Harold von Drehle
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Harold von Drehle
@haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
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#RoseWednesday
#FlowerReport:

A rose from Monday morning
in San Jose, California.
A photo of a maroon red rose from straight on. The petals are a little lighter toward the center, where they are a bit more twisted. All of them are pointed. Very dark maroon (almost black) stamen and anthers are tumbling in the middle. The background is mostly light blue sky. Some green leaves and a distant tree are below. A single yellow triangular gingko leaf is caught underneath. A photo of the back of the maroon rose in the first picture. The petals from behind fade from a dark pink to white at the center, which shows the green stem and the folded over sepals. A few petals are turned backward slightly. The background is an unrelated green and white bush, with many yellow gingko leaves scattered around on dark green grass.
December 3, 2025 at 4:15 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 3.
#FlowerReport:

From last Tuesday, in Gilroy, California.
A close-up photo of a yellow rose. It is mostly from the side, a few gold nugget anthers are poking out from the folds of petals. Large and small droplets fill most of the outward petals. Due to adjusting the contrast and shadows, the water drops and the twists and turns of the flower's petals "pop" in the picture. The background is blurred.
December 3, 2025 at 3:39 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#ThickTrunkTuesday, California style.

Tropics in Fall?

San Jose, California, Monday.
A photo looking up through a tangle of branches with scattered brown leaves, not yet Autumn fallen. The branches go before, around, and behind a palm tree reaching higher. The sky is gray.
December 3, 2025 at 12:15 AM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar
#BlueTuesday
#FlowerReport:

From San Jose, California, Sunday.
A close-up photo of a blue Viola flower. There is a fuzzy whitish V-shape pointing up at the center, down from which flows a bit of orange shading. There are also darker blue streams reaching out into the 4 to 6 big floppy petals, and smaller veins of lighter hues cascading into the petals as well. The background has some darkness and several large olive green leaves.
December 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#MacroMonday
#FlowerReport
(And a very early #InsectThursday.)

This morning, in San Jose, California.
A macro close-up photo of the orange and red center, and some golden yellow petals, of a daisy-like flower. Near the middle is a long thin beige bug with long legs and long antennae, seemingly pointed at a rather stout smaller green bug with short antennae, facing the camera, who is heading up one of the petals.
December 1, 2025 at 5:42 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
Good night, #FlowerReport.

Thank you for the reminders
to stop, look, and click.

Dream well.
A close-up photo of a yellow marigold flower, with her dozens of small petals fanning out to every side. Tiny bubbles of dew dot them all. The light of the camera creates a lot of contrast and pale shadows. Some green leaves and brown soil are in the background.
December 1, 2025 at 4:27 AM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#FlowerReport:

A New Zealand Manuka tea tree blossom, found in Mountain View on Thursday afternoon.
A macro close-up photo of a blossom with five petals that are white, but have a lot of pink veins and shading on them. Ringing the center are the red stamen with roundish light green anthers atop them. Some are standing up, and some are dipping toward the red stalk in the purple center, on top of which is a small flat green disc. They almost appear to be bowing, or leaning over to get a better look at the disc.
November 30, 2025 at 3:07 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#BlueSkyArtShow
#Warmth
#FlowerReport:

From an August afternoon
in San Jose, California this year.
A macro close-up photo of a bee on an all-yellow daisy-like flower in bright sunshine. The fine "hairs" on the bee are prominent, and her antennae are dipped toward the center of the flower. Sunlight reflects off of her clear stained-glass wings, which are folded back.
November 30, 2025 at 3:20 AM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#SixOnSaturday
#FoliageReport:

Still Fall, in Mountain View, California,
Thanksgiving Day, 2025.
A six frame photo collage of Fall leaves and trees. A close-up of a five pronged dry leaf of red and brown among sprig-like green leaves, with the shadow of one of them in the middle of the fallen leaf. A scattering of turning leaves backlit by the sun, with blue sky and white clouds beyond. A tree with dark red leaves on the left side and golden orange leaves on the right, in a blue sky. A frame filled with golden orange leaves on thin branches, with some prominent green leaves. A thin tree of sparse, turning leaves amid a blue backdrop. A tree with few reddish leaves and a trunk covered by green ivy, with that blue sky beyond.
November 30, 2025 at 2:59 AM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#FlowersOnFriday
#FlowerReport:

From Mountain View, California, yesterday.

