July 12, 2020 • 70

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 105: Spring

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.― Pablo Neruda

Spring is hopeful and filled with great natural beauty, and for that, I am very grateful.  Spring helped to sustain me through the sadness and uncertainty during the past few months as the pandemic raced around the world,   I keep returning to the thought that nature is sharing her wisdom with us–if we stop and listen.  This week, for Tina’s Spring challenge, I’d like to explore what she is telling us.

Should we think any less of the delicate tulip because its blooms last a short time?

Spring Tulips, Holland, Michigan

 

It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.― Rainer Maria Rilke

Early spring flowers, like these white azeleas blooming in the Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid, appear to be fragile, but they often triumph over adverse conditions.  The same is true for mankind.

Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.  —John Muir, Scottish-American author and naturalist.

When the wisteria burst into bloom in the Barzini Gardens in Florence, it’s a cause for celebration.  Nature’s thrilling display is joyful and free.  It demands nothing from us except our appreciation.

Wisteria Arbor at the Villa Barzini, Florence. Shot with a Fuji X-T2.

Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth’s lips spoken without sound. —Edwin Curran, author. 

Who’s the best gardener on earth?  These glorious desert wildflowers in Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona. create a blanket of color planted by Mother Nature herself.   

Lost Dutchman State Park, Arizona. Original Color. Shot with a Canon 40D.

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. ~Mark Twain

Spring is also the time when we can learn to appreciate and respect the transience of the weather and even the status quo.  That’s why every inch of this patch of grass in the Luxembourg Gardens is filled with Parisians determined to enjoy the first spring weekend.

Sometimes we can only find our true direction when we let the wind of change carry us.  —Mimi Novic, inspirational author.

Spring is also changeable and unpredictable and follows its own immutable laws just like these skies over Santa Monica, California.  Isn’t this also true for nature itself, which doesn’t bend to the wishes and dictates of mankind, including the rulers who ignore or try to subvert her?  She can’t be bought or manipulated.  She alone is a life force that commands our respect.

The deep roots never doubt spring will come. —Marty Rubin, author. 

As we settle into the summer season here in North America, I am thinking already of next year, to another spring which will return in its joyful splendor and its promise of warmth, of healing, of renewal.   Thank you, Mother Nature!

This week, we hope you join us for Tina’s beautiful Spring challenge.   Be sure to stop by and take a look at her inspiring post.  In your own post, include the “Lens-Artists” tag so it will appear in the WP Reader, which can significantly increase the number of readers who see and comment on your posts.  For instructions on adding tags, click on this link.

Next week, it’s my turn to lead the July Seasons Challenge for LAPC, when we’ll be exploring Autumn, so please stop by!

July 18  Patti  Autumn/Fall
July 25  Ann-Christine   Winter

And finally, I hope you are enjoying the beauty of the season–wherever you may be.   Our sincere thanks for following our Lens-Artists Photo Challenges.  We are delighted you are exploring and sharing your creativity during these trying and often stressful times.   Take care and be well.

Categories: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Photography

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70 replies »

  7. Terrific post Patti – the tulip image is superb and I loved the incredible size of the crowd in Paris. That’s just crazy! Every image tells its own story and your message also resonates – nicely done.

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    • Thank you, Tina.😊. I couldn’t get over the crowd on that tiny patch of grass. As you can guess, most of the park had signs to keep off the grass😊. It was a wonderful surprise. And thanks too about the pictures telling a story. I always hope I can achieve that.

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    • Hi, Anne. Thank you, too! We had so much fun traveling the past 2 years. Hopefully, we can continue next year and beyond. I do believe that Nature is talking to us now and I hope people are listening. I’m glad you agree!

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    • Hi, Siobhan. Thank you so much! I must have taken dozens of shots in Arizona, trying to get the shot right. Sometimes these places are overwhelming and it’s hard to know what to focus on! Glad you like the tulip shot. There’s a wonderful festival in Holland Michigan every year that has thousands of them!

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  10. Patti, when I first saw the wisteria – I thought you captured it in Japan. Stunning beautiful. They have a similar arcade in Kawachi Wisteria Garden, never been … but I will if I ever visit Japan again. Your tulip image .. talk putting spring on fire. Do you know that we Swedes buy most tulips in the world? And the are all farmed in Sweden. During the tulip season over one million tulips are sold in Sweden every single day. Not bad considering we are 10 million people.
    The park image from Paris, no social distance … in those days, really fun image.Thanks for sharing your thought around Spring.

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    • Japan! I didn’t realize there is a wisteria garden, then. I’d love to see that. You are so well-traveled, Vivi. You’ve been all over the world! And I didn’t know that the Swedes grow the most tulips. I assumed it was the Netherlands! Thanks too about your kind words about the images. 😊😊😊

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  17. Oh, the glorious flowers, Patti! Lost Dutchman is certainly going to be somewhere I go later in the year. Right now I’m gearing up for Wyoming. Can’t wait to get somewhere that has had so few C-19 cases and deaths! I’ll be taking many precautions, of course, but longing for the trip. 🙂 Thanks for all the spring beauty.

    janet

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    • Hi, Janet. Wyoming sounds like a good choice. You’ll go horseback riding, I’m guessing? Or, at least get some great hikes outdoors. AZ is crazy right now. Enjoy your change of scenery and a relief from the heat.

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  23. Wonderful post, Patti! Gorgeous images (the tulips are heavenly) and a strange feeling in my stomach when seeing the crowds. How fast do we not change and adapt?

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  28. Hi Patti, I so enjoyed seeing your spring photos. I love the bright colors. I also adored seeing the photos of people together enjoying spring. Your post gives me hope that we’ll get back to travel and gatherings again someday! xx

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  29. Pingback: Lens-Artist-PC-105-Spring – WoollyMuses

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