Lupine at Last!

I've been hankering to photograph the lupine blooming in a park near my house for a couple of weeks now, but it with sunshine so scarce in these parts as of late, I've never been in a position to drive over to the park during a moment when the sun was out.  I've been worried that I was going to miss the lupine entirely and have to wait until next year!  The skies were cloudy on Friday, but toward evening the sun started popping in and out so I decided to go for it.  I grabbed the dog and my camera and we hopped in the car and drove over to the park.  The sun went back behind the clouds by the time I got there, but I was committed and decided to make the best of what light I had.

The lupine meadow at the park

The dog hasn't been for a walk since before last week's vet visit, so she was feeling pretty crazy happy to be out and about and she thought maybe we were on a mission to play with her squeaky ball, a concept reinforced by the fact that I was carrying my "park bag" that I usually use to bring her ball places, though in this case it contained my camera and my checkbook, since this excursion was also including a stop at the pharmacy.  I had opened the pantry where I store her squeaky ball just prior to leaving, too, though I had in fact been looking for something else.  The bottom line was that she was delighted and excited, only to discover that she was expected to stand around while I photographed things.  She spent her time trying to sneak mouthfuls of grass.  I try to prevent this because her stomach is so sensitive, though I am pleased to report that there were no grassy vomiting incidents later that evening.  Despite no squeaky ball game, I think she had a good time just being out and about.

Abbey in the long grass with lupine behind

And in the end, I got about half a dozen satisfactory lupine photos despite the light being just okay.  I also got some nice equisetum shots (a.k.a. horsetail) on the way out.  There was not sufficient sunlight, I decided, to try to photograph the golden chain tree I spotted in bloom near the park.  It definitely needs full sun to light up the yellow flowers!  All in all, I thought it was a very successful outing, though I'd forgotten how allergic I am to grass.  Turns out wading around in the high grass and hunkering down in it to take photographs was a recipe for some seriously itching skin!  Oh well, the pictures are worth it!

Lovely lupine

Cool equisetum image

I'm glad to scratch that one off the list before it was too late.  I was worried I was going to have to wait for another year!  The sun is shining today, so that yellow tree may be the next item on my agenda.  And as for the near future, I'm on the lookout for some accessible wisteria.  I think Mouse would look great hanging among those periwinkle blossoms!

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