Winter Wonderland

Welcome to my new blog, Ruth's Photo Journal.

I will attempt to share some of my images, beauty in nature, as I see it.

When I wake up to frost covered trees, I must grab my camera and head out of town.

The term, picture perfect often comes to mind.

Trees that stood bare just the day before are all coated with a layer of delicate frost crystals.

I know there are different kinds of frost, but for my purposes here, I will just call it frost and allow you to see the beauty of it.

I encourage you to look around you and see the beauty that is right there.

 

Spring! A Time For Courtship

Well, friends, we are going back to the Kaleida Marshes. During springtime there's so much activity there. Today we focus on the American Coot. These birds are usually not very cooperative to pose for photos, but this evening they had other things on their mind.

This looks very calm and the reflection is lovely.

I am not an expert on these birds but I'm thinking this one is trying to attract a mate.

It looks like he/she has company, so off they go.

The action is at times quite vigorous. I enjoyed capturing way too many photos.

As the sun was setting, the action continued on the other side of me.Again, I can't say what is going on but I sure enjoyed watching it. Enlarging this photo will show a foot in the air, as if to say,"Stop".

Something To Think About:

Practice the pause. 

When in doubt, pause. 

When angry, pause. 

When tired, pause. 

When stressed, Pause. 

And when you pause, pray.  

Spring At The Marshes

 For those of you who read my posts, infrequent as they are, you have heard me talk about the Kaleida Marshes. These are about a 30 minute drive from my house, but with all the birds that come through there in spring, it is well worth the drive.

Come with me as we check out a few of the many water birds at the marsh.

Here a pair of Lesser Scaup glide along peacefully.

Of course many Canada Geese make this marsh their spring and summer destination.

The Blue-winged Teal is another common sight. Even though some of these birds are not brightly coloured, in my opinion they are still beautiful.

The Northern Shoveler could be mistaken for the male Mallard, but one look at that big flat bill and the name makes prefect sense. I always feel like that bill is a good shovel.

There are two different ducks that I tend to get mixed up. They are the Canvasback as the ones below and the Redhead. The coloration is similar, but the head shape is different.

I hope you enjoyed this short visit to the spring marsh.

To Think About:

Life is a Journey!

Each day represents a page in

your life. Wake up and be open

to the many opportunities and

possibilites in this world.

Clouds

Clouds fascinate me. This is an ever changing display. 

I know that these are not the most recent photos, but they were all captured this spring. 

In this first shot, you can still see some snow on the ground, which by now is mostly gone. But it was that sky that caught my attention.

On a recent drive down a country road, this scene was enough to make me stop and capture the moment.

Yes, another lonely country road and a sky filled with clouds. The clouds may have that stormy look, but even that has beauty written all over it.

This is in a neighbouring community. I am guessing that this area was prone to flooding, so they installed these culverts to make sure there was enough room for water to run through, instead of flooding the roadway.

Those dark clouds look menacing, but take note that the sun is shining brightly behind the clouds.

Something to Think About:

When life is getting you down, and you can’t see a way through.

Remember behind the darkest clouds there awaits a sky of blue.

Signs of Spring 2022

Yes, you read that right. 

The following pictures are from 2022.

Spring has been slow in coming this year so I made the decision to look back.

I enjoy the sight and sound of water bubbling over the rocks.

In early spring reflection can be seen in many small puddles of water.

Last year, while sitting on my deck, enjoying the warm sunshine, I was entertained by this Merlin.

At a local pond the Franklin's Gulls were busy.

The gulls are a fairly common bird, but I love their sleek looks.

 Most of the time I would encourage you to look ahead, to look for the adventures that await, but sometimes it is good to look back. I find that looking back at old pictures helps me to relive past moments.

To Think About:

Do not look back on happiness, or dream of it in the future.

You are only sure of today, do not let yourself be cheated out of it.

Henry Ward Beecher

For The Birds

Over many years I have enjoyed feeding birds on my yard. I started out doing so again this winter, but some hungry deer found the feeder and cleaned it out every night. I feel like I can't afford to feed the deer so I have not put any food out for a while.

Here are some winter shots from earlier this winter.

Put out peanuts and the Blue Jays will come. They make a colourful addition to the winter landscape.

I have rarely had satisfactory pictures of either Ravens or Crows. Being that they are all black it is hard for me to get a good shot. I was reasonably satisfied with this image of a Raven.

I have several Red-breasted Nuthatches who make their home on my yard. I love those little birds. I caught this image while he stopped a minute on a snowy branch.

