My walk was very nice today. The weather was sunny and beautiful but not too cold at about 36°F/22°C. The ground had thawed out so it was a normal walk with nothing terribly exciting going on. However, I did stop to appreciate the orchestra of many different birds twittering as they began their day. What a treat. How wonderful to live in this rural slice of heaven.

I was born and raised in San Francisco in a nice neighborhood. In fact, our backyard sat on Mount Davidson, the highest point in the city, and a wonderful park for us to play on. There were lots of wildlife to see there, but my dream was to live in the countryside. I wanted to live where there were wide-open fields, farms with every kind of livestock, and nature right outside my door. I was so tired of the fog and wind, the weather that was rarely too hot or cold—I wanted four real seasons!

My husband and I met back in 2000 and shared the same dream to move out of the crazy city environment. Our money pooled, we found this rural property on our first visit up to Oregon and it was love at first sight. 26 acres of mixed meadows and oak forest with a hill and ridgeline at the upper end and a magnificent view of the Upper Table Rock out the kitchen window. The house has two stories and more room than anyone could need. SOLD!

Living in the countryside really is a dream come true for me. You'd fall asleep if I listed all of the plants and animals that live here or pass through, it's just wonderful! No surprise I found an urgent need to take pictures of what I discovered, so we got a Canon Elph to play with. Soon my passion for photography was born. I've never looked back.

Today I'm sharing a macro of a dahlia I photographed in San Francisco. As it turned out, all of the pictures of this blossom had focus problems which prevented me from showing the whole flower. I was disappointed because the petals were so beautiful. Before I gave up in failure, I zoomed in on this picture and BAM. It turned out that I would be able to share the loveliness of the petals after all. I'm not always that lucky, but I was this time! I hope you like this floral abstract too—these flowers have such a delicate beauty.

Pam, I hope that this week is going well for you. I think the details of this flower speak of you...gentle and soft, warm and beautiful, and a rareness of quality that is revealed only when the time is taken to look closely. Thinking of you every day my dear!

Explored on 12/6/18, highest placement, #2.