Flamboyant Flowers on the Beach, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

image of Absolute Beachfront B&B, Hawke's Bay, Napier, New Zealand

After the previous day’s wet hike on the Taranaki Falls Trail in Mt. Tongariro National Park, both Bob and I came down with colds.  It was time for some R&R and a slower paced couple of days before we made the ferry crossing to New Zealand’s South Island.  Absolute Beachfront B&B in Napier made a good spot for just that.  Masses of flamboyant flowers on the beach were just waiting to be discovered by Bob and me.
Read more

Hordes of Ostriches On The Way To Cape Town

image of orange sunrise, mossel bay, south africa

Sunrise must have been a little before 5:30 a.m. because that is when I woke up to a bright sunbeam that found a chink in the room-darkening drapes.  I jumped out of bed and snapped a photo but already the brilliant orb was a short distance above the horizon. Read more

Among the Rocks at Mossel Bay

image of a freighter at dawn, mossel bay, south africa

As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes at 6 a.m., a peak out the wall of windows revealed a couple of freighters silhouetted on the bright horizon in Mossel Bay, South Africa.  The weather did not look promising. Read more

The Garden Route Was Brimming With Wildflowers In South Africa

fynbos along the garden route, south africa

Our drive from Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay in South Africa followed the Garden Route.  Bob and I were looking forward to seeing that region because the landscape is painted in a wide range of wildflowers. Read more

Among The Wildflowers On Quirpon Island

quirpon island lighthouse station, newfoundland, canada

When Bob and I set off from Quirpon, a picturesque village on the northern tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland in Canada, it was to Quirpon Island that we were headed for a stay at the Quirpon Lighthouse InnRead more

Flamboyant Cacti at Mesa Verde National Park

photograph of Cactaceae cactus at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, U.S.A.

musk thistle, mesa verde national park, colorado, 2

From the Visitor Centre at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Bob and I ascended a sinuous and steep roadway to the Museum that is located near Spruce Tree House, one group of cliff dwellings open to the public.  When we pulled into the parking lot, my attention was immediately captured by the most outstanding examples of wildflowers, Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans), that were bobbing atop tall stalks next to one of the adobe outbuildings. Read more

Wildflowers on Ireland’s Inishmore Island

An image of Bloody Cranesbill Geranium growing on Inishmore Island in Ireland. Photography by Frame To Frame - Bob and Jean.

Our first morning on Inishmore Island, Bob and I set off on foot to explore the hills and wildflowers surrounding Kilmurvey House, our bed and breakfast accommodations, and made first for the historic fort, Dun Aonghasa.  What a pleasant surprise to find a good variety of wildflowers growing amongst the karst limestone, many of them in bloom such as this Bloody Cranesbill Geranium (Geranium sanguineum). Read more

Sunchokes growing wild at Lower Reesor Pond in Toronto

sunchokes, lower reesor pond, rouge national urban park, toronto

How beautiful is a sprawling drift of Sunchokes fading into the distance!  That is just what we found when Bob and I visited Lower Reesor Pond in northeast Toronto.  This native species of sunflower goes by many different names including Sunchokes, Sunroot or Earth Apple. Read more

Wild Coneflowers Growing At Lower Reesor Pond

coneflowers at lower reesor pond - toronto 7

Bob and I paid a visit one spring to the Lower Reesor Pond in North Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and had allotted a large chunk of time in order that we might pay some well-deserved attention to the wildflowers and plants that had gained a foothold in the area surrounding the pond, which included several groupings of wild coneflowers. Read more