Maybe Jill could name this flower, lol, or someone else could identify it. This photo was taken in the Dominican Republic. I thought maybe it is some type of passion flower.

I would have said some type of clematis, but I don't really know much about flowers ...

and on looking at Google, it definitely is not a clematis, and is much more like a passion flower as you suspect ..

Someone knowlegeable is sure to confirm ...

Divine: DEFINITELY a passion flower. I have a picture of one in my yard (must be overwintered in the house of course here) SOMEwhere on my computer. I'll have to look for it.

Satguru: lovely photos of the Weddington lock and the cemetery!

Sue: awww baby ducks are on my top 10 cutest baby animal list.

All: Beautiful pictures of flowers and trees everyone! But as for Spring? Bah humbug (we had a blizzard here day before last lol)

Thanks Jakeroo.
I'm not trying to start a theme here but cemeteries are quite photogenic, this one is just next to Teddington Lock after you cross the bridge.

Such an interesting flower, Divine.

Dotb, which castle/fort is that?

Another shot of the island.

My current weapon of choice.

Another what is it? From the Dominican Republic.

Zorba, that beach looks divine...where is it?

Divine: The soccerball/brain looking thing is the (very unripe) fruit of a Pandanus tree. I don't know which variety it is though, but since striped leaves are rather unusual it might be Pandanus baptistii

I didn't get this uploaded in time for the "I made it myself" theme, but it's still April so...



Most of the eggs are done in the traditional Ukrainian style (pysanky) (where you use wax to draw/preserve designs while progressively dipping the eggs in darker dyes - sort of like batik). Some of them are "scratch eggs" where you just dye the whole egg one colour and then scrape off your design with a needle (extremely time consuming lol). Others were just "goofing around". My friends and I only do one or two eggs per year and usually break a few (arggh) so a few of these are around 25 years old now.

WOW Jakeroo, what a lot of work in that photo!

Here's (one of) my orchid(s), in bloom for over 2 years now and a heap of new buds there so it's not finished yet:

Love those eggs, Jakeroo. Amazingly beautiful.

Those eggs are stunning - nice work, Jakeroo! Amazing detail.

The eggs are wonderful, Jakeroo. Beautiful work.

I fourth that Jakeroo.
Love your orchid Santana. I have had mine for 7 months and only had the second lot of flowers now.

Thanks for the fruit identification Jake. And wow, those eggs are amazing. You are so talented.

Santana, I bought an orchid a few months ago and can only hope I have the good luck with it that you have had with yours.

My orchids come better and better each year. The secret? After they finish flowering I chuck them out under a tree in the garden and ignore them.One year later , they are gorgeous again.

I wish I could do that Ren. Winter would kill them for sure if I did that here. Maybe chuck them in the basement?

Yes anywhere!

Those eggs are impressive- I've been doing similar things with feltpens on graph paper for many years, you keep the same shape of border and fill each in differently. You never run out of new ways to do it.

This is a bridleway through Esher Common, the total length was about 2 miles.

My goodness, I certainly didn't expect so many comments about a bunch of eggs, but thanks - you are all too kind. I'm not all that talented at anything in particular, but I like to "dabble" in lots of things. I would KILL to be able to do all the things you folks are skilled at (e.g. the lovely quilts, afghans, cards, puzzles, photography, exquisite paper art, surfing, travel, etc etc that I have seen here and on the other forums - I am quite jealous of all of you quite frankly!).

Satguru: Post all the cemetery pix you'd like, I love them. I realize some people think of them in slightly morbid or depressing terms, but I find them beautiful and calming. Oh and pardon my ignorance, but when you say "bridleway", does that mean the path was originally intended for travel by horse?

Schoonie: Neat picture (and wow, what a tidy room as well lol). I don't know anything about surfing - is the middle of your board "scuffed up" on purpose to provide "grip" or something?

Orchids: I'm with Ren on this one. "Neglect" is a good practice (no need to throw them in a basement though lol). Only 3 rules: 1) don't put them in direct sunlight 2) if you think they need water, think again 3) never fertilize them when not in flower. Santana, I'm amazed yours have bloomed for such a long period. I have 8 different types of orchids, which all bloom periodically, but wow! And so MANY buds! You must whisper lovely magick words to them to make them perform so well : )))

And oh yes, forgot earlier to post a Grand Canyon pic from the helicopter. That muddy thing wayyyyyy at the bottom that looks sort of like a road is the Colorado River.

Neat photo of the Grand Canyon, Jakeroo! I know I'm Johnny-come-lately on the compliment here but those eggs are unbelievable! Incredible artistic ability. I'm blown away by a lot of peoples' skills on here.

To answer your question, the stuff in the middle of the board is wax so I can stick to it. Without it, I would just slide right off. The tailpad on the back also helps for grip and knowing my foot is in the right place - I try to make sure my back foot is right up against the back ridge of it, provides a little extra leverage that way. Also, it protects the fiberglass from getting dented when I use my knee or foot to push under waves while paddling out. There is too much wax built up on there (I'm a little obsessive-compulsive about adding a fresh layer before each session) and as you can tell, it's pretty dirty! It also makes the board heavier than it should be. I really need to clean that off and apply a fresh coat - I keep saying "tomorrow".

Thanks for the compliment about the room - you should see my office and garage, though. Those need some serious help!

Here is another photo I took from the Cook Islands. Was just walking down the main road and thought the contrast looked pretty neat.

Jakeroo,
The eggs are spectacular. Having done them myself, I know how much work is involved.

Jakeroo, your eggs are works of art. Absolutely amazing detail - very impressive indeed!

I am not very creative, but hubby made these ladybug houses and I decorated them. We sold them to a local garden centre and will see if they sell. If they do, I guess we will be making more.