Windmill

To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it.  But we must not drift or lie at anchor.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Foggy morning walk

The leaves have not yet come out on the trees so everything is still a bit drab.  But this morning, everything was shrouded in fog and it felt soft, and warm and lovely. 

"Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden"

 from the hymn Morning has broken

Fan

I admire photographers who can take the most ordinary subjects and create a beautiful image.  So, I have begun an experiment: periodically I look at simple pieces of equipment or articles and try to find a way to photograph them.

Lawn chair

"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day."

W. Earl Hall

At the carwash

A departure from the usual photos today ... a visit to the carwash.  This week's photo challenge was "wet".  A viola! moment occurred as I was waiting in line at the carwash, and I snapped a few photos.  These are a couple of my favourites.

Every time I have to punch in my code, I wonder why they put this little box just out of reach.  Apparently, I'm not alone.

All the way home the song from the 70s, At the Carwash by Rose Royce kept going around in my head:

(Workin')
At the car wash
Workin' at the car wash, yeah
Come on and sing it with me
(Car wash)
Sing it with feelin' y'all
(Car wash, yeah)

More snow

A day of rain when we really need the moisture is welcome.  However, when it turns into snow overnight and once again leaves the ground covered in white it can be a bit disheartening.  Pulling out the camera and looking for the beauty in the outdoors is one way of coping - even if it means shooting out an open window, or hunkering down to get out of a raw, nasty wind.

I imagine this little robin thinking, "Oh what fresh hell is this?"

My little violas seem to be turning their backs to the wind.  I know they will survive and smile for me again when the warmth returns.

Whether the weather be fine,
Whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.

anon.

First spring flowers

               And spring arose on the garden fair,
               Like the spirit of love felt everywhere;
               And each flower and herb on earths's dark breast
               rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
                    Percy Bysshe Shelley, (The Sensitive Plant)

Blackbird

Blackbirds may not be the prettiest bird, but in springtime their songs are as welcome as any other bird.

"What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to everyone in the world, as universal as a bird."

David Attenborough

Endless sky

"I never get tired of the blue sky."

Vincent Van Gogh

Experimenting

I am constantly surprised by how much I enjoy working on abstracts.

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions.  All life is an experiment."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Robins

"The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box."

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Sandhill cranes

Leave nothing but footprints;
Take nothing but pictures;
Kill nothing but time.

(From an old sign)

Swan migration

"The cool wind blew in my face and all at once I felt as if I had shed dullness from myself.  Before me lay a long gray line with a black mark down the center.  The birds were singing.  It was spring."

Burl Ives

Beauty

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."

Vincent Van Gogh

Snow

I remember wanting snow last November and December; the heavy wet stuff that would cling to everything.  I wanted that white blanket to cover the brown landscape.  When snow finally came it was the powdery kind that blows into the ditches.  When it snowed this week, I wondered why couldn't this have come last fall. 

Oh well...better late than never, and the camera doesn't care what month it is.

Violas in the snow

"When the time is right for certain things, these things appear in different places in the manner of violets coming to light in early spring."

Farkas Bolyai

Good Friday

A Blessed Good Friday to all.