Happy Sunday! This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge host – Ann-Christine from the blog Leya – has chosen the theme of Delicate as inspired by her trip to Japan.

I can’t think of anything more delicate than flowers, specifically, these flowers. This year, I have dedicated a portion of my garden to the pollinators, scattering a packet or two of flower mixes onto the soil in February and watching them fill the space. Most of what came up were the orange poppies and I don’t mind them even though they’re everywhere in my garden. They are a much friendlier weed than bindweed, which it’s also everywhere.

I took the photo of the orange poppies on Thursday and by Saturday, all of their petals have fallen to the ground. So that should tell you just how delicate these flowers are.

It’s been a while since I’ve hiked and when I do, I often like to photograph things that catch my eye – landscapes, objects on the ground, or just plain old leaves hanging on as opposed to joining all the other leaves in a pile on the ground. I sometimes like to use a finger to poke it to see if it would fall.

I know, I know, it’s silly and childish but sometimes, it’s moments like this that make hiking a good experience.

Finally, there’s something about the garden after a summer rainstorm that makes me grab my camera and hurry out into the garden to take pictures. Somehow, the air smells fresher and cooler as opposed to the hot sticky foul-smelling air before the storm. I particularly like to photograph the water droplets on the leaves. I think there’s something different between a rain droplet and water droplet that maybe you can’t tell but I can.