Friday, October 22, 2010

Frosty zinnias

The last of the zinnias got kissed by Jack Frost on Thursday morning. In fact, we all did. Temperatures went below zero in the vineyards and in many other places around town. Our thermometer read 1.8ºC, but it's affixed to the house and probably stays a degree or two warmer than the surrounding fields, especially in the shoulder season.

A frosted red zinnia.

I took a lot of photos of the flowers, but none of them came out until I went back outside with the tripod. These came out better, but I was not as patient as I should have been to get good quality images. Photography is art, after all, and it takes patience, expertise, and talent. I have short supplies of each.

The ice crystals on these purple petals make them look like candy.

But I like the pictures, nonetheless. It's a record of the first real frost of the season. People we've talked to have all said it's early this year. I think they're right. I'm sure everyone is thinking that we're in for a cold winter. The national weather service, Météo France, even predicted a colder than normal season. What do they know. They can hardly predict the weekend weather. But still.

I think the orange ones were my favorites. Or maybe the purple ones...

I'm hoping for a normal winter. Not too cold, but not too warm. A little snow, but not much. And no big hurricanes like we had last February. And a nice, lovely spring. Is that too much to ask?

And this will be their last hurrah. I've saved seeds and will plant them again next spring.

This morning, twenty-four hours after I took these photos, the flowers are all brown. The frost was their undoing. All the leaves in the vineyard also quickly changed to orange/golden brown since the frost. It's beautiful, but temporary. Soon they'll all be on the ground.

21 comments:

  1. Walt, these photo's are marvelous, that light dusting of ice on the petals...

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  2. they look like they've been dipped in sugar

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  3. Beautiful photos

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  4. Peter and Melinda stole my thoughts. They are gorgeous photos. Those flowers look like candy. My Partner Fred is very good with taking pictures up close. Me, I still struggle.
    And I disagree agree with you. I would suggest that you're full of it! Expertise and talent that is.
    Your Friend, m.

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  5. If they were in Paris, they would have already been dead for a couple of weeks.

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  6. Wait a minute...short supplies of talent and patience and expertise? I think you need to check again on your inventory.

    Gorgeous zinnias!!! Bittersweet sugar on those flowers.

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  7. "...it takes patience, expertise, and talent. I have short supplies of each." Walt, you are seriously in error with that statement. I don't think you've ever posted a photograph I haven't loved.

    We grew some giant zinnias when we lived in Cleveland and they were fantastic. I'm happy your zins look so good.

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  8. These photos really brought a smile to my face. You captured them beautifully!

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  9. 4 absolutely gorgeous photos.

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  11. You might have a short supply of patience, I'm not one to know, but I don't agree with you for the other two. You do have plenty of expertise and talent.

    With dial-up, it's quite a feat to put a comment on your site. Indeed, it takes forever for the comment page to open after everything else has been loaded. What can I do? Sometimes I just give up.

    En français on dit :"Aller à la pèche..." LOL

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  12. Thanks for finding a gracious plenty of patience, expertise, and talent which you DO have, so that we get to see the lovely last gasp photos of your zinnas.

    CHM, hearing from you is always good especially since it requires lots of patience on your part;)

    A school 15 miles away from Anniston in the country gave all their pupils Apple laptops. One problem was that they kid's parents didn't have high speed IT or any IT at all.

    In some ways we are in a period like the 30s, when homes were getting their first electricity.

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  13. Beautiful photographs, Walt! They almost look like candied flower petals with the frost on them. I copied them to use a desktop backgrounds. I hope you don't mind.

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  14. I see that someone already beat me to the Candied Marzipan flower comment....yummy! My grandmother's yard was filled with Zinnias.

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  15. As CHM points out, you might be short on patience, but your talent and expertise are in no doubt. Such purty pictures.

    ...Susie

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  16. Candied flowers or marzipan...I add to the above comments!
    Walt, have you ever grown Envy zinnias? Martha Stewart really went for that lime green color about 6 or 7 years ago. I planted a package by the front door which received many compliments from my friends. Don't be modest. You ARE a GREAT photographer. Relish your abilities! I think your readers do!

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  17. Oooh, great idea to make wallpaper out of these amazing photos. If I were more patient and talented, I would make a collage of all of the photos and make one gorgeous image of all of them to use as my wallpaper! Merci, Walt!

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  18. we don't have Jack Frost here, apparently he would be arrested for not having proper papers.

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  19. Thanks everybody! I appreciate the comments and encouragement. You are all too kind.

    And Michael, LOL!

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  20. I just have to tell you - INCREDIBLE - pictures!! LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE them!!! Simply amazing- sugar flowers for my cupcakes! ; )

    P.S. Funny word verif - unwomb
    hahahahahah!

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  21. I know I'm too late to make any difference - just catching up after our hols - but I couldn't leave it unsaid - these are truly gorgeous photos.

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