Lotus in the Pond July 15

In a short two weeks, the lotus blossoms have increased from 3 to over 70. What an explosion of beauty and peacefulness!  I never tire of photographing them at all angles, time of day, and light intensity.

This morning, it is cloudy and the opportunity to photography without the harshness of overexposure was a nice opportunity. It is humid out and the thunder is rolling a bit. We desperately need the rain for the pond, gardens, and crops.  There is no significant precipitation in Ithaca predicted, so I water and water the gardens.

These photos are mostly of the lotus, but also day lilies, aromatic lilies, and a cute chipmunk.

Several states of the flower:  bud, early flower in front, later lightening of the flower, and developing pod