Lilacs

The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is - to bloom.

Yevgeny Zamyatin

Dandelions

I hate dandelions on my lawn.  

I love dandelions in front of my camera!

 






"Weeds are flowers too once you get to know them."

Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

Nesting birds

I have to be careful where I walk these days.  Various birds have nests on the ground and in the trees.  I don't want to frighten them, but usually I'm more startled than they are.  I always like to know where the nests are so I don't accidently step in them.  In mid-afternoon, they sometimes leave their nests for a while while the sun keeps their eggs warm and it's a good time to sneak up and snap a few pictures.  I am not a bird photographer, and I don't have the long lenses that wildlife photographers use, but it's fun to try a few shots, especially when these beautiful creatures are right under my nose.

2 ducks have built their nests in the yard.

One has built her nest in a juniper patch about 20 feet from my front door...

...while the other has built her nest in the long grass at the edge of the yard.  I knew it was there, and I didn't want to get too close, but I really had to hunt to find it because it's very well hidden.

A killdeer has built her nest in my vegetable garden.  These eggs are laid in an open nest, right on the ground.

I hope the eggs hatch soon, because anytime I come anywhere close to the garden she gets very loud, and runs around pretending to have a broken wing.  She thinks I'm a predator and she's trying to get my attention away from the nest.

And then there's a sweet little robin with her nest in a tree in the middle of the yard, who is so used to me that she usually doesn't stir from her nest - but she keeps a wary eye out all the same.










Far from the city's dust and heat,
I get but sound and odors sweet.
Who can wonder I love to stay,
Week after week, here hidden away,
In this sly nook that I love the best--
This little brown house like a ground bird's nest?
          Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Night

This week's photography challenge was "night time".  The few nice evenings coaxed me to get outdoors and give it a try.

The light fixture in a parking lot.

I came across a wall made of glass blocks.  I knew the photograph would yield an interesting abstract in photoshop.





"Photography, as we all know, is not real at all.  It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world."

Arnold Newman

First flowers

Spring colour finally arrived in my garden this week.  The garden seems to say, "leave your computer and come outdoors". 

"A garden isn't meant to be useful.  It's for joy."  (Rumer Godden)

Here is the pick of this week's garden photography efforts.

Rosybloom crabapples

A bird bath that was a Mother's Day gift many years ago (and has been tucked away for a while) has found a new home.

Anemone

I experimented with night time photography this week as well. 

An anemone with a spider building its web.

Anemone buds at night.

This metal art is a "pukeko" which I found in New Zealand.  This night time photo makes me think that perhaps he's heard the horrible weather forecast for snow and is heading back there.

Bark

In damp weather, I love checking out the colours of the bark on the pine trees.







There is always Music amongst the trees in my garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.

Minnie Aumonier

Old tricycle

"The only certain freedom's in departure."

Robert Frost

Reflection

"I never question what to do, it tells me what to do.  The photographs make themselves with my help."

Ruth Bernhard

Park Bench

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."

Lorraine Hansberry

Sunset

"See how willingly Nature poses herself upon the photographer's plates.  No earthly chemicals are so sensitive as the human soul."

John Muir

I found this quote and reflected back to the time when photography was done with plates and chemicals.  The process has changed, but has what the eye sees and the heart feels changed? I don't think so.

Birds

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

Maya Angelou

Old stuff

Old stuff is like a magnet for many photographers, whether amateur or professional.  I'm no different.  In museums and old yards are machines and tools that aided people in their work, but it was a time of hard work.  So why does it hold such a fascination for us?

Valve from an old fire engine.

 

Feeder chain from an old thrashing machine.














Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.

Doug Larson