holodiscus discolor

[piranha]

ocean spray; tall shrub with gracefully arching branches from which profuse clusters of tiny flowers cascade. native to BC. common around here. it only looks pretty during the short period it's blooming; the flower clusters turn an ugly brown afterwards, and it looks like the shrub is sick.

wikipedia has this to say about its uses: The Lummi used the flowers as an antidiarrheal and the leaves as a poultice. Many other tribes used the wood and bark for making tools and furniture. Noted for the strength of its wood, it was often used for making spears, arrows, bows, harpoons and nails. The wood, like with many other plants, was often hardened with fire and was then polished using horsetail. Several Indian tribes, such as the Stl'atl'imx, would steep the berries in boiling water to use as a treatment for diarrhea, smallpox, chickenpox and as a blood tonic.

Comments

[seryn]

Do you save the pictures up or do you actually take them one per day?

I enjoy looking at the flowers and things you've seen.

[piranha]

both. when i feel good, i take several pictures a day -- i don't take one specifically for posting; i shoot anything that catches my interest and then post one of those i especially liked, or find interesting or amusing for some reason. when i don't feel so good but still post, i use something i've taken recently (but not on that day). when i feel miserable, i take no pictures and i don't post.

when i go for walks i take between 30 and 200 pictures, depending on where i go. when i go down to butchart gardens, for example, i take easily 500 pictures. most are crap, or just not particularly good, of course, but i have more good ones than i ever post.

for a couple of years i gave myself the challenge to take the picture i posted that very day, even if i didn't go anywhere. it was mostly to train myself to see differently, see more interesting things even in familiar surroundings. i stopped doing that when i didn't feel i needed that challenge anymore.

glad you enjoy them! i like looking back at older pictures i've taken; they often bring back memories that i hadn't thought of for ages. i wish i had picked up photography when i startedt travelling a lot.

[seryn]

Digital cameras are awesome for improving your skills as a photographer because you can afford to shoot a hundred pictures to get the right one.

I have my photo collection set to be the screensaver on my current computer and I'm always happy with what I see. Unlike you though, I think I enjoy my own photos more than anyone else does. Your pictures are vastly enjoyed by many of us.

I hope you feel good more often.