light and reflections

Soaking up the sun rays on a warm fall day...

flowerful friday

The growing season here in the upper Midwest is slowing down. In my garden, my mums are still going strong and with their blooms still upright and bright, they seem a little boastful as compared to their floral counterparts. 

I think it's hard to believe how quickly this year has gone, and it seems like just yesterday that the daffodils were blooming! Here's a collections of yellowish-orange flowers from spring to fall. I love all of their golden hues. 

spring: teeny daffodils from my garden

spring: snapdragons en masse
 at the Chicago Conservatory

summer: don't these flowers look happy?
at Olbrich Garden

summer: wildflowers are beautiful too!
at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum

fall: an autumnal bouquet from my garden

Happy Friday!

a quote to live by

“Be like the sun for grace and mercy.
Be like the night to cover others' faults.

Be like running water for generosity.
Be like death for rage and anger.

Be like the Earth for modesty.
Appear as you are. Be as you appear.”
- Rumi

cats and dogs

It's been raining heavily today, which made me think of the expression, "raining cats and dogs". The weather has made for one of those fall days when I'd like nothing more than to curl up by the fire with a cozy blanket and a good book and forget about everything. 

The idiom "raining cats and dogs" got me thinking about where and how that saying originated. I did a little googling to see what I could find out, and while it appears that the definite origin is unknown, I came across one explanation that I think is particularly plausible - it suggests that "cats and dogs" is a language corruption of the old French word for waterfall, which is "catadupe". "Raining a waterfall" seems to make a lot of sense to me!

Thinking about cats and dogs I can't help be reminded of the enormous amount of these four legged friends I photographed recently in Turkey. Here's a sampling of the feline and canine subjects I was lucky enough to photograph:

in the St. Savior of Chora
Byzantine church, Istanbul

catching a nap, Istanbul

outside of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul

at the Blue Mosque, Istanbul

looking to share our lunch,
Alacati

this old-timer has
 the saddest face, Alacati

a little kitten perched on a rooftop,
Alacati

perhaps the luckiest dog alive...
his home is the amazing
Tas Otel in Alacati

a family of felines
 near the Aegean Sea

such a friendly fellow!

a feline family in Istanbul

I did a double take when I saw
these two in Istanbul

sound asleep without a care
 in the world, Istanbul

Animals, whether our pets or strays on the streets, always capture my heart with their simple lives and gain my admiration with their ability to relax and take a nap just about anywhere!

november 1st?!

It's hard to believe that November is here already! This year is flying by. In the garden there's no doubt that fall is in full swing - all but the mums, marigolds and snapdragons are fading. We've had frost a couple of nights, though overall it's been a relatively mild season with stunningly gorgeous sun-filled days. Much to my surprise, the vegetable garden is still doing relatively well. 

Last night we enjoyed kale cooked with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (stay tuned for the so very simple recipe). I went out to the garden today to see what I could harvest... 

Napa cabbage, heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers,
purple basil, chives, and a handful of raspberries

Not bad for November 1st in Wisconsin!

happy halloween!

Other than Christmas morning, I can't think of a day of the year that children love more than Halloween. I'm not big into the scary and morbid side of the holiday, but to see little ones dressed up on a quest for candy is always fun. I must have been around 4 when I dressed up as a flower fairy and my brother went as a wizard. It's my favorite costume (made by my mom) I ever wore - those wings and the full skirt made me so very happy! I'm looking forward to trick-or-treaters stopping by our house tonight, and I hope to see some cute costumes. 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween circa 1983

the honeycomb pattern

Ever since I was a little kid, honey has been my favorite sweetener.  While on vacation I captured a few images of the honeycomb pattern...

honeycomb for sale in Istanbul's Spice Market

honeycomb pattern used on windows at the
Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

a close-up...isn't it remarkable how much it looks
like real honeycomb? 

a little bee trying to get
to this syrupy concoction

I think it is probably safe to say that regardless of how many years ago the inspiration was born, the designer of Topkapi Palace's window grate pattern was influenced by nature's perfect hexagonal honeycomb.

light and reflections

One of the highlights of our trip to Turkey was visiting the incredible Hagia Sofia. Stay tuned for a post dedicated to its beauty - but for today, let's just take a look at one of the massive chandeliers that illuminate this former church/former mosque/now-a-museum. 

some serious wattage!

flowerful Friday

Bougainvilleas are one of my favorite flowers because I associate them with being somewhere warm and maybe - if lucky - being on vacation. Their gorgeous paper-thin petals catch the sun and always looking so radiant. I snapped this photo of a lovely bougainvillea in the tiny Turkish town of Alacati. 

Happy Friday!

ps. today marks the 300th Inside the Pomegranate post!

a quote to live by

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; 

they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. 

 -Marcel Proust

turkey the bird, not the country...

Before I left for Turkey, I was out for a walk in the nearby University of Wisconsin Arboretum. It's a place that's less than a mile from our house and provides an instant calm as it surrounds you with copious amounts and varieties of trees. I stumbled across these wild turkeys and was quite surprised to see how close they'd let me approach to take their picture. 

Scientific classification, Genus: Meleagris

Turkey (the birds) are native to the Americas. So, did you ever wonder where the name turkey comes from? The birds were erroneously identified by early European settlers as a type of guineafowl, which were also known as turkey fowl because they were imported to Europe from Turkey. The name stuck after all of these years. And interesting enough, the Turkish word for turkey (bird) is hindi which means Indian (as in India). It is thought the Turkish name arose from the early misconception that India and the New World were one in the same.

Sounds like these birds have had a bad case of mis-billing throughout the years and throughout cultures.

jet lag & a change of scenery

It's funny how jet lag messes with your internal clock. I was up, wide awake just before 4 this morning. I'm sure I'll be ready for lights out pretty early tonight. But when you think about the change that one's body experiences from flying so far it's amazing jet lag doesn't take more of a toll. 

Today I'm surrounded by various maples, elms, poplars, and oaks all splendid in fall's glow. Below is what I captured just less than 1 week ago in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, Turkey. What a change of scenery!

a magnificent palm surrounded by ancient ruins

purple reign

Most of us probably don't associate purple with fall. Though on a recent fall day, while out for a walk, I snapped a few purple wildflowers - that with the changing of all other colors - really jumped out, almost begging to be photographed.

a thistle amongst shades of brown

close to the ground, but screaming for attention! 

high up in the air and
like the color of a fine wine
these purple berries couldn't
 escape the attention of any passersby 

aegean blue

Just back from our trip to Turkey, and we're a bit jet-lagged. Here's a quick snap-shot of the amazingly blue Aegean Sea taken from the coastal town of Cesme. More pictures to follow in upcoming posts!

crystal clear turquoise water