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

Icy Beauty

It is May 28,but it is cool outside and even inside.I guess because of this,my thoughts went back to some pictures I got in the beginning of May. Usually by May 8th we have very nice weather,but this year the warmth just was slow in coming,because of that I got the following shots.

I drove to the lake just west of my town,hoping for birds,but there were none. As I was standing at the shore I heard a soft tinkling sound.I looked down and saw the following.

Small shards of ice were being blown on shore by the water and wind.

This was what I saw at first and thought it looked pretty nice.

As I looked just past the ice,I saw more ice floating in the murky waters. I thought it looked very interesting,so pictures had to be taken.

Zooming in a little closer,I was surprised by the beauty which was right before my eyes.

The pieces all look much the same yet different angles showed various patterns.

 I really liked how the sun created little starbursts on the ice.

I was hoping for birds,but was blessed to find a different kind of beauty almost under my feet.

All these pictures were taken with the Canon SX50 camera.

Thought for Today:

When you ask God for a gift,

Be thankful if He sends

Not diamonds,pearls,or riches,

But the love of real true friends.

Next post,I promise 'warmer' pictures. :)

Roses

A while ago I treated myself to a bouquet of roses.Now,what is a photographer to do with roses,but take pictures and lots of them.

So as not to bore you,my dear follower,I decide to make a collage of some of the pictures.

Today,contrary to what you usually see on this blog,there is only one picture.

I am posting this bouquet of roses for anyone who needs a rose to brighten the day and especially for those who are currently experiencing some difficult days.

This collage was made using an app called CollageIt Pro.

It is downloadable from the App store and is a Mac program.

Rainy iPhone Pics

This past weekend we had a lot of rain.I have heard reports of anywhere from 2-8 inches.

Considering that this came shortly after the spring thaw,the ground was not that dry yet and so we saw a lot of water.

I had to get a picture of this.Some of you may have already seen this on my Facebook page,but it is worth a second look.Two Baltimore Orioles took shelter under the railing of my deck.They sat there for quite some time. You can see by the raindrops on the window that is was raining hard.

This is a picture from just a few miles north of Morden.The little creek is usually no more than a trickle and often has no water in it at all. Plenty of water rushing along here at this time.

The lake which supplies our town with most of its water,spills out into what is referred to as the Dead Horse Creek.Don't ask me where that name came from,but that is what it is. All of last summer this creek had only a little standing water in it,which meant that our lake never filled up properly.This picture is from Monday evening and the creek is at the top of its banks. At a few places it spilled over,resulting in some streets being closed.

By Tuesday morning most of the rain was over,but the Snapdragons which are waiting to be planted,still had some lovely raindrops on them.

This leaf almost looks like the head of a small lizard.

Here is a macro of one of the flowers,or at least part of a flower.I like the colour and the droplets add a nice touch.

The forecast is for near freezing temperatures for tonight,so my flowers are all safely covered with blankets.

I know that losing a few plants is minor compared to the losses in Oklahoma.My heart goes out to those people and I pray that they will find strength to endure.

Simple Beauty

In looking through my pictures I have some that I took just for fun.Actually I take most of my pictures for fun,but these are ones I really like.

I took a walk at our local lake the other day and even though I did not see many birds,as I had hoped,I found other interesting things to photograph.

I noticed this piece of old bark on the ground.I liked the bright colour on it.

Then as I was walking along,surrounded by small shrubs,I noticed that some of last years leaves were still hanging on to the branches.The sun was hitting this one and making it shine.

Here is another leaf,a different shape but still pretty to me.

I then looked down and noticed a curled up leaf on the ground.Again,as the sun hit this leaf it looked pretty and was a bright spot on the woodland floor.

This picture is from a different place but also taken a few weeks ago.

No matter how many Mallard pictures I have,I can't resist a beauty like this.

It looks like he is swimming on a sea of silk.

Thought for Today:

If you can't go for a walk to enjoy the natural beauty around you,

then at least spend time drinking in beautiful scenery from a coffee-table book of nature that you keep for that very purpose.

Happy Mother's Day

On this special day,I want to give honour to the woman who helped to make me who I am today — My Mother.

My mother was not perfect,but she taught me so much.She was a hard working woman and made sure that my sister and I learned how to work.

She was a kind person,who always had extra food ready to serve to unexpected guests.

Our home was simple,yet the doors were open wide for family and friends alike.

Many a Christmas and other special day we had extra people at the table and always Mom had small gifts for each one.

Here is a picture of my Mom sitting on the right and my Mother-in-law on the left.

The occasion for this picture was a bridal shower for me,hosted by an Auntie.I could write a story about this Auntie as well,but for today the focus is on Mothers

I still miss my Mom,even after all the years since she has over to Heaven.

Both of these ladies have gone on to their heavenly home and both are in my heart forever.

Now on to the man who made me a Mother and the young lady who gave me the title of Grandma.

Steve and Kai are very special people in my my life.I trust that I can show them my love in little ways every day.I am truly blessed to have them in my life and to experience the joy they bring.

I just realized that these pictures prove that I once had darker hair and more hair as well.

These pictures also show a family that has a lot of love in their hearts.

God has blessed me beyond measure and for that I give Him praise.

Lake Minniwasta Birds

On Tuesday,May 7,I went to our local lake,hoping to find some ducks or geese to photograph.Well I was not disappointed. This is not a large lake,but it is the source of most of the water the town/city of Morden uses.

There was still some ice on the lake,but also lots of open water.

These Grebes are much too far away for a good picture,but I took it anyway.

On the right is a pair of Western Grebes and the two farthest to left are Red-necked Grebes.

It didn't take too long for a Pelican with his beautiful breeding plumage hair to show up.

This must be the new hair-do for 2013.

 I knew there was another small pond on my way out of the lake area,so I stopped in there,hoping to get a picture of some Mallards.Here is where my day went from good to very good.

A lone Common Loon was swimming and feeding on this small pond.I rolled down the car windows and sat quietly,waiting for him to move a little closer. I would still have liked to be closer,but these are the best Loon pictures I have ever had.

I had to shoot through some weeds so that is the reason for the blurred spots.I am particularly happy with this picture.The green sheen of the head even shows up.

Thought for Today:

If you want to know yourself better,get to know your Creator better.

For The Birds

Or should I have titled this,For The Bird Lovers?

I apologize to those who do not enjoy birds,but for the next little while I will likely be showing more birds than anything else.

A visit to a small local pond was successful as far as pictures are concerned.Here you see two male Common Golden-eye trying hard to impress a female.She seemed uninterested,but it made for good pictures.

This pair of Greater Scaup were oblivious to all the courting going on around them.They had likely already bonded for the season.

Back on my yard,I picked up the Canon SX50 and fired a couple of shots of this Crow,sitting on the neighbours tree.I am satisfied with the results. This is probably the best Crow picture I have ever gotten.

A male Hairy Woodpecker was eyeing the suet,but didn't like my presence.With the Canon SX 50 in hand,I got a nice shot of him. Unfortunately the branches are casting some shadows on him.

I have spent several days at the Pembina Valley,taking part in the Hawkwatch.This is the most common bird we see,a Red-tailed Hawk,but seeing it like this,its wings highlighted by the sun,is always a thrill.

Slowly more migrants are showing up on my yard,so I keep my cameras ready.

Thought for Today:

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

                                                                   William Blake