i've been fortunate to get some shots lately of birds... yes, that's right - birds... it may sound easy - but for me, they prove to be a challenge. i approach, they fly away. i stalk quietly thinking they don't hear me... they dance around flapping their wings wildly.
i see pictures that others have taken that are clear, sharp - in perfect focus and i find myself on the verge of jealousy wondering why i'm not capable of producing just a few decent images myself... feeling like a failure... with birds of all things.
they are such awesome creatures - wings outspread in flight or perched elegantly on a utility wire or in a tree... they display grace and freedom - i want to be able to capture that... someday...
in the meantime - i've managed to get a handful that aren't too bad and want to post for the fun of it. because they show an attempt - a stalwart effort...
happy day.....
a flower goes through many stages... additionally, there are a variety of different angles afforded you from one mere blossom when it comes to photography...
i have been fascinated with this particular bloom this season. and as with anything you become aware of - when you see it one time... all of a sudden, it starts showing up everywhere... on every street corner - in everyone's garden - in wild patches on the side of the road - it's been amazing. so i shot some pictures to try and find out what it was called, and since then i've heard it referred to as a coneflower as well as echinacea - apparently, it's the same thing. bees are really attracted to it... the colors are fabulous - the shape is very different from the ordinary flower - it stands tall and proud like a beacon of stunning power. from what i can tell, it does well in both shade and direct sunlight.
of course... it could just be a simple little matter that it's pink - and well... pink is one of my most favorite colors ever... so therefore, it would make sense i'd like this gem...
my variations on a flower...
happy day.....
words are good... i love words... they speak of many things - are of import and assist us in communicating.
i received an email the other day that contained an excerpt from an enemy called average by john mason i'd like to share...
"What we say is important. Our vocabulary should be filled with words of hope and dreams. Be known as someone who speaks positively.
Recently I saw a sign under a mounted large mouth bass. It read, "If I had kept my mouth shut I wouldn't be here." How true! Don't jump into trouble mouth first.
Let me pose this question for you: Starting today what would happen if you changed what you said about your biggest problem, your biggest opportunity?
I don't know if you've had this conversation or not, but last month I turned to my wife Linda while we were sitting together in our family room and said, "Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state dependent on some machine. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."
She immediately got up, walked over and unplugged the TV.
"Our words create our worlds," says Dean Sikes. Your words have the power to start fires or quench passion.
Don't be like the man who joined a monastery in which the monks were allowed to speak only two words every seven years. After the first seven years had passed, the new initiate met with the abbot, who asked him, "Well, what are your two words?"
"Food's bad," replied the man, who then went back to his silence.
Seven years later the clergyman asked, "What are your two words now?"
"Bed's hard," the man responded.
Seven years later - twenty-one years after his initial entry into the monastery - the man met with the abbot for the third and final time. "And what are your two words this time?" the abbot asked.
"I quit."
"Well, I'm not surprised," the cleric answered disgustedly. "All you've done since you got here is complain!"
Don't be like that man; don't be known as a person whose only words are negative. If you're a member of the "negative grapevine," resign.
Contrary to what you may have heard, talk is not cheap. Talk is powerful!"
be careful with your words... they can lift up... or tear down... encourage - destroy... be sensitive regarding what you say to others - to each other - even to yourself...
our words can lead to a
happy day.....
