Poetic Shutterbug

Photo taken in Golden Gate Park If you have ever walked in a forest or redwood grove where tress have been living for centuries you know how beautifully they age. They provide shelter, warmth and shade from the sun. They touch the skies with an everlasting kiss from nature. However did you ever wonder about how old specific trees are? Now obviously you would not want to cut a tree down to find out its age. So what do you do? You look around for trees that have been cut in the same area with a likeness to the tree you are seeing. If you find one that has been cut or has fallen look closely at the core on the trunk Photo taken at the San Francisco zoo This core on the trunk of a fallen tree exhibits the perfect way to determine the age of a tree. From the very middle circle, count outwards the circles around the core. The amount of circles or annual rings as they are called will give you the exact age of any particular tree. In this example, the tree was se...

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Photos taken at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens Click Photos To Enlarge Make sure to visit Skywatch Friday for more beautiful sky photography .

Photos taken at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens Click Photos To Enlarge Visit Shadow Shot Sunday for more great shadow photography.

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Photos taken at the SF Botanical Gardens and the Marin Art & Garden Center. Click Photos To Enlarge Though I was raised Catholic I have always believed in reincarnation. I do not believe that when we die, that's it. I believe in the circle of life being continuous and once our physical body dies that our soul chooses another physical form in which to return to this earth. I have many reasons for these beliefs that I won't get into here because it's just too long and I want to get into the two questions. Obviously when reincarnated I don't know in which form you would return. Would you return as a human being if you were a human being in your previous life or could you return as anything you wanted to be. I have always wanted to return as a tree. I know many of you are probably laughing right now but I am serious. I love trees for their stature, their confidence, their protective nature and their ability to withstand the elements. I'd love to return as a ...

The sun peeks through the clouds. The sun peeks through the trees Click here for more SkyWatch Friday fun.

Angles inspired by Ann over at Ann's Snap and Edit . Check out her blog, you'll love it.

I am way too tired to write anything today so I thought I'd display some shadow shot photos I took at the Botanical Gardens last week. Hope you like them, enjoy!

All photos taken by me on the streets of my neighborhood.

Photos taken by me @ the Botanical Gardens . The video clip below is from the gardens website and takes you on a journey through the Garden of Fragrance. The pleasurable scents emanating from this particular garden lures you through the gates as you pass through the main entrance. I have at various times tried to take videos while walking through the gardens, however, I am an amateur at best. So, I wanted to give all of you a more professional tour which is why I copied this from their website. It is informative, detailed and a beautiful display of the gardens I love. Enjoy!

All of these shots were taken at the Botanical Gardens. I just adore the tree in the above photo. It is located right by the library and near the entrance to the gardens. This particular day was very busy with visitors even though it was during the week. I always try to get nature shots without people but sometimes it's just impossible. It was a beautiful day at the gardens this particular day. I love the way this shot displays a tree within a tree. When I originally took the photo and saw the tree in the background I really did not know how the photo would turn out and was pleasantly surprised because it is so unusual. To be perfectly honest I took this shot to get the mid day moon against that blue sky. The trees which I always love just happened to enhance the shot with their beauty. I know you can barely see the moon so you could always click the photos to enlarge. I did not even think about using the zoom on my camera until I got home.

Trees @ The Botanical Gardens in SF - Taken by Me Tree Commune a series of haiku rooted in Mother Nature a diverse species hugging limbs kissing blue skies sharing the wind's breath mingling leaves born within earth standing free a natural commune