Eagles and More

Seeing it is the end of the month,it is time to share another post.

I have picked a few of my favourite pictures.

All of these pictures were taken on March 17,2012.

This little Red-breasted Nuthatch visited the feeder at my house.

I always enjoy seeing these guys.They allow one to get fairly close.

I have them at my feeders all year,and I love that.

From my house we head to the Pembina Valley. I hope you are not getting tired of seeing pictures from that area.I love being at the Hawk Watch and of course pictures follow naturally.

A pair of eastern Bluebirds were checking out a nest box just across the road from where we were sitting. Here the male is checking to see if all is well.

At one point during the day we were treated to a bit of a tussle between an immature Bald eagle and a Common Raven.

I think the Raven had underestimated the size of its opponent.

I am not quite sure what is happening here,but they seem very close together.

It was shortly after this picture was taken that the Raven veered  off and left the Eagle to carry on.Wise choice,in my opinion.

I think this may well be my best ever shot of a Bald Eagle.

The light was just perfect and the bird was fairly low.

This was one of those moments where all eyes were on this one bird and many exclamations of joy were heard.

I am thrilled to have gotten this picture. The warm late afternoon light makes those wings glow.

Thought for today:

No bird soars too high,if he soars with his own wings.

William Blake

Playing With Picasa

I have had some fun playing with the collage maker in Picasa.

It does a good job of making a collage and is ever so easy.

This first collage is all about the Peonies in my garden.

These flowers are full and beautiful,but often succumb to a heavy rain.

iI am thankful I got these pictures before the rain caused the flowers to hang their heads.

Daisies are so simple yet so charming.

I had to make a collage of them,because my dear Jake loved his Daisies.

He had a hard time mowing down any daisy plants that showed up in the lawn.

Needless to say, we had a lot of patches of these flowers on the lawn.

Thought for today:

Some people, like flowers,give pleasure, just by being.

Stepping Back

As we await the flowers of spring,I decided to step back into my archives and share some flowers from the past.

These pictures were all taken in the summer of 2005.

I can hardly believe the quality,as I had a small point and shoot Olympus camera at the time.THis was my first camera and the one responsible for getting me hooked on photography.

One of the lilies in our garden back then.

This is a more delicate looking lily. I do like the colour and the curled back petals.

These pictures were taken while I was waiting to become a Grandma,but today my precious Kai would tell you that this is Grandma's favourite colour.

I do like pink,but this blue is amazing as well.These tiny flowers are Forget-me-nots.

One flower does not have much presence,but a cluster of them is outstanding.

I do enjoy clouds and that was the reason for this picture.

I would ask you to take a close look at this shot.Hidden among all those trees is my town of Morden.I think that is pretty amazing. I love all the trees which line our streets.The town used to have several elevators,but now has only this one.You can see in the distance a much larger elevator,this one is about three miles down the road and has replaced the smaller ones.

I found this quote in an A Rocha magazine:

We care only for what we love.
We love only what we know.
We truly know only what we experience.

Steven Bouma-Prediger

Spring Sightings

The last few days have felt more like summer than spring.

I has been gorgeous.Being outside is all I wanted to do.

Granddaughter Kai and I made some peanut butter pine cones for the birds.

It didn't take very long for the Pine Siskins to find these treats.

The Blue Jays are very active as well.

This one perched at the very top of this evergreen and waited for me to put out more peanuts.

Of course i have spent hours at the Pembina Valley Hawk Watch.

When there are few birds in the sky,I look for other interesting photo opportunities.

This marshy area is on the side of a hill.It is kind of strange,but it gave me  a picture. 

Just for a change,I am adding a couple of rose images.

One of Jake's cousins dropped off a rose for me at Valentine's Day.

She is a sweetheart.Of course,I needed to get pictures of this special flower.

I had some fun with some of these pictures.

Here I added a soft colour filter.I really like how this turned out. 

Thought for today:

Flowers don't worry about how the're going to bloom.  They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.

Happy Days Are Here Again

The excitement has begun.

Raptor migration is on and the numbers are climbing.