Alt text would have been:

Two close-up photos of flowers. One is of a Lily of the Nile, who is light violet, with purple stripes. The other is of a pair of pink Azaleas, with dark pink "leopard spots" in the centers.
November 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#Photo #Thought

Let us not be defined by
the cages which confine,
let us grow beyond them.
A close-up photo of a black chain link fence. Further back are a little blue sky, thin tree branches, and a lot of small green leaves. More green, sharp-pointed, teardrop leaves are pressed up against the fence. Growing through the central square of the fence is a very thin tangle of red and green twig-like branches with tiny white buds. Some are closed, and some are open, showing yellow anthers. A few have a dollop of light on them.
November 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#InsectThursday
#FlowerReport:

In #Thanksgiving colors, a hover fly in San Jose, California yesterday afternoon reminds us that the intricate interwoven world of nature is something else for which to be thankful, and that beauty in so many variations and perceptions is everywhere we care to see.
A macro close-up photo of a hover fly on a ragwort flower, which is sort of a cross between a daisy and a dandelion, with broad yellow petals, and yet curled anther ends. The rounded floral disc is more gold than yellow. The flower is angled away slightly. The hover fly (with brown and yellow stripes, long yellow legs, and curved yet angular brown eyes) is on the top edge of the flower disc, "nibbling" on some pollen, I presume.
November 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#RoseWednesday
#FlowerReport:

A rose from two weeks ago in Gilroy, and a rose from the day before yesterday in San Jose, California.
Photo of a yellow rose with golden anthers. She is dappled with drops from a sprinkler. An unopened bud is below to the right, and a hint of another rose is down to the left. Green vines, leaves, and tiny thorns fill the background. A photo of a tightly wrapped red rose with petals turning yellow toward the center. Greenery abounds behind her.
November 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#BlueTuesday
#BlueTue
#FlowerReport:

From last Friday afternoon,
in Downtown San Jose, California.
Photo of a single "tower of flower." On a single stalk, leaning left, are many blue blossoms. The lower ones have a broad, curled, split petal at the bottom, with a few dashes of white. Just above that is a fuzzy "thumbs up" projection. Around the base of the stalk these flowers make it appear wider, with the blossoms bunching together toward the top, giving it a conical Fir tree shape. This "tree" is among broad, bumpy green leaves, and is growing out of a concrete city planter which runs into the distance, containing other greenery and flowers. The base of a skyscraper is in shadow, while a few low square buildings further away are in sunshine. Lit up brightly on the right is the St. Joseph church with its towers and domes. A tree in Fall foliage is at the lower right. The sky is a light blue.
November 25, 2025 at 5:21 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#MacroMonday:

From San Jose, California, yesterday.

Alt text would have been:

A macro close-up photo of a reddish orange ladybug with no spots. The front armoring is black, outlined in white. The eyes are black with a white stripe between them. She is on a thick green leaf, among more leaves.
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
Good night, #FlowerReport.

Thank you for sharing.

Dream well.
A photo of a small gathering of Springtime blossoms, and yet, these are from this morning in Gilroy, California. The petals are white with shadowed hints of their crepe-like surfaces. They have both pink and dark pink anthers splaying out from their centers. Above, out of focus, are full green leaves. Below, in sharp relief, is a leaf with many small interspersed blocks of lighter and darker browns and greens, defined by the veins and sub-veins meandering haphazardly over the leaf's surface.
November 24, 2025 at 5:17 AM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#SundayYellow
#FlowerReport:

This morning, in Gilroy, California.
Photo of a yellow Daylily among long thin green leaves.
November 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#SixOnSaturday
#FlowerReport:

