Here are a few pictures of flowers and cactus that I have captured so far this spring. Some of them were taken in Grapevine Canyon, some at Ethel M’s Cactus Garden in Vegas, some while just out and about. Hope you Enjoy. To start the slideshow, click the picture below. When the show comes up click on the View Full Screen arrow to the right of the slideshow control buttons. |
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| I captured this picture on a visit to the Conservatory at Bellagio. I was lucky to catch the sun’s rays spotlighting the center of the pumpkin patch. To view more pictures taken this day go to ... Bellagio Conservatory - Fall Exhibit - 2009 |
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| I am still trying to identify this beautifully delicate flower. I took the picture in Prescott Park in Portsmouth, NH. |
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 Crocus vernus (Spring crocus, Giant Dutch crocus) is a plant of the Crocus genus in the Iridaceae family. These are always one of the first flowers to bloom in spring. In fact, as their flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle, there were a couple of seasons when we had late snow storms that we were able to see them pop up right through the snow cover. They were always a reminder for me to start my “Spring Cleanup” of the yard and beds. |
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A tulip is a flower in the genus Tulipa, comprising about 150 bulbous species, and in the family Liliaceae. Although tulips are associated with Holland, both the flower and its name originated in the Persian empire. The tulip, or lale (from Persian, lâleh) as it is also called in Turkey, is a flower indigenous to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and other parts of Central Asia. Although, it is unclear who first brought the flower to northwest Europe, it is the Turks who made tulip known in Europe.  The picture of tulips on the far right was taken in one of the flower beds that I had at the house in Greenland, NH before moving to Vegas. Using Paint Shop Pro I first created the photo at the bottom by cropping the image, changing the background to black and white and then blurring it to make the tulips stand out better. However, I felt that the contrast ended up being much too vivid. I finally settled on the creation above using pretty much the same effects, excepting that I kept the color of the original background. |
 Creation involved the following: Step 1: Cropped the picture; Step 2: Created a Duplicate Layer and then a New Layer MaskShow All; Step 3: Used Effects PhotoBlack & White Film to create the B&W Layer; Step 4: Then used the Erase Tool to bring out the color; Step 5: After flattening the layers I created a new Duplicate Layer and then selected AdjustBlurGaussian Blur5.0 to blur the image; Step 6: Used LayerNew Layer MaskShow All to create another layer and then used the Paint Brush to paint the detail back in. |
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| On May 1st, we ventured to the Strip to see the spring exhibit at the Conservatory at the Bellagio. As usual, it was stunning. Titled, “Gardens of the World” it was quite different than some of the previous ones with kind of a "Zen" theme to it. The “poppies” and other flowers were stunning. It even had a butterfly house that was filled with some of the most beautiful moths and butterflies you've ever seen. |
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There has been much discussion on the origin and history of the six-pointed Star and its mysterious link with mankind from the days of Egypt. From Egypt to Solomon, to Arab magic, and witchcraft, to Druid uses, to freemasonry, to Mayer Amschel Bauer, who in the 17th century changes his name to depict the red six-pointed star which hung on his door in Germany, and thus began the family of "Rothschild" (meaning red shield). The Rothschild family incorporated this symbol in their Court of Arms. Research traces the six-pointed star through the Cabala, to astrology, to Hitler and his putting a yellow six-pointed star on Jews during the holocaust, to the Zionist symbol, and finally to the flag of the State of Israel and beyond. Though the six-pointed star has long been used in religion, magic, occultism, witchcraft, and astrology, perhaps the simplest explanation of all, as evidenced by the above photo, may be just that God created it when he created the universe. |
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