Lagoon Birds

It's time to show some of Jakes' pictures.

All of the following pictures were taken at the Morden sewage lagoons.

Usually one doesn't think of beauty and sewage lagoons together,but

this is a great place to observe and photograph water and shore birds.

What is cuter than a baby duck?

A family of baby ducks.

This family of Wood Ducks is out for a swim.

The Ruddy Duck is a unique duck,to be sure.

This male was displaying his beauty to some females nearby.

Red-necked Phalaropes are busy feeding on insect life on the water.

Also feeding is this Black Tern.

Terns are very sleek looking birds and dive into the water for food.

Not exactly on the water,but nearby is this Northern Harrier.

These birds have been hard for Jake and me to capture,but on this day

this female was so busy hunting,that she did not mind jake taking her picture.

When photographing birds,one can get some strange surprises.

When this image came up on the computer we had a good laugh.

Bombs away,look out below!

Nature gives us so much beauty and then throws in a smile now and then.

Bugs,Blossoms and Beads

I have a few more pictures taken on Sunday,May 23.

As we were trying to photograph some Terns,

I noticed the patterns the water was making.

I am drawn to these images,perhaps because they don't fly away,like the birds. :)

At the English Gardens this Dragonfly allowed some pretty good shots.

If anyone wants to give an ID,that would be appreciated.

While sitting on a bench in the gardens,I noticed the beautiful Bleeding Hearts.

Since these flowers don't want to grow in my garden,I will enjoy them this way.

What's not to like about Lilacs?

I look forward to their fragrant blossoms each spring.

Growing up we had a hedge of Lilacs around the yard,

and now Jake and I also have a hedge of Lilacs.

These particular ones were taken at the English Gardens and not at our house. :(

I noticed the spray at the Lily pond and decided to take a few shots.

What looked like a small stream of water,turned out to be a stream of beads.

At least that's what it looks like to me.

ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL,THE LORD GOD MADE THEM ALL.

Tulips in the Park

Although the Tulip season has mostly passed in this area,

Jake and I found these beauties still very much alive in a park in Winnipeg.

My blogging friend,Krista, at Picture Imperfect has shown me how to frame my pictures.

This is a lot of fun and quite easy to do.

It was refreshing to see these beds of Tulips in all the brightest colors.

I thought the few reds among the yellow was very pretty.

The contrast of colors is eye catching.

These were all taken in the English Gardens in Winnipeg.

This bi-colored Tulip was quite unique.

The whole patch of them would have been beautiful when the flowers were in their prime.

Red and Yellow.

A perfect pair.

All pictures taken by Ruth with the Canon Rebel xti

and Canon 100-400mm lens.

You don't have to worry about eyestrain

from looking on the brighter side of life.

Playing in Photoshop

I finally took some time to play with the Photoshop Elements 8 program.

Since there are different parts to the Mac version,I have been busy

learning how to edit the pictures.

I still have lots to learn,but there will be more time for that come winter.

Here are three pictures,taken in the last few weeks.

This first picture is one of our Tulips.

I thought this made it look like a serving tray,and I like interesting trays.

The blossoms of the Oak tree are quite pretty.

A little bit of playing around resulted in this image.

Finally,another small leaf.

This is a shrub on our yard,and does not grow very tall.

The leaves are this lovely shade of red,so it is  an attractive addition to the yard.

As I look at these small leaves and one simple flower,I am reminded that

we need to give thanks for all things.

Take a Look at Our Town

I just took a look at my son's blog and was very impressed with the picture I saw.

He spent some time last night flying over the town of Morden and got great pictures.

I invite you,my friends to follow this link and have a look at his pictures of our home town.

Aerial Photos of Morden

Photography is in Family

Today I want to share with you a few pictures that are not of birds.

Jake and I went for a Sunday afternoon drive with our son,Steve

and our granddaughter Kai.

Being in a family of photographers,Kai is quite handy with a camera,even at 4 years of age.

I gave her my little point and shoot and these are two of the pictures she took.

Kai pointed the camera out the window and snapped this picture.

All I have done to it is a little cropping to straighten the horizon.

She decided to do a self portrait,and this is the result.

Once Kai was done taking pictures I took the same little camera and from the other side of the seat got this shot.

Just so I don't leave out the birds completely,here are two pictures I got on Sunday evening.

These were taken at the local lagoons,with the swarm light of evening,giving that perfect light.

These ducks are Northern Shovelers.

