Raindrops on Juniper

My mother's favorite song (one of them) from her favorite movie is My Favorite Things. When I posted a photo I'd taken yesterday to facebook, asking her to show it to my sister Juniper, I didn't expect her to compose a new variant on the song, but it's lovely, and I wanted to share it. Mom tells me she loves the smell of junipers in the rain - and they are common where she lives, so she will go out to smell them after the rain. When I took the photos, I was feeling blue about the gray, chilly, rainy November day. But you can find beauty anywhere if you look for it. Even in the rain.

Raindrops on Juniper

Raindrops on juniper and purring gray kittens,
Crackling wood fire and snow-covered mittens
Friends coming over to strum guitar strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Small pinto ponies and hot apple cider
Star shine and pine trees growing out wider

Praises to God that everyone sings
These are a few of my favorite things

Dogs sleeping by me dreaming of bunnies
Cuddled up warm and reading the funnies
Waterfalls splashing into mossy small springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the wind howls
When the mud clings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

--Kathleen Sanderson

Shooting with a 21 mm lens extension on an 18-55 lens, I get a shallow depth of field, a lot of bokeh, and a very close look at the way the waxy leaf-scales repel water drops.