Thoughts

The definitive collection of magnolia blossoms

Here is a collection of magnolia blossoms that contains so many photographs most of you will agree you’ve seen more than enough magnolias to last you a while. (Yes, all of them are my photographs.) Enjoy! 🙂

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Thoughts

Spring rain

Have you felt the drops of a spring rainfall on your face? They fall softly, blessing each leaf and bud and flower. They remind us of winter and of melted snow but they’re tinged with hope, looking forward to summer. They chill and yet they warm.

Thick, pointed brown leaves covered in raindrops, macro.

Places

Signs of Spring

Who says we can only look at spring photographs in the spring? On my site, in this little virtual world I’ve created, spring comes whenever I want it, and now’s a perfect time for it. Here’s a set of photos of spring flowers, with a heavy concentration of daffodils. And if you’d like to see even more such gorgeous photos, see this post. Enjoy!

Golden daffodils, early spring, Grosvenor Park, North Bethesda, MD, USA.

White magnolia blossoms, early spring, Grosvenor Park, North Bethesda, MD, USA.

White daffodils, early spring, Grosvenor Park, North Bethesda, MD, USA.

Pine needles, early spring, Grosvenor Park, North Bethesda, MD, USA.

A deep burgundy pansy, spring, Grosvenor Park, North Bethesda, MD, USA.

Places

Lacul Oasa and Transalpina

The second leg of our trip through the Southern Carpathian Mountains, whose first leg took us through Obarsia Lotrului and Lacul Vidra, now took us by Lacul Oasa and the Northern portion of the Transalpina, a high-altitude road which offers unsurpassed vistas and which I documented through photos in late fall of last year.

This picturesque, unpaved portion of the Transalpina Road is also quite dangerous. The rocky cliffs you see hanging above it are eager to hurl rocks at passersby. It’s a situation made worse by man’s presence there. They blasted through the rock to make the road (a necessary evil) but they also set up a temporary concrete factory there and chewed through yet more rock to make the stuff. Until vegetation grows back on that slope to hold together the rocks, or measures are taken to reduce the rock falls, it’s a dangerous section of the road. Rocks were falling right by us as we drove through.

Be sure to view the full gallery posted below for more photos.

A promontory on the shores of Lacul Oasa

Places

Lacul Vidra and Obarsia Lotrului

We drove into Lacul Vidra and Obarsia Lotrului this past weekend. The approximate location we visited is this one.

It’s a wonderful drive that offers gorgeous vistas (as most roads in Romania do), and because it’s not summer yet, the roads are relatively empty, meaning we were able to take our time and stop wherever we liked to take photos.

I’m going to publish the first group of photos today and the rest tomorrow, because there are quite a few of them and I’d rather not overwhelm you.

On the way, we found a grotto formed of ice and snow at the foot of a forest, right over the bed of a brook. The snow had been insulated by a thick leaf cover, and that’s why it had kept so far, but in 75-degree (Fahrenheit) late spring weather, I doubt it will keep for much longer. It was a remarkable sight for the middle of May, particularly since we weren’t at a high altitude (about 400-500 meters).