This male was very intent on feeding and did not notice me on the shore.

Perhaps some day I will have to give this blog over to Kai and let her show

her photography skills,but for now I will keep on sharing what Jake and I do.

All creation bears God's autograph.

May 12 and 13 through the years

Just for something different,today I will go back through the years 

and choose a picture from each year taken on the above dates.

I decided on three days since I don't have a picture for each year on only one date.

This first picture is from May 12,2006.

The Robin really needs no introduction.This male takes a moment to allow me to get a good shot of him.

At this time of year the Robins are very busy building nests.

Just after lunch today,we saw one carrying building material into a nearby tree.

 The path shown below is at one of our favorite places,Binney Corner and Nature Preserve.This was taken  May 13,2007.

This Nature preserve is a small parcel of land,but has a variety of habitat,

from water to marshes to woodlands.

Jake and I have spent many hours walking these trails and seen and photographed many birds there.

 On May 13,2008 I photographed this Chipping Sparrow.

This little fellow is sitting on the decorative fence around the pond.

I enjoy the Chipping Sparrows as they come to the feed on the ground.

 A Lincoln Sparrow,shot by Jake on May 12,2009 is also right in front of our house.

Take note of the feathers on his head.

He seems to be a bit perturbed.This is usually a fairly shy bird,so is not that easily photographed.

 Yesterday,May12,2010,another visit to the local sewage lagoons and another  Grebe.

I have so far this year seen 5 Grebe species,all the ones usually seen in southern Manitoba.

THis Eared Grebe was one of several which were on the lagoons.

I'm thinking he has a permanent bad hair day.

Again,notice the raised crest,a sign of agitation.

From our observation there was courtship and pair bonding going on.

Well,that is my trip through the years in the middle of May.

I should add that Jake has been taking pictures for many more years,but I don't have dates on those shots,so it would only be a guess.

IF WE CANNOT SEE BEAUTY,WE CANNOT SEE GOD.

Join Us For a Walk

Jake and I like to go walking at our lake and local parks.

Today I invite you join us.

You may want to step into some old shoes as some of the trails are still muddy.

We'll start right on our yard.

These two Mourning Doves were sitting in the trees right on the yard.

Actually the picture was taken from inside the house,through an open window.

We need to drive a few blocks to get to Livingstone Nature Park.

This is  a small place and very quiet,so is one of our favorites.

I wonder who might live in this hollow tree.

I can imagine a squirrel or perhaps a rabbit making a home here.

Further along the trail,we find these blossoms.

They are small but look so pretty.

Once again we need to get into the car,this time we head up to Lake Minniwasta.

This is where the trails are quite muddy from all the recent rains.

One never knows what or who will show up.

This American Mink was probably as surprised to see us as we were to see him.

This animal is not seen very often.

Both Jake and I can't remember when last we saw a live one like this.

You will notice he is on a little bridge.

This is part of the Minniwasta trail.

Some of the spring blossoms are attracting the bees.

This one was so busy gathering nectar,he didn't mind a couple of photographers around.

With shoes coated with mud we are back at the start of the trail.

I hope you enjoyed this short walk and the beauties of nature we got to see.

COME AND SEE THE WORKS OF THE LORD.

PSALM 46:8

More Birds,Etc.

It is time to share a few more pictures of our recent activities.

The weather is rainy and cold,so therefore not great for birding and photography.

Having said all that here are a few of my recent pictures.

On Sunday,late afternoon,Jake and I went to Lake Minniwasta.

This is a relatively small lake,but it supplies the town of Morden with most of its water.

Upon our arrival,we saw one Osprey sitting on a tree close to the lake shore.

Before we left we had seen 7 Osprey,which is most unusual for this area.

Here is one of them in flight.

Yesterday,May 3,we again went to check on bird activity at the lake.

This time we were surprised to find several pair of Grebes.

These are two of the 5 Western Grebes present.

These are the birds that in courtship will do a water dance,running side by side on the water.

The other Grebes were these Horned Grebes.

This picture is not cropped,so you can see they were very close.

Today the lake was very quiet,but that does not keep me from taking pictures.

These Saskatoon Berry blossoms looked good to me.

To see the true beauty of the world around us,one has to train the eyes as well as the heart to stop and look at each little thing.

I hope you have enjoyed joining Jake and me as we walk along the trails at Lake Minniwasta.We will be back there many times before the summer is over,and you are welcome to join us,at least via this blog.