I cannot resist sharing these two photos of the Albertina Kerr building with you, especially after the foggy one yesterday.

-->

You can see where the hedge ends, the raised corner bed starts there in the shadow--it's been replanted with hardy cold weather plants.



Here's a photo that gives you a chance to see the steps I walked up to get to the gardens so that I could take all of those Nature's beauty photos. The sandwich board at the top of those steps mentions the restaurant and the gift shop inside the building.

Here's what I found at the Albertina Kerr Web site, so you'll know a bit about the center:

Since 1907, Albertina Kerr has strengthened Oregon families and communities. Today, we provide programs and services to children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges - empowering them to live richer lives.

We're building an army of angels. A community that stands together. Where we challenge the norm to create a society that has no barriers. Where people who face developmental disabilities and mental health challenges are included and empowered. Where families are supported and children have reason to smile. Where everyday people reach out to the most vulnerable and give back to their community. 

Thank you for joining us.

Nature's beauty, No. 24

To wrap up the entire Nature's beauty series, I decided to go with this photo of the Albertina Kerr property that I took on that cold Sunday morning when I lucked out and decided to see what I could find in the fog. To me, it's important to show you where I was for over two hours, practically swooning with every step as I saw one after another sight that I needed to photograph.

The first five days of the series featured images taken at the far left of this photo where there is corner flower bed, raised above sidewalk level and enclosed in a stone wall topped with bricks. You see where that last tree on the left meets with the end of the hedge? The raised bed starts there and goes an equal distance down to and around the corner before the hedge begins again. The rest of the photos were taken inside the hedge, in several well-maintained beds filled with roses or shrubs or foliage plantings. When I think about how many exceptional opportunities I had for photographs in this small space, I am amazed and humbled by Nature's beauty. And I say, "Thank you," to those who garden on the Albertina Kerr property.

Nature's beauty, No. 23

After a couple days of thorns, I thought this next to last post in the nature's beauty series ought to reflect another aspect of the rose bush, the leaves.
 

Wide shot.
 

Close up, slightly to the right of the wide shot.

Nature's beauty, No. 22

--> Two close ups of the same part of a rose bush and several pointed reasons I felt lucky to be able to make my way around the garden without touching a single plant.
 

First, this one.



Now, this one.

Nature's beauty, No. 21

Two photos today.
 

Rose stem, thorns, dew drops, spiderwebs, cropped close-up. Love the reflections.
 

Rose stem, thorns, dew drops, spiderwebs, here's the wide shot.

Nature's beauty, No. 20

Looks like the spiderweb has just about completed the webbing for the insects' circus tent, doesn't it?

Nature's beauty, No. 19

Alongside the front windows on the east wing of the Albertina Kerr building is a trimmed hedge--I think it might be some sort of boxwood although I cannot say for sure. I squatted down for a closer look at this dewy little cloud of spiderweb with these tiny branches coming through it. I liked what I saw enough to take a photo and share it with you.

Nature's beauty, No. 18

-->

Decorative grasses filled a rather large pot on the patio at Albertina Kerr. I spied this triangle-shaped dew drop formed at the intersection of those two differently colored blades of grass. Although I had stiff fingers from being out in the cold for several hours, I worked at getting at least one decent photo of it. This turned out best. I like the lines and the triangles and the soft curves. Concentrating on that particular dew drop, I didn't notice the others until I downloaded the photos to iPhoto.

Nature's beauty, No. 17

I certainly would like to know how these dew drops formed as far apart as they did. And what makes them not slide together? Is it the surface tension of the water juxtaposed with the stickiness of the spiderweb? And on that top strand, whatever made those eight larger dew drops form alongside dozens of teensy ones? You can tell the wind blew as I took the photo, but I just had to share it with y'all. Someone may know the answers to my questions! I'm having a blast with these dew and fog photos.

Nature's beauty, No. 16

In this photo, I especially like the juxtaposition of the delicately threaded spiderweb and the robust, fleshy flowers on this shrub. Do you know the Harlequin Glorybower? I'm serious--that is its name. I didn't know that an hour ago, but I used to be a librarian who still believes that research is big time fun. So, I looked and looked on the Internet trying all sorts of search word combos, finally having success at Google Images with this combo--shrub with pink flower blue berries. The sixth photo, top right corner, success! Next I Googled the name and found out all sorts of stuff, including a big surprise. What I thought was a flower is actually a fruit! Described as red calyxes adorned with the fruit, those exotically colored blue berries. I think you will enjoy this post about the Harlequin Glorybower I lucked out and found at a Portland, Oregon, blog titled Random Acts of Gardening.

Nature's beauty, No. 15

So special, the way this spiderweb drapes along the bottom. The scalloped edge makes me think of Belle's yellow ball gown in Beauty and the Beast. And if you'll look closely at the far left of the spiderweb, tell me if you see what I see, please.

A double web? I guess that is what you'd call it. I looked at the image at its largest size and see two distinct upward bound threads. And there's just a bit of a second spider web there, joined to the other one by a couple of threads going across, practically parallel with the ground. I wish I'd noticed this when I took the photo on Sunday, October 20, but by the time I got to taking these, I was so cold--I'd been out there for almost two hours, enjoying the foggy morning. Thankful for the fog, to tell you the truth, because I figure that it contributed greatly to the fog.

Nature's beauty, No. 14

-->

Fuchsia, alive, hanging from itself, some in front of the spiderweb, some behind it.
 

Fuchsia, past its prime, hanging by three threads of spiderweb. Can you see all three?