a blur in my picture. And, I did capture some Great Egrets; I'll add that photo later.

A sight to behold: Wetlands in the NJ Pine Barrens

Someone kept an eye on us!

5,000 acres of NJ Pineland Wetlands

Related Links 

NJ Conservation Foundation

Pinelands Facts

Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Enjoyed our Riviera Holiday at the Philadelphia Flower Show #FlowerShow

Philadelphia Flower Show 2020

Riviera Holiday

Enjoyed our Riviera Holiday at the Philadelphia Flower Show yesterday, despite the fears of the Corona Virus starting to close in on us. The French Riviera located south of France runs along the Mediterranean Sea. Yes, the beautiful coastline from the same Mediterranean region that made the Mediterranean diet the healthiest diet in the world!

Port Norris Sunset - South Jersey Wetlands - photo by Diana Wind

We couldn't wait to see my photograph in the photography exhibit! It is an honor to be selected by the judges to be in the show. There were a lot of people enjoying all the photos.

As always, there is never enough time to see everything. The displays featured a lot of rosemary, thyme, lavender, salvia, lemon and lime trees. 

I especially loved all the pergolas, mosaics, stone, terra cotta and pottery seen throughout the show.

The PHS Flower Show paid tribute to the late Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco. A replica of Princess Grace's wedding gown was featured in a garden display adorned with roses in all shades of pink.

We were hoping to see the butterfly exhibit, but the wait was 45 minutes so we did not get to see it yet again. Oh well... maybe some other time.

Next years show sounds wonderful, "Habitat". My kind of theme. I imagine it will feature native plants suitable for pollinators such as butterflies and bees.

Related Links
Nature Photography on my Birthday

Blog post and photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Nature Photography at Amico Island - Deer and spectacular Sunset behind Phiadelphia Skyline #WindPhotography

Doe a Deer

Hobbies like nature photography get us out of the house for hours and moving more. Harry and I took our cameras to Amico Island Park located in Delran Township, NJ - part of Burlington County Parks System.

I was hesitant at first thinking how can I ever capture anything like my first visit to Amico Island photo. Do you remember the magnificent blue heron showing off his full wing span? That was on Amico Island.

On this visit, soon after our arrival, an excited photographer came up to us telling us she saw a large number of deer in the woods. I quickly went in that direction to see if I could find them. Harry stayed behind taking pictures of a beautiful landscape of tree reflections on a pond.

When I found the deer, they allowed me to take their pictures. The deer stayed together hiding in the woods as they listened for other walkers and kids riding their bikes. 

As you can see, I got close enough to see their sweet faces. Their color tones blended perfectly with the dried weeds and grasses in the winter landscape. A large buck strolled by too; I was in awe and could not react fast enough to snap his photo. The late day light streamed through the trees outlining the deer's bodies, even their whiskers! 

This was the first time I noticed deer had whiskers and distinct markings on their faces. They are such beautiful animals. 

Besides having white underside their tail, white-tailed deer display white rings around their eyes and nose that remind me of our cat Sammi. Sammi's eyes have beautiful, thick white outlines above and below her eyes.

After my hike thorough the woods and getting lost after wandering off to find deer to photograph; I finally found Harry on my way back to the car at a scenic overlook of the Philadelphia skyline.

Within minutes, just before the park closed, we had a chance to view a most spectacular orange glow across the Delaware River as the sun set behind Philadelphia!

Amico Island Sunset - Philadelphia Skyline by Diana Wind

Blog post and photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Nature Photography in the Jersey Pines! @ConserveNJ @PinesAlliance #windphotography

Nature Photography Class

This past Saturday, Robert B. Laucks of Pinelands Adventures took us and a small group, on a wonderful 2-3 mile hike with our cameras and tripods in Franklin Parker Preserve for a nature photography class. This was our first time to this former cranberry farm area. It was beautiful! The perennial grasses and wetland areas were bursting with striking fall color.

Rob reviewed camera basics and functions with us; such as, ISO, shutter speed and aperture. He stressed the importance of light and showed us how to make a natural starburst; something Harry and I had learned on our photography trip in the Adirondacks. 

The weather was chilly as we expected for November. We didn't see any bobcats, Barred owls, pine snakes or deer, but I did see deer tracks in the sandy soil.

Photo by Diana Wind - 68mm ISO400 1/60 sec at f 5.6 NIKON D7100

We had plenty of pine cones to photograph to experiment with aperture settings on our cameras. We walked past charred pines and firewood from a controlled burn not long ago. Some of the pines were black on the bottom with rings of healthy, green growth midway and on up along the tree trunks.

One of the trails we walked along had a historic South Jersey train track from the 1920's that I had not heard of before. It was called the Blue Comet train. How do you like my first monochrome photograph of the track to show leading lines?

Historic Blue Comet train tracks (1929-1941, NY to Atlantic City) - photo by Diana Wind

After years of using my camera on auto setting and wondering why my photos were horrible, I'm finally comfortable using manual at all times. We were all using manual settings on our DSLR cameras. I used a Nikon D7100 with an 18-300 mm lens. 

Franklin Parker Preserve has about 5,000 acres of wetlands and over 4,000 acres of pine oak forest - a bounty of natural wildlife and habitats. We look forward to going back again soon. Obviously, cameras can only capture a small fraction of all that is there. 

Thanks Rob! 

And thanks to the person who shared homemade pistachio cranberry and chocolate chip cookies with all of us on the bus ride home.Yum!

Related Links
More About Franklin Parker Preserve
Discover Nature Near You in NJ

Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.