Oh Happy Day!

Oh happy day!Yesterday Jake and I went to Winnipeg and came home

with some new lenses for our cameras.

These pictures are direct from the camera,no editing,

taken with my new Canon 100-400mm lens with Image Stabilization.

I am more than excited to use this lens,as I can see the images are much better than any I have done before.

The earth is the Lord's,and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

My Weekly Bird ABC

The letter 'J' is next in line.

The official name of this weeks bird is Dark-eyed Junco,

but for this week I will use only the last part of it's name-Junco.

I have included pictures taken by both Jake and me.

Above you can see the different coloration's of the Junco. Even though these birds are considered to be plain looking they have such interesting plumage.

Here is a portrait of the Junco.

In spring their lively twitter is so refreshing.

I do believe that the last two pictures show the Oregon sub-species

of the Junco.

If I am wrong I would gladly accept correction.

The earth is the Lord's,and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

A Few More Wintery Shots

I know we are all tired of winter,but bear with me as

I show a few more winter shots.

The first two shots probably show an early spring.

These icicles were captured just a day ago.

The next three shots somehow got 'lost' when I installed Photoshop Elements 7.I found them just yesterday and wanted to share them. On a drive in to Winnipeg Jake and I saw this almost pure white Snowy Owl.

I think he is stunning,and I'm so glad I found these pictures again.

It's strange how photos can get lost on the computer.

The earth is the Lord's,and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

Purple Day

The following flowers are in honor of my dear blogging friend Michelle.

March 26 is a day set aside to bring awareness about Epilepsy.

For all those who deal with this ,I give to you a bouquet of purple flowers.

You can't light a candle

To show others the way

Without feeling the warmth

Of that little ray.

My Weekly Bird ABC

On this first week of spring we have arrived at the letter 'I'.

Unfortunately we have only one bird whose name begins with I.

Now having said that,I think that this bird is quite able to stand on it's own.

The Indigo Bunting is an amazing bird.

This first picture was taken in 2008 in Winnipeg,Manitoba.

While we were walking through a park we noticed this

Indigo Bunting sitting in a small tree.It allowed us to walk around and photograph to our hearts content.

Below is an image also from last summer.We were able to capture this photo

as the little fellow was having a bath in our water feature.

Another shot taken ,perhaps two years ago.

Here you can see the Bunting at our window feeder. The last two images are taken at least 17 years ago. These were on our yard out in the country. For me this was my first look at an Indigo Bunting, it was amazing.The blue of it's feathers lights up when the light hits it just right.

All of today's pictures were done by my dear hubby,Jake

The earth is the Lord's ,and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

Please Pray

Hi,my blogging friend Michelle is going through a very difficult time due to seizures. I would like to request prayer for her and her husband. Doctors are trying to figure out what meds to give,so they too need prayer. Thanks to each one who takes a moment to pray for these dear people. Blessings,Ruth

Beside Still Waters

For today's post I am borrowing a picture from a friend.

This picture was taken by a young lady, only 13 years old.

She has been a friend of ours all her life and I just wanted to

share her photographic talent with others.

Thanks,Sydney for allowing me to post this picture.

I felt that the verse which I have added to the picture,is perfect for this shot.

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

My Weekly Bird ABC

Welcome to the letter 'H'

To begin take a look at the Harris Sparrow.

This bird migrates through our area in spring and fall.

Below is the male House Finch,a bird that is not only good looking,

but has an equally pretty song. Next in line is a juvenile House Wren. Several of these young birds were hopping around on a brush pile and allowed me to get quite close. A male House Wren defending his home.

This one was sitting in the tree just above the bird house.

Jake was able to capture this shot of the bird in full song.

I almost didn't post this picture,but it is a bird as well.

The House Sparrow is around all year.and often not very welcome.

Here is another picture of the House Finch,this one taken by Jake.

The Hairy Woodpecker is one we see more of in winter.

The following three pictures are all done by Jake.

A Horned Lark,one of the first spring arrivals every year.

And last but not least is an old photo of a Hooded Merganser.

We do not see these very often,so this picture is the only one we have of it.

The earth is the Lord's,and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

Beautiful Scenes by Jake

I am so proud of the photography skills which my husband has,

therefore I am choosing to share more of his older work.

Many of these pictures may well go back before I was part of his life.

I do not know exactly where these were all taken ,

but it would be in southern Manitoba. The elevators behind a Canola field is so typical of Manitoba.

Dramatic clouds are seen all over the world,

these are in our part of the world.

I know that this is a pasture south west of Morden.

I like how Jake framed the picture with the foreground flowers.

I must say that I have a great personal photography teacher.

By now I have two great teachers as our son does spectacular work in the field

of portraits and weddings,as well as nature photos.

It took many years but this photo bug finally bit me as well,

and I'm so glad it did.With the teachers I have I too can learn to take some decent pictures. The earth is the Lord's,and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1

My Weekly Bird ABC

As I was thinking about this weeks post,I knew which bird had to be first.

The first two pictures are taken by Jake last summer.

This is the Golden-winged Warbler.

This little bird has shown signs of decline and is being watched very carefully.

When Jake saw this bird foraging along the creek in our park he knew it was special.

The pictures are not the best poses,but because the bird is somewhat rare

they are very special to us.

Below,anther photo by Jake of the Green-winged Teal. I think this is the only time we have seen a Green-winged Teal in our area. The picture was taken many years ago,using slide film. A Great-crested Flycatcher posed for Jake last summer. This one was in Winnipeg,Manitoba

I was fortunate to be able to capture this picture of a Gray Catbird.

He was heading towards the raisins,put out for the Robins.

Last fall I had the pleasure of photographing this Great Egret,

just down the road from our home.

The Great Blue Heron struck a nice pose for Jake.

Photographing the Golden-crowned Kinglet is not easy.

I felt fortunate to get this picture,which is not great.

These little guys seldom sit still very long.

While in Winnipeg last year we walked through the park and found this baby Great-horned Owl. He did not seem to mind that I wanted his picture.

On another occasion I was able to get pictures of an adult Great-horned Owl.

This was also in the park in Winnipeg.

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

Psalm 24:1