It’s been a busy week as we’ve been back at school preparing for the arrival of students on Tuesday.  My attention has been focused on planning, organizing, and thinking about ways to engage students in meaningful learning experiences.  And after a long day putting finishing touches on the classroom, getting the iPads synched and charged, and participating in a “fiesta” lunch with my co-workers, I was ready to go home and do a little nothing for a while.

I parked in my driveway and walked up the walkway to the front door of my house and the little bowl of succulents and cacti on my front porch caught my eye.  One of those pretty ordinary looking succulents…you know the ones that are mostly green, a bit furry, and you would never expect to look any different that it usually does…bloomed!

Here’s a view I took in early June.

When I saw the bloom today, I forgot I was tired, hurried into the house to put the macro lens on my iphone and rushed back out to capture the unusual beauty of the blossom in a photo. (Or several–I’m like that!)  I love the pictures!  And then I decided to play with them a bit using the Vintique app and pic-stiched 4 together to display.  (The one on the lower left does not use any filters–all were shot with my macro lens).

Arriving home today was like opening a gift!  I love nature’s little surprises.  How has nature surprised you lately?