Golden Yellow

The sun has been shining and the snow is rapidly melting.It feels like spring,but I live in Manitoba and we just kind of hold our breath,knowing that we may still get more snow and even storms before this winter bids us farewell.

Be that as it may,I have some sunny yellows to share today.

I have had several years with almost no finches using the Nyjer feeder,but that has changed this winter.The American Goldfinches are busy feeding on most days.

These pictures are not perfect,as they were taken through a dirty window.

I am encouraged by the touches of yellow on these Goldfinches.It tells me that they are slowly shedding their winter coats/colors and putting on the brighter summer ones.

On Valentine's Day I treated myself to a bouquet of bright yellow roses. The main reason for doing this was that I needed something other than snow to take pictures of.

These roses brightened my kitchen for a while and I trust they will brighten your day today.

Once I got the pictures on the computer it was time to experiment with color.

I tried different colors,but liked this one the best. The soft sepia seems to fit with the richness of the roses.

A phrase my Dad used to use when I was having a bad day was,

Your never fully dressed without a smile.

So,put that smile on and enjoy each day.

Making Lemonade?

As most of you know by now,I have not been able to get out much the last two weeks,because of an ankle injury,but that does not mean I couldn't take pictures.

They say that when life gives you lemons,make lemonade,well that is what I have been trying to do.The biggest lemon for me at this time is an injury,but another one is that the windows in my house need replacing.That said,the cold weather has left some amazing designs on my windows and today I want to share a couple with you.

 Too much time on my hands has 'forced' me to play with these images.I sent them through my Photoshop program and added some decorative edges.

 Here is another view of the ice flowers I see daily.These pictures have all been taken with the iPhone,by the way.

 Some of you,no doubt,have seen this one when I posted it to Facebook.Early winter mornings are so beautiful. I love the warm light on the snow covered lawn.

 Sitting at my breakfast table the other day and I noticed the Goldfinches were also having breakfast. The morning sunlight was so pretty on them. Try to look past the frost and ,just maybe some dirt on the window.

Here is one last picture to enjoy. The photo was taken last summer on my yard,but I added a creative element to it,by  using an App on the phone. The App is called LiPix,for anyone who cares to check it out on the App store.

Trying to find words to describe nature's beauty is like trying to measure the moon with a yardstick.

A Touch of Spring

March 1 and spring is just around the corner.

Last week a dear friend of mine came to spend part of the day with me,but she did so much more than that. She brought with her a touch of spring,in a bouquet of tulips. Because of my recent injury,I still don't do stairs really well and my laundry is downstairs,so she took care of the weekly laundry for me.What a blessing that was!

 It's a good thing the fall I had did not injure my trigger finger. Ha! Ha!

I made sure that bouquet of tulips was at a location where I could get lots of pictures,many of which were taken from my recliner. I should add that these shots were all taken with my phone,as that was the handiest most of the time.

Enjoy this beautiful touch of spring.

It was a small bouquet but it brought me huge joy.

A verse for today is:

How precious to me are your thoughts,O God!

How vast is the sum of them.

Psalm 139:17

Summer Sunshine On a Winter Day

We interrupt this winter with a few moments of summer's sunshine.

I hope you won't mind.I am ready to see color,hear the birds singing and feel the warmth of the sun on my back,so if you feel that way as well,join me as we walk through the gardens.

This bright Zinnia greeted me each day as I approached my door.

Last spring was the first time these Tulips showed their beauty in my garden.

The English Gardens always have beauty in them.This is likely taken more in the early fall,but I can almost feel the warmth of that day. 

 Walking the paths at the gardens is a delight at any time,but I especially enjoy it during the summer.To be surrounded by the many flowers and birds just fills me with peace and joy.

No visit to these gardens would be complete without a stop at the roses. I do love the roses.This one has such a gentle color.I think it may be in the family of the Peace Roses.

Back on my yard,on my deck to be precise,I can sit and soak up the sunshine and enjoy the blossoms.

Here a small seed of some kind has landed on the Lantana.It almost looks like some long legged insect.

This is definitely more of a fall shot,but the warmth of the fall sun is so wonderful. The evening light shines on these grass flowers.

I hope these pictures brightened your day.

I trust that you can say with me;

Thank you God for blessing me much more than I deserve.

