~ Better Late Than Never ~
“Every flower blooms in its own time.”
– Ken Petti
Better Late Than Never is what i always say. I have been out of my normal routine since making it here to Sweden. I intended on taking more photos and to post more often. I intended many things that didn't turn out the way that i had anticipated. So, Better Late Than Never
I tried to knock the rust off by just taking some photos of the flowers in my area. I find that flowers oftentimes seem to reorient me... especially when i take notice of the ones that go most unnoticed.
I found a bunch of flower quotes that i thought were super cool. The source link is at the bottom of the post if you want to go see all the ones i didn't end up using.
Coming to Sweden is always awesome and tough at the same time. It's definitely a transition in more ways than one.
“Like wildflowers; You must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.”
– E.V.
I have to say this transition has been pretty rough. I haven't felt the inspiration that i was expecting to feel and share. I haven't really felt myself and i have had a difficult time keeping up with my curator duties here on Hive.
“The flower that follows the sun does so even in cloudy days.” – Robert Leighton
I haven't posted for myself on my own blog in a very long time. Recently, we went on a nice trip to Kalmar here in Sweden and these photos are mostly from that trip. I took enough shots to spread it out over a few posts.
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
– Frances Hodgson Burnett
I find yellow to be a particularly beautiful color to photograph but also a particularly difficult color to properly capture in all of it's beauty and splendor!
We have some Yellow Roses blooming from a plant i bought a few years ago. I always think of the Yellow Rose of Texas!
“Open the bloom of your heart and become a gift of beauty to the world.”
– Bryant McGill
These flowers were all from my patio here in Växjö. The Lavender has now made it through multiple Winters. I am happy. =)
~ A Walk In The Park ~
After we got to Kalmar we went to a park in town. I decided to bring my camera 'just in case.' I am so glad i brought it. This park turned out to be the grounds of a castle. It had some exotic trees and an awesome garden. I should have taken more shots to be honest.
The lighting wasn't great and i could tell my camera skills were super rusty (which isn't good when you have a camera as shitty as mine). But, there was this Hanging Book Tree that had such a gnarly growth structure and canopy that i had to take some photos from underneath.
The image above shows the metal support beam at 52cm high that helps to prop up the core of the tree.
Personally, i know these aren't great shots, but i wanted to document the tree from inside out. You can really get a better sense of the size and scale in the image below taken from much farther away.
It even had this old tree neighbor with an oblong twisty branch reaching out.
I love trees... and these were some ancient trees!
~ Fit For A King ~
There was this Runestone fit for a king in the corner of the garden. It looks to be super old and i really find it to be quite fitting for the environment given its history!
The flower garden also looked fit for a King! I did the best i could and still admit that i didn't capture the beauty well enough to even do them a modicum of justice.
These brown buttons in the middle have a silky look about them. I thought these were gorgeous. This flowerbed was directly in front of the Runestone.
Next time we go i will have to make sure and shoot everything.
I always feel rushed when i am the only one taking photos in the group. I try my best to keep up as well as capture some beauty along the way.
~ Kalmar Castle ~
This is Kalmar Castle and you can read about it's history at that link. Having been an enthusiast of castles since i was young and having the word in my own name... i can't describe how cool it was to walk around and see this structure.
You can see the moat in the image above. My imagination was running on all cylinders just thinking of all the history that must have taken place at such a location as this.
The ground level that this anchor is displayed on was the main entrance ground level. You can see that there is a lowered area more on the level of the moat. In the distance you can see the castle is even more elevated on the other side of the moat.
The only was to get to the castle's main entrance is to walk across a bridge that goes over the land basin. I went down there to get a few shots. To be honest, the whole time walking around, all i could think about was if i was a foreign invader how i would stage an invasion or siege of this fortress.
Below, you can see the bridge to cross over in order to reach the main entrance. The more i walked around and thought about my invasion plans... the more i noticed how well thought out this defensive design was.
I tried to get some vantage points that would convey the feel of being there a bit better.
The Arch to the Entrance Tunnel
Being on the bottom ground level gave me a newfound respect for having the high-ground.
You feel the disadvantage you would be at if you were trying to overtake that spot.
Fortunately for me, the only shots fired were from my camera...
Look at all those cannons in the background!
Now, we've made it down to the point of view from the moat.
“Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth’s lips spoken without sound.” – Edwin Curran
I figured this would be a great place to stop for now and we will pick up where we are leaving off next time! I still have many cool shots to share with you all. It definitely won't be too long of a wait.
Thanks for stopping by to read my post and check out my photos. I appreciate your time and consideration. I would be curious to know which image you liked the most! The best has yet to come! Cheers