I look forward to this time of year.

Who wouldn't get excited at this kind of view?

When a Bald Eagle comes over fairly low,the excitement builds very quickly.

It is very early in the migration season,but already 555 bald Eagles have passed through the Pembina Valley and more are coming.

This is a Golden Eagle.

The numbers for these birds are much lower,but that is very normal.

It is a beautiful bird to watch as it soars through the sky.

This was one of those special moments when a bird is so low that no cropping is needed. This picture is SOOC,no editing.

Although we always love seeing a mature Bald Eagle,this immature bird is no less beautiful.

When we have a moment of no Raptors in the sky,we turn our attention to the other birds.This little Downy Woodpecker came to check out the action and also look for some food in the tree.

A moment later this is all we saw of him.

Wings lifted straight up,ready for take-off.

 Spotting the first Canada Geese come by is also thrilling.

It is somewhat unusual to see only two at a time and they were silent.

I still love how they looked in that beautiful blue sky.

As it is time for the weekend,I will be spending time at the Pembina Valley,watching for Raptors of all kinds and hopefully getting lots more pictures.

It is exciting to see the counts for the Red-tailed Hawks slowly climbing.We are now at 148 birds,but that should climb into the thousands before the migration is over.

To date 803 birds in total have been counted and those numbers should be climbing on a daily basis.

I can't wait to get out there and be a part of this thrilling event.

Stay tuned for many more pictures in the weeks to come.

In this post I want to take a look back at some of the snow we have had.

I almost hate to do this,because as I am getting ready to post this it is 4C or 39F here,and that is early in the morning. I believe we will have a beautiful day.

 We have had a few snowy days and since I had been waiting for snow and photo opportunities,this was exciting to me.

As I was getting ready to head off to work,I decided to take a moment and get a night shot of the snow.This is taken right outside my door. I used a flash and like how it shows the snow as it is coming down.

A little later that same day,I took this shot of the lattice around my deck.

I love how the snow sits on each little piece.

Looking up at the tops of the evergreens,you can see the grey sky and also the snow.To some this may look gloomy,but to to me it is beautiful.

Just one more look at the heavy load of snow on the branches.

Somehow this is a look I don't ever get tired of.

On Tuesday of this week I woke up to see my world shrouded in fog. I knew that it would be a photo kind of day.As soon as I was off the bus,I grabbed my cameras and headed out.

This is a spot I see every day on my way to work.It is in the Morden Research Station.To me these trees are so photogenic and on this day as the fog hung in the air,the trees were beautiful.

After spending some time at the Research Station,I headed west to our lake,Lake Minniwasta. This is a small lake,but large enough to supply my town with water.On a road leading to the back of the lake this is what I saw.

I wish I could convey the feeling of that moment.All was calm.not a breath of wind,no sound,not even a bird anywhere.

As I was walking down this road,I felt like it was God and me alone in the stillness of the moment.I loved being up there and did not want to leave,except that my feet were getting cold from getting snow in my boots.

When having a moment like that all I can say is:

Then sings my soul,my Savior God to Thee,How great Thou art,how great Thou art.

A Bouquet of Tulips For You

We finally got the snow which usually come around mid-December.

I have had to do quite a lot of shovelling,but I refuse to complain.

The snow creates a beautiful landscape.

For today I want to look ahead to the spring season and the Tulips it brings.

All of these were photographed on my own yard,by me.

Tulips come in so many different shades and each of them beautiful

I do not have names for the various flowers as they have been in the ground for quite some time.

Each colour and shade has its own beauty.

I am thankful I don't need to pick a favourite ,as that would be nearly impossible.

I love the red,but I also love the soft colours.

For me it will be a while before I get to see the Tulips push through the ground.In the meantime I can look at these and dream of the flowers yet to come.

I think this one is the same kind as the first one,but taken from a different angle.

I love that bright colour on the inside.To see this means I have to stop and actually look at the flower. I am trying to develop the habit of slowing down and really enjoying nature and all it has too give.

Thought for Today:

Today feel the awe and wonder of God's creation.