A claret cup cactus prepares to bloom in Arches National Park, Utah.

While walking along a trail in the mountains recently, I came across a shady little area filled with bluebells and dandelions, all dappled by the sun falling through the aspen leaves and pine needles.

A pair of wildflowers in the mountains between Colorado and Utah. Edited with Flower Child by Florabella.

A stand of purple irises rises in front of a mountain on the border of Utah and Colorado.

I’ve also been posting a different series of mountain pics, this time taken by my iPod, on my Instagram page. If you’re on Instagram, too, come find me! I’m @caryncaldwell.

A cluster of poppies waving in the morning breeze. Third in a series of three poppy photos.

Poppies in my brother and sister-in-law’s back yard, with the morning sun shining through the petals and an artfully rustic wooden fence behind.

Edited with the Ginger action from Florabella Actions. Second of three in the poppies series.

This poppy wanted me to tell you hello. As for me, I wanted to tell you that I should be back to a more regular posting schedule as of this morning. I had a nice, long break while I worked on revisions for one of my books, but the spring flowers have been calling to me and I couldn’t ignore them anymore. I have a few more poppy pictures in the works, as well as some cactus buds and, well, I don’t know yet. I’ll figure it out when the pictures present themselves.

What’s up with you? What did I miss? Take any great pictures lately? Are you enjoying the spring/summer flowers, too? I want to know!

The sun rises over the mountains, touching our frost-tipped apricot tree.

This morning I looked out into our yard to find the plum tree frosted over and the morning sun just beginning to rise, causing the branches to sparkle. Two minutes later I was there with my camera.

Processed with the Winter action in Florabella’s Colorplay action set. The cool turquoise tones felt right for this frosty shot.

Happy New Year! May 2013 be filled with hope and joy for you and your families.

There’s a special connection between a little girl and her cat. Here Sunshine and Rosie sit side-by-side in our family room, facing away from me, leaning against a window and looking out into the backyard. Sunshine talks softly while Rosie meows in return. Their discussion is a mystery, but they are enjoying their connection and are at peace.

By the way, I finally have an iPod with a camera and I’m now on Instagram (which, yes, I signed up for the day my iPod arrived.) I’d love to be friends if you’re on there, too. Either leave your address in the comments of this post or follow me at http://instagram.com/caryncaldwell so I know how to find you.

Disclaimer: I’m still pretty new at taking photos, editing them, and posting them with Instagram, but I’m learning more every day and having a great time experimenting. Let’s have fun together!

And, for kicks, anyone who’s been on Instagram (or even Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest) lately should enjoy this Nickleback parody. I admit I’m guilty of a few of these…

Twin daisies reach toward the summer sun. Processed with Florabella Colorplay actions.

First of all, I posted over on my regular blog. It’s a mock tutorial on how to cook oatmeal in the microwave. (Hint: Don’t do it the way I do.) Would love to have you stop by and weigh in on things you keep doing even though you know they’re doomed to failure. (Really, it’s more fun than it sounds!)

And now some news. As it turns out, winter is brown. And it is cold. And it is dark when I’m ready to go out and take pictures. As a result, I’m having a little trouble finding my inspiration. Pair that with a book I’d like to finish revising this year and a toddler who has not been napping, and I think I’m going to cut down to a once-a-week posting schedule, at least for the next few months. I would rather do that than post photos I don’t love (which is only fair to you, the viewer, too). Starting next week, you’ll find new photos by me posted every Wednesday morning. I also hope that this new schedule will allow me to visit all of you more frequently — something I have not done as much as I would like to because of time constraints. When the lovely spring returns, with all of its flowers and green things, and even butterflies, I should be back to my Monday/Thursday posting.

Detail of the tips of a pinecone. Same pinecone as this one, but with a different focal point, and in color.

Day lily, slightly desaturated and with added vignette for mood.

Aspen leaves, turned autumn gold, shortly before letting go of their branch. Taken near here.

A pile of leaves found in an aspen forest near here. The water droplets are from a light rain that passed through shortly before I arrived – a storm that was still clinging to the nearby mountains.

Aspen trees glowing in the setting sun, with cloud-shrouded mountains behind them. Processed with a toned-down version of Pioneer Woman’s Old West action for a little different effect.

Also, sorry for being non-responsive on comments! I LOVE comments, but with this new system all messages went to moderation and I didn’t receive any notifications. Hoping the glitch is fixed now!

With all these autumn colors, I’ve been missing spring a bit so I thought I’d plow through my archives and find a flower photo. These are apricot flowers from our tree. I took the picture this spring, but didn’t post it because I’d already put several others up. Now it’s time.

By the way, I’m testing a new comments system, so if you have any problems with it please contact me!

I couldn’t resist taking this shot of our friend’s daughter a few weeks ago. Despite looking bereft, she and Sunshine were actually having a terrific time playing in this soft, sandy spot out in the desert.

A single yellow aspen surrounded by pine trees, glowing in the light from the setting sun. Taken just down the road from my previous post.