Wordless Wednesday - The Orthodox Church of Athens

Portrait of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ


Portrait of Virgin Mother Mary holding child Jesus



Wordless Wednesday

Festive Plants for Chinese New Year

With the Chinese New Year (CNY) fast approaching, streets and shops are filled to the brim with auspicious seasonal plants to usher in the Lunar Year of the Golden Rabbit. Most Chinese love to have live blooming plants to welcome the refreshing New Year and new growth.

Some of the popular plants would be pussy willows, cherry blossoms, lime plants, bamboo shoots and money trees.



A combination of plum and peonies blossoms symbolize good luck and good fortune



Lucky bamboos symbolize harmony and prosperity. They create positive energy and good balance to any room.



I'm not sure how true this is but it is believed that twisted bamboos will make a person’s luck changed from bad to a good one.



lime plants symbolize the arrival of good fortune and prosperity. These plants are usually displayed at the front door entrance to a Chinese home or office building.



Pussy willows are thought to symbolize goodwill and motherhood. They are also considered to represent protection for the home. We took these flowers while on one of our walks in Salzburg last year.

That's My World

Ruby Tuesday

Celosia cockscomb (brain flower)

I've always been fascinated and enthralled by cockscomb blooms and glad to see these blooms in my mom's garden have finally sprouted.



The blossom is velvety textured , vibrantly coloured and eye-catching that I just had to take some photos. There are great big holes in the leaves though which are most often caused by insects or their larvae. I was surprised to find that these flowers can have every single leaf eaten off and still survive!



I think I’m not the only one who is reminded of a brain tissue when glancing at a celosia. More often it is referred to as Brain Celosia but sometimes also known as Cockscomb since it bears a resemblance to the rooster's comb.

I hope you enjoy these flowers as much as I do!

Today's Flowers

Macro Monday

PhotoHunt - Shadow

Here are my shadow shots for this week's photohunt theme.



Such perfect shadows on a late afternoon in Ephesus, Turkey.



Sometimes the simplest things form a really nice shadow



shadow on delicate white petals



A quiet stroll in pleasant places sweeps the cobwebs from the shadows of my mind.



The fencing creates a beautiful shadow on a sunny morning.



You can count on your shadow to be always by your side. It's the closest thing next to you.

PhotoHunt

Wordless Wednesday - Sights around Selcuk, Turkey