May 6th -- back in my 'hood

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Now I'm back on my home turf.  I've been around this block many, many times.

I don't have any idea what these are.  These are quite low-growing -- no more than 6-8".  The petals are shiny.  Almost as though they were made of plastic.  The camera can't make out what to do with all that shine, I think.  Pics of these are very often blurry.

This image was taken down near their level, between the sidewalk and the curb (the car is parked on the street).

Here's another try.  Not awful, but not crisp.  And this was the best of 4 or 5 attempts at this exact image.

Still not crisp.  But you can get a vague idea of the shine......

I guess the 5th of May was Orange Tulip Day.

Same flower, taken from a different angle.

The sun shone between the houses, lighting up the yellow tulips.

Redbud.

Pansies, in a blue pot, on a concrete porch.  I like that monochromatic white background, setting off the intense color of the pot and flowers.

Can you see, on the blue shoulder of the pot, reflections of the houses across the street?

I didn't notice them, until I saw the image on "the big screen."

Lots of red and yellow tulips, as well as orange ones.  I bet the 6th was one of the best days for tulips.....

This is a different bed of tulips, about half a block from the previous ones.  Not one of my shots of these was crisp.  Why, I do not know.  I was zoomed in from a distance, so that probably has something to do with the blur.

Robin in upper left corner.........

This version of the above image has the "fresco" filter.  (The robin was reduced to an orange blob by the filter, so I removed it, by painting grass over it with the clone stamp.)

I like the intense contrast.  I like the variation in texture, from the busy grass to the spiky leaves and stems, to the blobby flowers.  And I like the bright colors.

The leaves on the trees were getting bigger by the moment.  I was pleased to be able to line up the trees, just so, to block our view of the cars parked on the street.  I really don't like cars in my "suburban neighborhood" pics.....

Another look at my species tulips.  These were here when we bought the house in 1985, and are still going strong 30 years later.  All by themselves, with no coddling.  That's my kind of plant.......

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