Welcome December 2017

December is upon us, the last month of 2017.

This is a month of busyness, celebration and anticipation. We anticipate celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. This is a story we have all heard for many years, but it never grows old.

This post has in it some of my favourite things, although there are many more than these few.

The red berries on the Mountain Ash decorated with some white snow, is a pretty sight.

Yes,we did have snow for a short time, but is has since all melted away.I hope we get more soon.

During the winter,I have less birds around, but the ones that stay, like the Blue Jay are a joy to watch.

A small Oak Tree not too far from the house is the perfect place to stop for a moment before coming to the feeder.

The snow on this Jay's face, tells me that the has been hiding peanuts in the snow and now he's back for more.

This looks like a good one.

Wait,maybe I can get a second peanut in there.

For those that may be reading this and prefer the summer season,I add another favourite of mine  a beautiful yellow rose. In my opinion, all roses are beautiful.

Closing Thought:

I’m so glad friends don’t come with price tags.

I could never afford the wonderful friends I’ve got. 

Snowflakes

Yes,I want to share about snowflakes.Some,like me, love them, others do not like them at all,but bear with me and see how you will look at snowflakes after this.

For those who just don't like winter or snow, here is a lovely Purple Coneflower just for you to enjoy.

The following words were not penned by me, but were shared by a good friend of mine, at our Ladies Christmas Social.These words were written by Holly Gerth. 

The Meaning of the Snowflake

Every new snowflake comes to the earth as a picture of our Saviour's birth,

because they are sent from up above and remind us of God's care and love.

Each one is so intricate and small because Christ sees the details of us all,

and just as two are never the same He knows and calls us each by name.

Snowflakes gently cover the world in white and hide what's unlovely from our sight,

showing us how He covers our sin and gives us His grace when we come to Him.

So may every snowflake bring Christ to mind and in every bit of white may you find

a reason to celebrate anew and a reminder of His love for you.

I challenge you to find the beauty in the snow this winter.

Thanksgiving Everyday

The flower that has done best for me this past summer was, no doubt, the simple and old-fashioned Geranium.I had several different plants, some were bought very early in spring and kept on blooming till the snow came and coated them in a pretty white dress.For today I have some Geraniums,a couple of sunset scenes and some golden yellow Maple leaves.

In honour of my friends in the US who celebrate Thanksgiving this coming week,I will post the words to an old hymn I found.

"For all the blessings of the year, 

 For all the friends we hold so dear,

For peace on earth, both far and near, 

We thank Thee, Lord. 

For life and health, those common things, 

Which every day and hour brings, 

For home, where our affection clings, 

We thank Thee, Lord. 

For love of Thine, which never tires, 

Which all our better thought inspires, 

And warms our lives with heavenly fires, 

We thank Thee, Lord." 

 Closing Thought:

We should all have 365 days a year of Thanksgiving and Thanks-living.

Bison to Birds

Time to visit my favourite bison herd.They don't seem to to think of me as a favourite,because they totally ignore me when I show up.Today I chose to get up close and personal with these guys.No,I was not that close, since I really don't even want to be that close to these animals.A good telephoto lens does wonders,at times like this.

That is a very serious look.

I wonder if he thinks he can hide behind those few pieces of dried grass?

The White-tailed Deer of course keep a safe distance from humans.Yes,all these pictures were taken before we got snow.

It doesn't matter what I'm trying to get pictures of, I am always mindful of the sky so seeing these clouds,I had to get a picture of them.

In fall we see large skeins of Canada Geese heading north. They are usually heard even before they are seen.

Canada has had the official Thanksgiving Day,but my friends in the US will be celebrating later this month.I do hope these turkeys escape the kitchen. This is a poor picture, because I was shooting through the car window.

Closing Thought:

“Being negative only makes a difficult journey more difficult. You may be given a cactus but you don’t have to sit on it.” –Joyce Meyer

My Fine Feathered Friends

I enjoy seeing the birds around me.I will admit that there was a time where I was a more active birder, but I am quite certain that I will always love the birds and also try to get pictures of them.

Once again, all the bird photos in this post were taken on my yard, many in fact as I was standing on my deck.

Obviously,these pictures were taken a few weeks ago, because, by now the trees are bare and we have a layer of snow on the ground.

I think this Blue Jay looks so pretty, almost hidden by all the leaves.

I have a young Oak tree a short distance from the window feeder.This seems to be a favourite staging area for the birds.

On the deck railing,I have a heated birdbath.During most of the year it is simply a birdbath, but once we have freezing temperatures,I plug it in and the birds have access to water from which to drink.

This fall,I have enjoyed the presence of some Pine Siskins. It has been a couple of years since they have been around here.

The small Red-breasted Nuthatch is around all year.Recently I have seen up to three of them at once.This bird does not mind being close to humans, in fact will come so close that I can almost feel it's wings.

One final shot, this one without any bird in it.By now you all know that I love catching sunset pictures at Lake Minniwasta. Every sunset is unique and beautiful in its own way.

Closing Thought:

Kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life.

Photo Editing

In this post I am showing you some before and after shots.

I have been using Adobe Lightroom,almost exclusively for my photo editing.This is a very good program and gives a lot of flexibility.

Now,If I was a professional,I could take the photos even further in Lightroom,but I am not at that level.

Recently Steve made me aware of a fairly new program for photo  editing.

I could try it for two weeks but after that needed to buy it.

Luminar from Macphun is an easy to use program, in fact it's so easy that even I can get amazing results with just a few clicks.

So here are two sets of pictures, which I have recently taken.

The first picture is edited in Lightroom.I should say that I start out with a RAW file

I thought this looked quite good.

Then I took that same photo into Luminar and with a couple of clicks I got this result.The color is more vibrant and the picture looks so much better.

I love getting sunset pictures and here is one, again edited in Lightroom and looks OK.

Once again,I took it into Luminar and this is what I ended up with. I am sure that in the right hands, the same results could have been achieved in Lightroom,but for an amateur like me, Luminar is much easier to use.

I have not been asked to make this post, nor am I endorsing one or the other product.

I am just sharing what I have experienced, as a friend shares with a friend.

I am always interested in what kind of editing program others use and so I thought you might like to know what I'm doing.

Whether you use any editing program or not, the important part is that you get out there and capture the beauty God has created all around us.