Pearly Everlasting (c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week; I hope you enjoy them as well
National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links
National Parks Traveler has National Park Service Sequestration Update: Closed Campgrounds, Fewer Seasonal Employees, Sunday Closures, Traveler’s View: Congress, National Park Service Need To Restructure Fees For Centennial Celebration and Great Smoky Mountains National Park Closing Some Campgrounds Due To Budget Cuts
The Washington Post has Yellowstone gets real about budget cuts
Flower and Plant Links
Beautiful Wildlife Garden has Incorporating Native Plants into an Existing Landscape
Wildlife Links
Christian Science Monitor has Caffeine in flowers helps boost a bee’s memory, say scientists
New York Times has Monarch Migration Plunges to Lowest Level in Decades
National Parks Traveler has Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area To Close Roads For Amphibians
Environmental Issues Links
The Washington Post has Can the world fight climate change and energy poverty at the same time?
Mother Jones has Climate Change is Biggest Threat, Says Top Navy Commander in Pacific
Photography and Art Links
Light Stalking has 5 Ways To Improve Your Photography Without Touching Your Camera
Matador Network has What you stand to lose in travel photo contests
AllFacebook has Do The Research Before Posting A Photo From The Web On Facebook
Digital Photography School has Why does your camera see things differently than you?
DC Area Flower Safari
If you are in the DC area, I hope you will join me and other flower lovers at our DC Flower Safari Meetups. The next Meetup is scheduled for Sunday, March 17th at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. The Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens is always amazing. It’s one of my favorite times of the year to visit Longwood.
Info is at http://www.longwoodgardens.org/OrchidExtravaganza.html
Plan for this meetup is to meet at 6:30 AM at the Grosvenor Metro Station. Then we can carpool to Longwood. It takes just over 2 hours to get there. My suggestion would be that we plan on photographing in the Conservatory in the morning – then meet for lunch at 11:30 in the restaurant. After that – depending on what people what to do – either keep shooting – or head on back.
Garden admission is $18. You can purchase a ticket online at or you can get one when we get there. I doubt there will be problems getting tickets at the door on a Sunday morning for Orchid Extravaganza. But if you want to make sure you get one – go ahead and purchase a an entry ticket for 9 AM on March 17th.