— As the year 2023 is about to close, I looked at the photos I captured this year and tried very hard to pick a few that I had somehow overlooked to post whenever I published a new article. We had great trips that helped me narrow down my choices. Naturally, I did not go over the 11,000+ photos I created in 2023. I relied on my memory to think back about what captured my eyes as we traveled here and there. There was Brazil in the spring. We had not been there since January 2020. Flying over São Paulo, waiting for dinner right at the beach in Fortaleza (my hometown), and marveling at my hometown’s architecture were some highlights of what we experienced on that trip.
I could not forget our two trips to Colorado either. First, we were there in July to catch wildflowers. I remember that Lily Pad Lake was one hike we wanted to redo. It did not disappoint at all. We even had to wait a little by the shore to make sure an approaching storm would pass us by. Later, in September, we returned for fall foliage. It was the first time we both experienced fall colors such as what we saw in Colorado. Of course, there were also numerous trips closer to home in and around Austin, Texas.
One thing, though, kept coming back to my mind: the flowers we saw in São Paulo, such as the opener with Bird of Paradise. My decision had been reached: share photos of some of the flowers we saw in Brazil. Here they are.
Right outside the balcony of my nephew’s condo in Santos, we could almost touch this Alexandra palm tree flowering.
When we went to visit Mount Serrat (also in Santos), it was as if we were in a lush tropical garden. There were lots of flowers along the funicular car taking us to the top. These are some examples. I lucked out because there was a lot of pollinator activity surrounding the striking Flamingo Feather flowers.
When we arrived at another nephew’s home (this one in the city of São Paulo), I could not believe that I was seeing a variety of orchids growing out in the open and clinging to some fruit trees. It was hard to pick a favorite, but here are three I enjoyed looking at very closely.
I hope this small sample will provide your eyes with some soothing moments. I thank Tina for this wonderful Lens-Artists challenge that provided me with the impetus to share some new images I captured this year. Be sure to visit her post to see her photos. For more about the Lens-Artists challenges, you can visit this page.
This is also an entry for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
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Perpetua
I love these flowers and pollinators.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Perpetua. I appreciate your feedback.
JohnRH
Beautiful. The BoP and Moth Orchid are among my many faves.
Egídio Leitão
Glad you liked them, too, John. Thanks for the feedback.
Cee Neuner
Your bird of paradise flower is absolutely stunning. What a beautiful post. 😀
Egídio Leitão
Cee, many thanks!
nesfelicio
Excellent photos, Egidio! I like all of them, specially the first and last.
Egídio Leitão
Nes, thank you for the comment.
Anne Sandler
Simply beautiful rejects Egidio! You must have had a difficult time choosing to leave these beauties out.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you, Anne. There are enough hours in a day to write and post photos that I’d like to add to my blog. So, I’ll slowly continue to add more to the catalog.
Marie
Love the Mount Serrat trio.
Egídio Leitão
Marie, I’m so glad you liked those. Thanks for writing.
Tra Italia e Finlandia
Stupendi…🌷🌴
Egídio Leitão
Grazie mille.
Tina Schell
LOL, I had a good laugh at Anne’s comment about “lovely rejects” Egidio! Lovely indeed, and how very clever of you to simply include links rather than all of those amazing images!
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Tina. Well, the links were not a clever idea of mine. I took the challenge meaning photos that had not been posted. Those with the link had been posted either for LA challenges or others.
Ana
Wonderful selection!!!
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Ana.
margaret21
Soothing floral moments indeed – quite lovely.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Margaret.
Sofia Alves
The more I see on this challenge the more I’m sure we should always have it at the end of the year. So many beautiful photos to share and to be appreciated. I’m inspired for the next year, Egídio. The colours and feel of your photos are joyous.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you so much for your feedback, Sofia. I agree that this is the right time for this theme.
photobyjohnbo
Beautiful floral selections, Egidio! My favorite is the macro of the moth on the flower. Nice capture.
Egídio Leitão
John, thank you so much for your feedback.