My all time favourite bird is the Black-capped Chickadee. These birds may not be colourful, but they always seem cheery to me. This one is contemplating the food just below him.

And, if you want that food, just let go of the branch and make your way down. A split second after this shot, he opened his wings to glide in for a perfect landing at the feeder.

 To Think About:

You are God’s work of art.

Only you can express what He put inside you.

He Is Risen!

On this Easter I share one of my favourite Easter hymns.

I trust that you have the joy of our risen Savior living in you. 

I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today 

I know that He is living, whatever men may say 

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer 

And just the time I need Him He's always near 

In all the world around me I see His loving care 

And though my heart grows weary I never will despair 

I know that He is leading, through all the stormy blast 

The day of His appearing will come at last 

 

 

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian Lift up your voice and sing 

Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King 

The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find 

None other is so loving, so good and kind 

He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today 

He walks with me and talks with me 

Along life's narrow way 

He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart 

You ask me how I know He lives? 

He lives within my heart 

I thank the Lord for his blessings and wish you an Easter full of joy and peace

Looking Back

On this first day of April 2023, I will take you back to April 2022.

Spring brings many varied scenes. We may have snow or rain, freezing temperatures or thawing. What all this does is to give many photo opportunities.

Below is a scene that shows the interesting sights around.

Of course the springtime influx of Dark-eyed Juncos is a pleasant event. The trees are often filled with these small, and somewhat drab looking birds, but oh can they fill the air with that constant twittering.

As the snow and ice melt it leaves some of the most interesting sculptures.

Canada Geese make their return to our area and are a welcome sight. Especially early in spring that familiar honking assures us that warmer weather is on the way.

On my yard the resident Merlin is active. 

To Think About:

Plunge into the blessings of spring…

the sprouting of trees and grass,

the sound of birds returning from their winter furlough,

the daffodils and tulips. 

Amaryllis and Flicker

Well before Christmas I bought several Amaryllis bulbs. They produced beautiful flowers to brighten the winter landscape, indoors, of course.  

I did my duty and got numerous photos.

Steve decided to set up an Amaryllis photo studio in my living room. After he captured various images, I also got several. Below is one, getting close up and just showing part of the petals.

I find the stamens to be as photogenic as the whole flower, so I had to show them as well.

Around about the same time of year, we had a Northern Flicker visit the yard. 

I  had never seen them around in winter.

I tend to think that this bird was contemplating about leaving and still heading further south. I hope he survived, wherever he went.

 To Think About:

This unique gift, this one day, cannot be exchanged, replaced or refunded.

Handle with care. Make the most of it.

White-tailed Deer at Sunset

Just a few days ago I was out at sunset. I caught a few shots of the setting sun, nothing spectacular, but pretty.

The first p[icture is of a still frozen Lake Minniwasta.

As I was on my way home, I came upon a herd of White-tailed deer at the edge of town.

I realized that they were on their way into town. I'm guessing they know just where available bird feeders are located

These pictures are not great quality, but it shows a small portion of the herd I saw.

I tried to count them and figured there must be 60 or more deer and they were all heading into town. That is one reason why I am not feeding birds this winter.

To Think About:

Your life is not over until it is over.

Your story is not finished.

You are never too old to be put to use by God.

Missy Buchanan 

From Roses to Snow

The truth is that I like all flowers, but my very favourite are the roses. It is also true that pink is one of my favourite colors, so when my son and granddaughter brought me a bouquet of flowers for Valentine's Day, with pink roses in it, it was perfect. Of course just enjoying these blooms was not enough, I had to capture that beauty with my camera.

What is better than one pink rose? Two versions of the same flower, of course.

This one is backlit by the midday sun streaming through the window.

From time to time, I feel the need for a drive in the country. This building used to be a school house. The sign, now buried in snow, read, "Chicken Hill School".

I'm sure those walls hold many an interesting secret.

Winter in Manitoba gives us a fairly barren landscape, but it is definitely not lacking in a beauty of it's own.

On a beautiful sunny day, I went out, hoping for a few last Snowy Owls. I did see a few, but as I was going down the highway and about to pass a small community, called Fannystelle, I saw this church. I knew I needed to go a little closer and try to capture the charm of this old building.

Friends, the secret is in always being alert to some new sight and then taking the time to capture that beauty.

To Think About:

PEACE 

It does not mean to be in place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.

It means to be in the midst of all those things and still 

BE CALM IN YOUR HEART.