All from yesterday,
in San Jose, California.
A six frame photo collage: A bee hovering before a purple flower. A daisy with short petals and a rounded yellow center. A bunch of tiny flowers with four petals and green and yellow tufts at their centers. A macro close-up of a teeny bug on the yellow flat center of a small daisy. A dandelion in spherical seed form. A small white flower with five petals and yellow anthers.
November 22, 2025 at 3:12 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#FlowersOnFriday
#FlowerReport:

Actually, from Thursday after a night of rain, in Gilroy, California.
Enhanced photos, for more contrast.
Close-up photo of a white lily from directly overhead, with six white petals below and three very light violet petals above, all completely covered with drops of various sizes. The photo has been enhanced to where some of the yellow stripes on the lower petals show through the upper petals, and the creases and veins stand out. Reedy green, brown, and gray leaves fill the background. Close-up photo of a yellow rose among green leaves and thorns. Droplets are on every petal, even inside where they haven't fully opened. The flower is in the process of rising again after a night of rain, and looks a bit disheveled. A gray sky is beyond the tangled leaves above.
November 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#Photo:

Jonathan.
Photo of a roiling, clouded sky of gray and white with a hint of blue at the base. Small against the sky, not far from the horizon, wings stretched upward in a V-shape, is a seagull, flying to the left.
November 21, 2025 at 6:02 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#InsectThursday
#FlowerReport:

From late yesterday afternoon,
in San Jose, California.
Macro close-up photo of a bee on a yellow dandelion. The flower is beginning to close as it is about 4pm. Some petals and curlicue anthers are in sharp focus in the foreground, along with the front of the fuzzy bee. A few dots of pollen cling to her antenna, eye, and foreleg. On her rear leg is a ball-shaped, yellow-orange pollen sac. Her wings and the back curve of the dandelion fade into a light blur, and the background is a deeper blur of dark green.
November 20, 2025 at 4:25 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#RoseWednesday
#FlowerReport:

From San Jose, California, this morning.

The cycle of life.

.
A photo of three pink and white roses. The furthest away, to the right, is a bud, pointing right, whose anticipatory petals are a dark pink. To the left is one from the side, about half open, looking up, showing the brighter pink underside of the petals. The nearest rose is fully open, facing left, with darker pink edges leading through the vein effect to a white center where charcoal pink anthers dance. The background is mostly green leaves and dark earth below, and a low wall of gray rock above.
November 19, 2025 at 8:54 PM
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#BlueTuesday
#BlueTue
#FlowerReport:

In Gilroy, California, this morning.

Plumbago Blue.
A macro close-up photo of a light blue plumbago flower with five petals, with five violet stripes running up those petals, and five whitish anthers standing out from the confluence of those petals. Mottled green is in the background, with hints of plumbago buds and flowers as well.
November 18, 2025 at 7:07 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#Photo
#CityLights

Last night, in Downtown San Jose, California. City Hall, with Sonic Runway out front, which pulses a rainbow of alternating colors in time to a variety of music.
A nighttime photo of the City Hall complex in San Jose. To the left is a bit of Santa Clara Street, moving to the right is a series of neon hoops (lit with dashes of white) attached to the concrete ground. Some green and red stoplights and one car's brake lights are showing through the hoops. In the middle of the photo is the tower, with a staircase of green, and a vertical string of picture windows in alternating blues, pinks, and purples. Many window lights are on in the rest of the tower. All the way to the right is the front half of the dome. It is made of clear glass, with sparse supporting concrete and horizontal rings of metal. In the foreground is a low concrete sign leading into the frame. Most of "San Jose City Hall" is apparent on the sign.
November 18, 2025 at 4:54 PM
haroldvondrehle.bsky.social
#MacroMonday
#FlowerReport:

In Gilroy, California, Saturday afternoon.
A macro close-up photo of a dandelion in spherical seed form, with a dandelion in full flower form centered directly behind, and being contained within the stems of the seeds, so that the "parachute" forms are unobscured. The background is filled with the small green leaves of ground cover.
November 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM