Today I was feeling antsy and decided to head out on an adventure. At first I considered going to the Audubon Society Nature Center in Portland, but then chickened out as I hate to drive into Portland. I have a big fear of getting lost and never finding my way home. Then I remembered my friend, Roxie M., talking about the Swan Island Dahlia festival. Canby, where they are located, is very close by and I love driving that way, so off I went with my camera and spare batteries. I took over 200 photographs!! I guess I got a bit carried away. I just kept snapping away. The blossoms were so beautiful and colorful. So here are some of the shots as posting all of them would fill this blog!
So much color!! And I did notice a lot of bees enjoying the acres of blossoms!! 
 |
This white flower looks like it has 2 antennae--an alien!!
The bee on the orange & yellow flower has a pollen sac on his leg!Some flowers looked like fireworks explosions!
As you can see, some bees mingled during their work. Deep colors were quite a surprise for me.
The yellow flower looked like 2 in one. I love the flame-like look of this dahlia. It is on fire!
Brilliant color!
Some of the blossoms seem to be looking up at the sun shining down on them and I swear I heard them give a satisfied sigh!
Some are so softly colored and seem gentle, subdued, and wise like mature women.
Some declare: Look at me!
I managed to catch a bee on one flower and one hovering just above it ready to land! What luck!!
The bees seemed to be more drawn to the dahlias which have these center areas. Great chance to get some bee shots!
The yellow reminded me of sunrises and the pale lavender of sunsets.
I never knew that there were so many varieties of dahlias and they keep creating new ones each year!
I noticed that they have a photography contest and the deadline is Sept. 15th. 1st place gets a $100 gift certificate, 2nd a $75 gift certificate, 3rd a $60, 4th a $50, 5th a $40, 6th a $30, and several Honorable Mentions receive $15 gift certificates.
I may consider sending in one of my photographs to see if I can win!
Which photograph do you think I should submit?
