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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Water lilies and lily pads...as far as the eyes could see!

Over the last few days, we have taken some trips out in the woods, to visit ponds and catch nature at its finest.

During our trek out in the woods, we came across many small ponds with different kinds of water lilies, and plenty of lily pads.

I was surprised at the different varieties of lily pads and lily flowers we found in one day.

I have no idea of their names, but here is what we found:



First, this big white water lily beauty:


Here is a better picture of it's pretty yellow center:






I loved the reds, yellows and greens of its surrounding lily pads, too:




And, even the worm holes and designs from the bugs eating the leaves had a certain beauty, too:





Here's a nice spot where there were three water lilies in bloom:






This one reminds me of a peace lily:







Here is a yellow water lily that has popped up, but is not in full bloom yet:
Go back up and look at it again. Did you see the frog in the water to the left of the lily!
(A bonus!)





And a white one that just popped up from under the water too:








I love the huge green seed pod in the middle of this white water lily!:








One was in the shadows, and really had an interesting seed pod in its center, too:









Pretty and waxy yellow water lilies, too:











Here is a closeup of their interesting centers:











One area had nothing but lily pads....bunches of lily pads....I loved the design of all of them floating on the pond!:


It seems whenever we go into the woods, we find either interesting critters to photograph, or beauty in the wood, water or plants.
That day, we were not disappointed.....

38 comments:

DJan said...

Your pictures continue to amaze me. That one (I think the third one) looks like little Pac-men chomping down one another. And one looks like his eye is closed! Lovely, wonderful pictures, thank you again. I did link your dragonflies in my post today, because I was so enchanted by them.

Sue said...

I love all the different varieties you've shown. I always thought the leaves looked like PacMan's.
You took some really nice pictures. I envy you spending the days out enjoying the many ponds up there.
Have a great weekend.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

It's amazing how many interesting things you managed to notice in a pond! Good eye! Thanks for the hint about a frog, I didn't notice. Those holes on the pads creat a pattern, indeed! I remember how my cousin tried to get a lily for me and my sister when we all were kids. He failed to break a stem, this is how strong they are. Or, maybe, because he was just a boy. Thanks for the post!

blushing rose said...

What beautiful finds on your jaunt. The lilies are lovely, so stately on the pads. TTFN ~Marydon

Wanda..... said...

I've never seen that many varieties of water lilies...some of the photos looked like paintings...enjoyed the post Joan!

The Retired One said...

Djan: Thanks so much for the link today! That was so nice of you!

Sue: yes, they do look like PacMans!
Too funny.

Tatyana: Yes, they are very strong. When we go fishing, sometimes the fish like to hide in them...but then I get my fishing line tangled in them and the line breaks before the lily stems do!

Blushing: It amazes me that they grow here..they look so tropical to grow up north here.

Wanda: I am so glad you enjoyed them!

rainfield61 said...

The one popping out from the water is simply amazing. No other types of flowers can grow so uniquely like this.

L. D. said...

Those photos are unbelievable, wow. I haven't seen such good lighting on waterlilies and the pads before, you had a perfect day for the photos. As an artist, I would love to be sitting on the shore and paint that scene with the three flowers blooming, It is soooooooo beautiful.

The Retired One said...

Rainfield: They are amazing plants! And to think here that they survive a frozen pond full of ice for months and still spring to life after that!

L.D.: You are so complimentary to all of my photos..you motivate me to keep going out there to get more...thank you for being so encouraging, it means a lot to me! You can always paint one of my photographs, you know...I would love that! One of my readers asked me permission to paint one of my tulips and she is doing that. (If you go wayyyyy back in my posts, there is a purple tulip with an unusual blue interior that I photographed). She loved it so much, she is going to do an oil painting of it. I told her all I would wish is for her to take a photo of her finished painting. She said she would do that and just mention my name on the back of the painting as the photographer who inspired the painting. I am anxiously awaiting her results. :-}

Bernie said...

Amazing....you photo's are absolutely amazing! How you find these wonderful places and take us with you is such a treat.
.....:-) Hugs

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

Absolutely wonderful! What a lovely trip to the pond! Wish I could have been there with you, but I feel as if I were because of your delightful photos!! ♥

melissa said...

those are so beautiful. i love water lilies. i haven't seen anything like the ones you photographed here in my part of michigan!!
xo

Joanna Jenkins said...

Wow, the colors are fantastic!!!!!
Thank you so much!

SquirrelQueen said...

Beautiful photos as always, I had no idea there were so many different water lilies. The one that look a little like a peace lily is very pretty.

Unknown said...

The lily pond is so interesting with you guiding us:) Love the pics.

The Retired One said...

Bernie: Thanks!! There is so much beauty in the nature where I live, it is easy to find beautiful things to photograph. The secret is just knowing that the ordinary is really quiet extraordinary!

Boomer: I am so glad you enjoyed the blog post. I really love lily pads and water lilies and was surprised my self on how many different kinds I found in one day.

