I've been collecting cornflower seed pods for weeks now (along with mini, maxi and HUGE marigolds) and I will keep them in a tray until they are totally dried, then keep them, husked, either in a tupperware container or, unhusked as pods, in a bag that potatoes come in (I wash it and turn it inside out and wash again so any potato boogies don't harm the pods). I've found cornflowers to be astoundingly lovely, long lasting (well, I dead head on a regular basis all the plants I grow, in and outside) and the more I pluck off the pods, the more they produce. Cool. No idea if I have perennials, but I've got enough seeds from pods that I don't have to go to the store for more seed! (Ditto with marigold- easiest flower I have EVER un-seeded! Make sure it's petals are dry dry dry, pinch off the seed head, just below the bulge where the petals were, twist off the dead petals, and pull out the seeds. They will be black; if they are not, toss 'em; they're not ripe and won't germinate.) Sorry! I veered off into marigold land from Cornflower Row!! Whichever, good luck. (And, cornflowers look terrific framing marigolds.) This post was edited by SilkySappho on Sat, Oct 5, 13 at 23:57

The weather has not been very cohesive to taking pictures lately, so one of these is from this past spring and the landscape photo is from a couple weeks ago. I cropped both to try and get the right affect. My adventurous and demur (not really!) kitty A sunset scene from near our place, which I think would be better if the trees on the right were taller. I'll be keeping this assignment in mind for future photography for sure, it really is a nice effect that one could get very creative with. Thanks again ladies :)

Last week we were in Las Vegas where my DH had the opportunity to take 2 work related courses. When he was in his courses I explored the Las Vegas Strip and went shopping, of course, taking lots of pictures along the way. Here are 3 pictures I took that had leading lines in them. The first is at the Wynn hotel. The grass-like plants on the sides of the paths were not daylilies (shucks) but some sort of grass. This one was taken by the Excalibur Hotel. I love all the pansies that were planted along the path. This was taken when I was exploring the Tropicana Hotel pool area... I just have to throw these two pictures in. They are taken at the Wynn Hotel where it must be easier to plant and mow carpet than real grass. My DH didn't think that we should do that on our lawn here on the acreage. :) We left when the weather was hovering around 0C and I could still see green grass on my lawn. When we got back the temps had gone to -32C windchill and 6" of snow on my lawn. Brings me back to reality really quickly!! Brenda

Great pics everyone!!! I've been slowed down a bit lately, but will hopefully catch up with the assignments soon. Xtreme, that is what these assignments are about...trying new things and learning as we go. Laurie, the solution to get yourself out of the reflection is to use a tri-pod and the timer on your camera.....or a remote cable release. Your reflection of the Amaryllis is very good....looks like an impressionists painting. We usually get that effect with multiple exposures.....who would have known a triple pain window would work as well. :) Sierra