I guess I missed school the day they discussed the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree, I think I would have remembered learning about this dazzling wonder of nature. There’s something so interesting about the colors and patterns that grow all around us. After staring at these beautiful images for a few minutes I had to wonder what was causing the coloring. The site I found the images on answered things rather simply :

The secret behind the Rainbow Eucalyptus is actually pretty simple. The trees shed multiple patches of bark every year, but not at the same time. As the patches are gone, the green inner bark is exposed, and, as it matures, every new patch first turns bluish, then orange, purple and maroon. This creates the rainbow effect that makes these trees so nice to look at.

I’ll buy that explanation, now I’m off to chase more rainbows.

As a reformed pack-rat (ok maybe not) I get my fix of collections online rather than in my closet and junk drawers. A Collection A Day is a site that resonates with me. My t-shirt, cassette tape, and even the collection of those personalized pens & address labels  you get in the mail seem more relevant now. Take a look at the vintage lotto blotters above and feel better about your junk drawer. The collection has been turned into an actual book which I’m eager to see but there are tons of samples on the site’s blog where the two collections below were pulled from.

Vintage Candy

Vintage Japanese Notebooks

Our inspiration today comes from college professor Gary Greenberg. His photographs of magnified grains of sand are meticulously created by combining several images of the same grains to give more depth and definition to the tiny particles. Mr. Greenberg isn’t a one trick pony, his site shows several examples of his work ranging from flowers to food. Below is a photograph of a grape 

There’s also a very interesting gallery of 3D images which is worth checking out as well as links to his books.