Quite a bit of yellow has gone in and out of my mailbox over the last week or two, so this post is all about the yellow. I joined the “May Color: Yellow Photo” swap hosted by swap-bot Sharp Shooter, Lou. Here’s what I sent to my partner:

This flower was part of a bright and beautiful bouquet my parents received earlier this year. As much as I love photographing flowers, I know the names of very few of them. If you know what this is, please let me know in the comments section. Thanks!

Found this yellow tang at the Tennessee Aquarium. It is usually difficult to get good shots in aquariums, but I found the TN Aquarium particularly challenging. I was constantly changing the camera settings and hoping for good shots. At one point, I gave up on the fish and just shot photos of plants, flowers and all the outdoor creatures. None of them were yellow, though. 😉

These lovely weeds (really, wildflowers) were the inspiration for a swap I hosted, “Pretty Weeds,” but I couldn’t resist sending my “Yellow” partner an advanced copy of the photo. These were taken at a park near our home.

And here’s what my partner, the swap host, sent to me:

When I see daffodils, I’m reminded of two things: (1) the lyrics of song, “I Like the Mountains”–“I like the mountains, I like the rolling hills. I like the flowers. I like the daffodils. I like the fireside when all the lights are low.” (2) Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy. In the novel, the title character recounts being forced (while in school) to learn a poem about daffodils even though she had never seen one–they did not grow in her “small island” homeplace. If memory serves me well, she sees her first daffodils after moving to the United States to work as an au pair.

Lemons. Just in time for summer and some nice cool lemonade. Lou shot these photos at the Macy’s Flower Show in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

All of this yellow reminds me of some other yellow that went in and out of my mailbox earlier this year. Beckra, one of my “Professors United” friends, hosted a swap last year entitled “Yellow Flowers for International Women’s Day.” She was a little too busy to handle the swap this year, so she gave me permission to host the swap instead. In some countries, it is customary to exchange flowers on International Women’s Day (IWD)–March 8th–so for the swap individuals sent postcards that incorporated a yellow flower.

I sent two postcards to each of my partners. They were made with Hallmark cardmaking software. I was actually looking through the software for another reason and happened across the sunflowers and the “other” yellow flowers. I sent the sunflowers “as is.” After all, who would tamper with the beauty of sunflowers? I added the 2013 theme for IWD to the “other” flowers. Both were well received. One swap participant expressed her appreciation for the IWD theme for the year, since she herself was a victim of violence.

In return, I received three beautiful postcards–including one from Beckra, who did not participate in the actual swap.

“Waking Up” was sent by eepy from Canada. The postcard comes from Wanderlust: 30 Posstcards for Insatiable Travelers. Eepy loves to travel by train and the idea of opening her compartment window and seeing all the yellow flowers in the morning is appealing to her.

Kirstyenarnox sent this beautiful yellow flower with love from the Netherlands.

Last, but not least, Beckra sent this stunning close-up of a yellow orchid. She shared a Hortense Calisher quote–“One must give back the store of the universe. Anybody can”–and two of her own centos. Yay for me and my mailbox!

Since I’m now in the mood for William Wordsworth, I leave you with “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed–and gazed–but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.