quaking and shaking

The morning was warm so I went up onto the deck to soak up a little of the January sunshine. While I was up there I noticed the wind shaking the leaves of one of the potted plants growing up there.

This is Euphorbia cotinifolia, a shrub in the same genus as the exalted poinsettia and the lowly and weedy spurges. Species like the quaking aspen tree (Populus tremuloides) get all the glory for having foliage that quivers in the wind, but I thought the maroon leaves on this plant were doing a pretty good job of it.

This turns out to have been my first YouTube video upload. John’s little digital Instamatic has a movie mode that lets you capture moving snapshots. The quality isn’t what the perfectionist in me would like for it to be, but like other snapshots I think you get the idea what’s being photographed…

4 thoughts on “quaking and shaking”

  1. That was fun. i have not tried my “Movie” setting on my camera yet (except by accident)
    I was thinking I need to give it a try.
    I enjoyed your video.
    I love quaking aspen. Mineral king and the eastern Sierras has wonderful quaking aspens.
    Best,
    Philip

  2. Thanks, Tina!

    Philip–Some of the hidden valleys off highway 395 are such surprising destinations: the aspen quaking, or blazing gold in the autumn, the walls of granite rising up behind them, the clear morning light…stunning locations!

    And I look forward to your first movies!

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