Perfect...and Not So Perfect....

So this summer, I spent a morning taking photos.

It is not something I do every day.

Just some days.

Often I will take lots of photos one day and then use them for a dozen posts later.

I was taking pictures of different places outside.

Shifting up and down a few inches to change the look.

Trying to make sure you don't see anything I don't want you to see.

I moved from one area to another.

I always love to take flower photos.

Rudbeckia is a favorite.

As are these African Daisies.

While I was taking the daisy picture, I noticed this little guy.

He is not as perfect.

I would normally shift left or right to find a better picture/specimen.

But then I got to thinking about how a lot of us do that.

Focus on the perfect one.

Glance past the flawed one.

And I decided to take different photos.

Real photos.

Normally I would shift for this one so you could not see the trash cans.

And I would shift left so you would not see the stuff on my work table.

Silly, really.

I am proud of my work table.

It is from a high school science lab.

I love working at it outside.

You can see it has wool sweaters on it here.

Cutting the wool outside keeps all the fuzz and lint out of the house.

And I get to breathe fresh air, listen to the birds and look at my yard.

This little spot serves to camouflage the trash can area.

I stacked the cement blocks to build a little wall. 

 Then I put flower pots and boxes around it to hide the plain cement blocks.

Morning glories climb an old trellis I made from bamboo...

And a few of my rustic mushrooms provide some visual appeal (to me anyway).

Looking back at my work table from the other direction...

Normally I would shoot this at a different angle so you could not see the trash cans.

Why?

Most of us have trash cans, right?

Why should I pretend they are not there?

My trash cans don't match.

Do yours?

You can see how I throw two burlap coffee sacks over the fence for photos...

Now you know my behind-the-scenes tricks...

If I turn around, you can see my clothesline.

I love my clothesline.

It is green and natural and my clothes smell so good when I bring them in. 

 I love hanging things up too.

  It is meditative.

Turning the other direction, I show you real again.

See all that grass growing between the cracks in the sidewalk?

I don't like when that happens.

So I would normally angle the camera up, so you would not see.

In front of that round brown shed is my secret garden.

I love the mishmash of plants and herbs and flowers. 

I never have a plan.

  I just plant them.

And seeds blow around and seed themselves...

There is my hypertufa experiment from a few years ago...

My rough birdbath...

This rustic little birdhouse sits outside my round shed.

Normally I would not show you my rain barrels with their peeling paint.

Or my stakes for fairy lanterns that are bare right now.

So today I am sharing some of the not-so-perfect parts of my yard.

Trust me, there are many, many more.

But I wanted to get real today.

Because we all have weeds, and trash cans and things we just have not made perfect yet.

Thanks for stopping by...

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