Melissa: I never noticed the different kinds either until we just wandered around in the woods finding ponds.

Joanna: I was surprised on the different colors in both the flowers and the pads, too.

SquirrelQueen: I had never noticed the one that looks like a peace lily before, and we go out in the woods all the time. I find it interesting that before I started photography, I didn't notice half the things I am taking photos of now and finding beautiful!

Keats: Thanks! I loved taking them for you all.

a mouthy irish woman? ridiculous! said...

it looks like your blog is where monet got his material!

beautiful shots!

The Retired One said...

Mouthy: What a wonderful thing to say! Wow, thanks!

Loree said...

Wow, wow, wow. Those pictures are breath-taking.

Judy said...

These photos are just beautiful. I have always loved looking at water plants. Your photography is always just great. My son works for Kentucky Education T.V.and they recently aired a program about our healthcare. He asked me to post it on my blog and get my readers comments on our healthcare system.
I would love to have yours. Thanks.

grannyann said...

Those were great pics. I have one water lily in my little tiny pond and I have so many leaves now you can hardly find the lily.

The Retired One said...

Loree: Thanks SO much! You keep me motivated to take more by your nice compliments.

Judy: Thanks so much. I will pop over to your blog to see it today. You are on my list of daily reads, I am just running behind this weekend. :-}

Grannyann: Thanks. I know! Those big pad leaves grow all over and are HUGE. But, that is what I like about them. (As you can see from my last photo!~)

Insanitykim said...

Hey I added my fave pix to my Slide account you should check them out! Your pix still look amazing as ever, they post so well to your blog...there are a couple I might try to post with relevance later but...wooohooo! Glad to be back even though we had an amazing time!

Rick (Ratty) said...

I love lily pads, and water lilies too. I very rarely get to see any for some reason. I always think of them as frog houses or something.

Anonymous said...

These are totally beautiful shots! I especially like the 2nd one! You have gotten very good with your camera and you have a steady hand!! I have to tuck my wings(aka arms) in and hold them tight to my side when taking close ups in hopes I hold steady!

Wonderful, wonderful!!

Sara said...

I love all the different colors of the lilypads, so gorgeous!

The Retired One said...

Insanity: So glad to hear from you and that you are back from your trip. I can't wait to see your pictures, I am SURE they will be fantastic.

Ratty: Me too. When I think of frogs, I picture them on lily pads. BTW, I caught some great pix of frogs too, I will be posting them in the next few days!

Cathy: Yes, I never use a tripod...I need to be spur of the moment in taking them and way out in the woods when I am climbing over logs, etc. a tripod just isn't practical! I do a lot of "wing" tucking too. ha

Sara: Thanks! I really like the mixture of greens and patterns too!

Jenn Jilks said...

And I thought I was the only person who takes a million pond photos! We have one on our property, and I love taking photos.

The Retired One said...

Jenn: Oh, no...I am one of those people who take a zillion shots to get three perfect ones. ha But then when they all turn out good, I end up keeping the zillion.
You are new to my blog, right? Welcome aboard! Please join on as a Follower, if you haven't already. I love to have a lot of people visit often!

Jientje said...

I enjoyed this, almost as much as the previous posts! It looks like you take your camera everywhere you go too huh? And you have a great eye! Loved the dragonfly post too, very detailed pictures !

The Retired One said...

Jientje: Yes, I am really bad about taking my camera everywhere...ever since I saw two moose and an eagle on the SAME day and had my camera but NO battery pack with me!!!! I STILL haven't forgiven myself for that one!
So now...even if I am running to Walmart, I throw my camera in the car.
ha
I am glad you liked these posts...I loved taking them.

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Wow those lily pads and lilies are just beautiful.
I bought one lily bulb last year and plopped it in the pond. That was it, forgot all about it, but now I have ten lily pads, and a huge lily pod just waiting to break to the surface and bloom.
I wish I had room for more..
Your pictures are just breathtakingly beautiful and detailed.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I love waterlilies, I think the whole plant is beautiful. Those yellow ones are really pretty, I've never seen one like it before.

Bernie said...

Hi Joan, just wanted to say good bye before I head home tomorrow. Will catch up with you in a couple of weeks.....:-) Hugs

The Retired One said...

Brit: Thanks so much. Wow, you were lucky with your one lily growing into so many, so fast!

Gardener: I really liked them when I saw them, too...the yellow ones look so waxy.

Bernie: How nice! You will be in my thoughts and I know you will have a wonderful trip!

Ramakrishnan said...

These are really stunningly breathtaking photographs. So beautiful.

The Retired One said...

RR: Thanks so much..I loved the sites where I found these in....I will have more similar pictures up on the blog next week...we found more turtles and today, I saw a beaver pond where there were white swans swimming wayyyyy in the background of it...but it was so pretty!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures. We were looking at lily pads in Michigan and notice 1-2 feet down stem under water was a bulb, somewhat hard with a gelatinous surface. Any idea what this is?

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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