TextileRanger
The pictures are gorgeous! When I first clicked on your post, though, only the bird of paradise showed up! I then clicked on a couple of links, thinking maybe you were directing us to pictures you had posted before, but of course they weren’t there either. I just kept following links and reading good posts. When I came back to this one, the pictures were all there! I am glad they weren’t at first, though, because it led me to reading more posts. 🙂
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about the glitches. I don’t know why that happens. It is likely one of the plugins I use on the site. I’m glad you were able to see the photos. Thank you for the compliment and patience.
Wind Kisses
What a treat to see orchids in the wild. We had one on our last vacation and I was amazed at how well it did, inside. You really have done a lot of traveling this year and I remember when I stumbler across your blog with such awe. You do such a great job at not just showing us “stuff”, and instead, bringing us into your world, Egidio. This was a great idea to showcase flowers today. It is hard to narrow down what still might be considered our best photos. I hope you have a wonderful week surrounded with friends and family.
Egídio Leitão
Donna, what a special treat to have this comment you wrote about my bringing viewers into my world. I can’t thank you enough for writing that. In picking photos for any challenge, I try to limit what I post and write. I know everyone follows many blogs. Thank you so much for your support since day one. I so much appreciate that. Merry Christmas (if that is your tradition) and happy holidays to you and your loved ones.
Wind Kisses
Sending love to you and yours, Egidio. Yes, Christmas is alive and well here. My granddaughter has tasked me with what she has decided is an annual scavenger hunt. The hard part is…with travel, I hardly have any gifts. On to Target…
Egídio Leitão
Target to the rescue! I’m sure your granddaughter will love whatever you get her. Merry Christmas!
Amy
What a beautiful gallery, Egídio! Love your selections. 💖
Egídio Leitão
Amy, many thanks for your compliment. I appreciate that. I hope you have a wonderful time in your new adventures. I’ll keep looking forward to your photos whenever you share them. Bon voyages!
PR
How colorful 😀. Beautiful!
Egídio Leitão
PR, thanks for writing.
aekshots
Beautiful colors in the Bird of Paradise shot. Nice capture Egidio.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you for your feedback, Andy.
Prior...
Hi -Egidio, I really enjoyed your post here.
So much beauty and the flowering palm outside your nephew’s condo lt us feel some of the joy you must savor when you see it. 🙂
Egídio Leitão
I really appreciate your taking the time to drop me this note. Thanks for the feedback.
Prior...
🙂
Leya
Always a treat to visit you, Egidio – never want to leave! Landscapes, cities, flowers, jungle – you manage them all effortlessly (it seems…) and guide us through images and words. Gorgeous.
Egídio Leitão
Ann-Christine, your words warm my heart. Thank you for the kind feedback. Happy holidays to you!
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
You have captured the beauty and essence of the flowers beautifully.
Egídio Leitão
Many thanks, Ritva.
SoyBend
The bird of paradise flower is spectacular, Egidio! Gorgeous photos.
Egídio Leitão
Many thanks, Siobhan.
pattimoed
Beautiful post, Egidio, and memories of travel adventures in 2023. Your flower images are gorgeous! I thought I took a lot of images last year….maybe we’re tied for the most??
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for the feedback, Patti. As for the number of photos, sometimes I use the burst mode when photographing wildflowers and wildlife.
Khürt L Williams
Reading your blog is like a trip down memory lane. The bird of paradise grows all over St. Vincent and we had a few date palm tree in the yard in Antigua.
Egídio Leitão
Khürt, I’m so glad the blog is taking you down memory lane.
Anita
Thank you for sharing your lovely flower photos taken in Brazil Egídio. It’s always exciting to see plants from other parts of the world. The bird of Paradise is a colorful beauty that also grows in my garden.
I realized pretty soon that not all photos were displayed as intended. Only two images are visible, The bird of Paradise and the Alexandra palm tree flowers but when I click on any of the empty spaces, the images appear, luckily. It would be a shame to miss out on what you want to show the rest of us. My favourite among your amazing photos is the Teleus Longtail moth on Flamingo Feather, a marvelous image!!
Egídio Leitão
Anita, many thanks for the feedback. In particular, I want to thank for mentioning the glitch with the photo display. I think one of my WP plug-ins is interfering with the proper photo display. That photo you singled out as your favorite was such a fortunate find. I’m glad you liked it. Thanks again for the feedback. Happy New Year!