More Winter Beauty

I continue today to show you more of the beauty we had in early February.

I know that many of you have just come through,or may still be dealing with severe winter weather and cannot find much beauty in it.My heart goes out to you.Ice,in particular can be so very dangerous and destructive.

I assure you that what we had in this area was not dangerous nor destructive,but it did result in a lot of beauty.I want to add that our winter is not over,we often get our heaviest snowfalls in March.

For the next few minutes try to just see the beauty which I saw on this particular day.

 I have shown pictures of this track before,but I do believe these are the first winter photos I have.

This is the way the camera saw it.

And this is the same scene turned into a black and white.

I will keep the commentary to a minimum,as the pictures speak for themselves.

We have a buffalo farm not too far from town.I thought they looked quite relaxed,even during the snow and cold.

The next three photos are taken at the local golf course.

Strange,but I didn't see any golfers on the course that day.

The spent Hydrangea blossoms at the parking lot of the golf course,catch and hold the snow.

Hope you all enjoy a safe and pleasant week.

Snow Beautiful!

On February 10th,we had some rain,which resulted in ice on the trees and after that the snow started. Now those icy branches caught an held every little flake of snow.The results were a winter wonderland.

I will let you scroll through the pictures and enjoy the beauty.That's about all I can do right now as well.

As many of you know,I fell a coupe of days ago and sprained my left ankle,hurt my knee and just generally got shook up.I am wearing a big old boot cast and have been ordered to stay off my foot as much as possible.

I should say that these are all taken in color,but end up looking more black and white than color.

This is at our local lake and is a pretty road at almost any time of year.

The various trees collect snow in different proportions and together they make a lovely scene.

I know that I have shared this before,but I think it bears repeating.

ALL CREATION IS AN OUTSTRETCHED FINGER,POINTING TOWARD GOD.

Snowy Owl Photos

Earlier in February,on a Sunday afternoon,I got a call from my son,telling me about this pure white Snowy Owl he had seen.Since the owl was not too far from my home,he figured I might want to drive out and get some pictures.He was absolutely right about that.I headed out and before long I spotted the owl,just as white as white could be.Unfortunately,this owl was not in a photogenic mood and took off before I had a change to get even one shot.

Since I was already out and about,I decided to take the long way home,on the chance that I might see something of interest. Good thing I made that choice.

I came upon another,almost pure white Snowy Owl. The beautiful male didn't mind have his picture taken time and again.

 I always wish that these birds would have the decency to sit on top of the insulators,so I wouldn't have to contend with the wires.Oh well,I was just happy to have a cooperative bird,on this lovely,blue sky kind of day.

With some careful editing,I was able to remove the offensive wire.I know that the critics will not like the editing and I'm not sure I like it either,but at least I have one picture without the wire.

The first two photos were taken with the Olympus OM-D EM 1 and a 300mm lens.

I then switched to my Canon SX50,which actually has a more powerful zoom and took this image.

After allowing me numerous shots,he had enough of me and flew to the next pole.I was able to capture a couple of images just before he landed.

When this bird was sitting,he looked pure white,but here you can see a few darker spots on the wings.

After taking this picture,I decided that it was best to let him do his hunting in peace.I drove home,quite contented and happy that I had gone out looking for Snowy Owls.

Bird photography is not always successful,but on this day I was satisfied with the results.

Sparkling Sunset

Well folks,it's back to more recent photos and ones I have taken.

During the latter days of January,we had a day of milder temperatures with some light rain and then some cooling down,which resulted in trees,grasses and everything being coated in a layer of ice.

I could hardly wait to get out that day to capture this beauty.Unfortunately I had to wait until after my bus run in the afternoon,but as it turns out,that was a good choice.

Every little twig and weed were turned into delicate pieces of art,sparkling in the sunlight.

The setting sun gave me some wonderful images.

I should mention that these photos were all taken within about a mile or two from my town.As nice as the pictures are,the really don't tell the whole story.It was breathtaking.

If you look closely at the outer branches of this tree,you can see the layer of ice sparkling in the evening light.

Just off the road,the weeds in the ditch were stunning.

The row of trees glistened like they were coated with diamonds.

One final picture.I truly wish I could have taken you all with me to see this beauty.

In Job 38:22 we read:

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?

or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?

(I might add,the treasures of the ice)