He Hideth My Soul

I took you through the Pembina Valley in very early spring,so now its time to take another drive.

Everything is lush and green.Just past this curve is where a lot of the spring Hawk Watch takes place.

By now,I am sure that many smaller birds are busy feeding their young.

We make a short stop at the Pembina River.It is still quite full,since we have had so much rain this year.

Apparently there are even fish in this river,but since that is not something I pursue,I cannot verify that.

As we leave the river we head in a northward direction and follow the road up and out of the valley.

In another part of this valley stands this old,falling down barn.SInce I first became aware of it about three years ago,it has really deteriorated.I think it still makes a great picture.

The Pembina River snakes it's way through this area,and at another spot where the road crosses the river,I stopped to see what I could find.

I saw an old tree at the edge of the river and thought it might make a good picture.

Well,when I looked through the camera,I noticed that a small plant was sheltered in the knot of this tree.

 When I saw this,I immediately thought about the old song,written by Fanny Crosby,He Hideth My Soul. I know this is not a rock but it is still a sheltered spot.

Here are the words to the first verse and the chorus of this song.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,

A wonderful Savior to me;

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,

Where rivers of pleasure I see.

Chorus:

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,

That shadows a dry thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,

And covers me there with His hand,

And covers me there with His hand.

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For You My Friend

A flower for you,just because I count you as a friend.

This is a Macro of a Fuchsia blossom.

Friends are God's way of taking care of us.

Thanks to all my friends for the encouraging comments you leave for me.

Spring Blooms To Brighten the Day

It is a cloudy day,with a forecast for rain and possibly some storms.

I need something to brighten my day.How about you,can you stand some images that brighten and give hope?

I thought you might say yes,so here we go.

What is better to bring some light into the day,than the apple blossoms ready to open.Apple blossoms may not have bright colour,but they  hold the promise of things to come.

Yes,these pictures were taken a few weeks ago,but the beauty remains the same. 

I love the soft blush of these buds.When I look at these I can imagine the delicious apples that will follow.

Not only the apples are blooming,but the cherry tree also sports pretty blossoms.

I already know that I will likely not get to enjoy too many of these cherries,but the birds will love them and that's ok with me.

The maple seeds are sporting pretty colour. I am always drawn to the soft and pretty colours of spring.

I love seeing the details in these seeds.

All of these pictures were taken with the Canon SX50 camera.

Thought for Today:

A beautiful garden with fruit trees in attendance,

is like nature's royal court in session.

It practically begs, "Come commune with God!"

Pink and Orange

Flowers and raindrops are made for each other.

The flowers are Geraniums in one of my planters.

I will let them speak for themselves.

Finally a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole.I have had more Orioles this year than I have had for many years.I so enjoy seeing and hearing them.I still hear an occasional one,but they must be busy nesting because I don't get to see them now.

Since Sunday,June 16,is Father's day,may I wish any fathers who read this a very Happy Father's Day.

I had a wonderful father to guide me as I was growing up and I have many great memories of him.

When my son came along I had the privilege to watch as Jake was a good father to him.Jake and Steve were more than just father and son,they were very good friends and for that I am thankful.Along came a granddaughter,Kai, and Jake once again was a wonderful Grandpa and loved every minute of his role. Today I watch as Steve does a great job of being a Dad and friend to his daughter and so the cycle continues.I have been blessed to have many good men in my life who guided with love and tenderness.

The Old Wagon

On Monday I had the opportunity to take a bus load of Kindergarten children to a petting farm.

The children had a great time with the animals.I did not take pictures of many of the animals this year,because I had been to the same place last year.

One thing that caught my attention was an old wagon,sitting at the side of the lawn.

These pictures were taken with the iPhone and also edited on the phone.

Here is the 'mostly 'original shot. I did tweak the colours a little,because it looked kind of washed out.

Just because I can,I added a frame to the picture.

And then,once again,just because I can,I turned the picture into a sepia tone.

I thought this seemed fitting for this scene.

Do you have a favourite from these shots. Let me know,I would love to hear you likes and dislikes.

Flood Waters In Morden

OK,as promised here are two collages of the scenes around town on May 31,2013.

We had received a lot of rain and because of previous rains the ground was saturated and so we had some flooding.  I know this is not severe as it is in some places,but many people went out taking in the sights.I was one of them.

I did not want to overwhelm anyone with picture so I put them together like this.

The centre shot happens to be my son driving down a street filled with water.Let me tell,he was laughing all the way,I am sure.

On either side of this picture are pictures taken at the campground.Notice the tent and picnic tables in the water.I'm sure the campers found a dryer place to be.

The bottom picture is on the beautiful Minniwasta Golf course.No one was out golfing.I wonder why. LOL

Another set of pictures.

The top scene is another angle of part of the campground.

Center picture is part of the lot at Tim Horton's. To the left is a scene from on the hill,looking into town.

The bottom shot is one of the intersections which has a natural dip in it.I would not have wanted to drive through there with a car,but it worked well with a four-wheel drive truck.Notice the bridge on the left side of the picture.This is a walking bridge,but for at least one day was not accessible.

By now the water has receded and most things are back to normal. One intersection is closed because of a washout and will be closed until the town has time to repair it.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour around my home town and that your feet stayed dry through it all.

Flowers For June

On this first day of June,I want to share some of my early flowers with you.

We have recently had a lot of rain and some fairly severe flooding in my town,but those pictures will wait for another day.No one has been injured as far as I know and since we live in an area where the water can run off quickly,we will be just fine.

In between rainy days,I took some time to capture some beauty on my yard.

The Marigolds always add a splash of colour.

New leaves hold a special attraction to me.I love the delicate beauty they have and the range of colours that show up on an otherwise green leaf. This is one of the Mountain Ash leaves,isn't it pretty?

Ok,this is not on my yard,but on Jake's Uncle's yard.This sweet couple had invited me to come photograph the birds in their plum tree.The best picture I got that day was of this female Baltimore Oriole. The tree was loaded with flowers,but I think all the rain we have had since that day may have kept the fruit from setting.I guess we will see as the summer progresses.

Back on my yard,my potted plants are beginning to show signs of growth.

This is a small flower,no larger than half an inch across.The tailing vine is called Bacopa and in summer it is covered with these white flowers.Now all I can do is hope that mine will perform like that.I will be sure to keep you posted.

Finally,here is a macro of one of the Geranium flowers.I really like the two-toned colours of this one.

With all the rain we have had,my plants are definitely wet enough,now all they need is some heat to really begin growing well.

The Oriole shot was taken with the Canon 7D,100-400mm lens,all others were taken using the Canon SX50,on macro setting.

Thought for today:

Ten thousand leaves on every tree,and yet there be men who question God.

Joaquin Miller