Day 4 of 5 Day 5 photo challenge

Gulara of http://gularavincent.com nominated me some days back to take part in the 5 day 5 photo challenge.  Her recent posts in this challenge have shown her appreciation for Nature which remind her of the beauty in the world.

Jüte, my younger son’s new fiancè, always brings us a gift when she comes up to Johannesburg with Davey, home baked cookies, dates balls covered in coconut, chocolate. When she and Davey were here in April, this orchid was delivered to my home the day after they left via courier.

Jute's orchidI’m amazed that it is still blooming; it’s shed a few petals but is still looking beautiful after several months. It’s kept indoors (although I put it outside for a moment to take the photo) and is always a reminder to me of her beauty and kindness.

outdoor orchidThis beautiful orchid above is in a pot outdoors on the patio. It is just starting to bud. I have several pots of beautiful orchids outside and it amazes me that they bloom so gloriously in winter. The purply ones below are starting to fade a little but in its place are these gorgeous white ones. There are a few pots with so many buds. I can’t wait.orchids June 2015These are the purply/pinky ones.

There is another beautiful orchid I have indoors but when I put the photo up it won’t go the right way up, no matter what I do. Somehow I’ve managed not only to publish an unfinished post, I’ve also lost my colour tag. What I HAVE managed to do, is to put the umlaut onto Jüte, and the ‘ onto fiancè … someone on FB said just hold the letter down! Thank you Ashen and Jacqui and Marian for your suggestions in my recent post!

I’m nominating Genevive of http://livealifeofgratitude.blogspot.in to continue the challenge and tomorrow I’ll be nominating Samantha Mozart on my last day.

Rules: for 5 photos, 5 days challenge

1) post a photo each day for 5 consecutive days

2) attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a paragraph – all entirely up to you!

3) nominate another blogger to carry on the challenge. Your nominee is free to accept or decline the invitation! This is fun, not a command performance!

32 Comments on 5 Photos 5 Day Challenge: day 4

  1. Your orchids are beautiful, and the story about your son’s future bride is lovely. I was able to get my only orchid to bloom twice, and now it is sprouting new leaves, so I’m hoping it will bloom again. It sits in a mug on my kitchen table most of the time, and was given to me by my daughter for mother’s day year before last. It is quite lovely, and I treasure it most because my daughter gave it to me so lovingly 🙂

    • Thanks for coming by M.J. 🙂 Be patient with the orchid in the mug but great that it is sprouting new leaves – now may the buds appear! Such a treasured gift from your daughter, given with love –

  2. Gorgeous. Lovely to see what you have there–so different from what I have here. Are those outdoor flowers blooming now? I hope you sorted it all out. Looks good to me.

    • Thanks Elaine – we left Johannesburg yesterday to come down to the sea for a week and I checked on my gorgeous orchids before leaving – the white ones are blooming and many are in bud. I can’t wait to see them again on our return!

  3. Orchids a sign of eternity … enlightening. Thanks, Patricia; I had that sense and you have confirmed it. My mother (and stepfather) raised orchids in Florida and I took a number of photos. I have sometimes thought of posting them and writing stories around them. Perhaps I still will. Thanks for these lovely photos, Susan — an eternal memory of my mother. And, yes, I am amazed that they bloom outdoors in the winter.

    • Thanks Samantha! Stories around your mother and stepfather growing them would be lovely! Glad that they remind you of her. I wonder whether to post you a slip and you to plant in Delaware …

      • How thoughtful of you to think of posting me a slip, Susan. I know nothing about growing orchids, but could learn, as my mother and stepfather did. Flowers tend to cringe when they see me, though. Mostly I just water them when they look dry, and snip off the dead parts. They manage to survive.

  4. Hi,

    Orchids are my most favourite flowers because, in my opinion, they have an eternal message. I find that very interesting that your soon to be daughter-in-law sent you orchids. For me, orchids are a sign of eternity.
    Shalom,
    Patricia

    • That is most interesting Pat re: the eternal message of orchids. And I now look in a larger way of the gift of Jüte to me several months ago – thank you!

      Shalom to you, Susan

  5. Beautiful orchids Susan, loved the pictures, and it is so pleasing to hear about your would be daughter in law, how thoughtful of her …. small acts of kindness makes a great difference, glad to know that you have a kind and thoughtful future daughter in law. Thanks for nominating me … I am getting ready for my post…. and you will get to see it soon. thanks again.

    • Thank you Genevive! Small acts of kindness make the world go round and we are blessed, pleased, proud and privileged to have Jüte in our midst!

  6. Great photos but also wonderful commentary on the learning process involved in doing all this computer work. I think we all struggle with one aspect or another. Thanks for sharing!

  7. You have an amazing future daughter-in-law. I’m glad to see your son was smart enough to grab her. Now if only my son…

  8. I love these flowers, Susan! They hold so much positive energy and radiate love. What a beautiful reminder of your loved ones! And their abundance is quite impressive too. Shows how much love they get from you.

  9. The flowers and your soon-to-be daughter-in-law are both lovely!
    And congratulations on getting the accent for Jüte. You reminded me of how to do it on a Mac–option u, then press u again.

    • Thanks Merril! I just tried the ü again, and simply holding the ‘u’ down gets the ūmlåüt on! Any letter held down gives options!

  10. Hi Susan – how very thoughtful of Jute (can’t get the umlaut in!) … and how lovely to have another orchid, obviously a favourite flower .. the others are doing well. Glad you found some story challengers to continue the posting on …

    Cheers Hilary

  11. Lovely orchids! I’d love to know your secret. Mine are all dead unfortunately. What nice gifts you have received and deservedly so, for such a lovely person.

    • Thank you Stephanie! That’s a lovely compliment! There’s no secret – perhaps they show off because of my admiration?

  12. The orchid Jute sent you is so beautiful. Due to our cooler weather our orchids can be found in a sunny window in someone’s home. The orchid has such a royal presence about it. Beautiful pictures and post, Susan.

    • Le Fleur est le Couer de Dieu – unsure I’ve got this quote right – but it expresses beautifully also what I feel about flowers. Thank you Susan – to give and receive – what could be more expressive

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