lady bug times

lady bugs are the cutest ever...  they crawl - fly - do good things in the garden - don't hurt anything and don't creep me out... what more could you ask for when it comes to an insect?  they're like the perfect bug, if there is such a thing - or could be such a thing, don't ya think?  and other than them being super fast, they are relatively easy to photograph... making no fuss whatsoever at having a black box shoved into their faces... you merely have to catch them since it's like being at the races trying to keep up - probably because they have all those extra legs...

whatever the case... i adore them - how can you not?

happy day.....

earth week

we all know how important it is to protect the earth...  take steps in "going green" - make a statement - preserve energy - whatever you can to prolong our time on the planet... enhance the environment.  some might say it's a bunch of hooey - won't make much difference either way... using paper or plastic, who cares?  reuse, recycle, reduce - it's all too much trouble... what's your perspective?  do you feel bad when you hear a bird has died - because it got tangled up in a plastic bag?  or how about landfills that are close to overflowing - and soon we'll have nowhere to dump our trash.

i ran across this video - was stunned by the beauty of god's creation... the fact is, this planet was given to us to take care of... protect, nurture, build up - not destroy and break down.  might this inspire you to walk a few extra blocks or car pool?  ask for paper or use a canvas bag for groceries... versus plastic?  look...



be wowed!  be reminded of how awesome planet earth really is... of what a privilege it is for us to live here every day - the responsibility we have to take care of our planet.  be inspired to do something - no matter how small... because small counts!  if we all did small - it would add up to something extraordinarily big!!

happy day.....

return of the blue...

...the great blue heron, that is

last year - i experienced my very first sighting of this magnificent bird.  what an awesome creature.  i remember saying i didn't recall ever seeing one before - perhaps in a picture or zoo, but not up close and personal... so to be able to capture it with my camera - allowed to get within 20 feet before it decided i was too close for comfort... and it would gracefully take off in glorious flight across the lake... whew, such a rush i'd get!  and always a matter of timing...  never knowing when i'd be graced with seeing it on my ventures out and about.  then once the cold weather arrived, it disappeared - gone for a bit...

well the other day, i practically stumbled on him... not expecting to see it so early in the season - there it was - relaxing by the shoreline... silently waiting - watching for a fish to appear for a snack.  given the opportunity to approach once i realized he was there, i snapped some shots before he took off - then encountered him a few days later...  doing another heron stalk (yes, i attempt to creep about silently thinking nature isn't aware of me... boo!) - i got off a few decent pictures before he looked me in the eye, creating a bond so forceful - so magical -  i won't soon forget it.  one of those moments, i felt as one with nature - one with god who created this exquisite perfection of beauty...  

then he turned his eyes from mine, lifted his great expanse of wings and remarkably silent - flew over the glistening water... into the distant blue sky - leaving me breathless with the wonder of it all...

have you seen such beauty?  experienced the sheer magnitude of creation at your fingertips?  i urge you to take a moment to explore what's around you... it doesn't have to be a great blue heron - it can be a flower, a different bird - robin or crow... a cloud, the sky... whatever triggers you; take a simple moment to enjoy it - be thankful - be grateful, that you can...

happy day.....

sketching...

...flowers

on big pieces of parchment paper... with all different kinds of colored chalks... wouldn't that be the life? when i was younger, i often thought about sitting on a hillside - in grasses - viewing landscapes - having a sketchbook - drawing to my hearts content.  but alas - i have no skill in the arena of drawing... none, nada, nope... i wasn't even left at the end of the line to gather up a teeny-tiny bit of skill! my stick figures turn out crooked... circles are misshapen... relying on a ruler is totally useless since i can never quite get the ruler straight either! what's the point?  it's truly sad.  sigh... drawing is a gift i believe you're born with: you have it or you don't.  as much as i desire it, i don't have it - even though i'd love to just sit down and draw... yet, let's be honest here:  it's not going to happen for me...

which is why i've played with these images... some people may not agree with post processing - the idea of messing around with what comes out of the camera... at times, i will enhance my photos a bit - adding some light if necessary or cropping... i might sharpen an edge here or there, as well.  additionally, i enjoy seeing what others do with their shots.  creativity is important to me - in life - in art - in all aspects of what we're about... we're given a lot of tools in the photographic world that allow us to push the boundaries - to play outside the sandbox... i think that's okay. 
 
as i was editing my photos today, i clicked on a little box mentioning something about sketching - boo! well, how do you pass that up? after all my rambling up there - i ask you... what was i to do? i couldn't ignore it: the box, the click, the word - all beckoned to me... you know what happens when i'm beckoned... i respond - i play - this is what happened...
 
 

 
i sketched today!  okay... maybe it was fake - from a photo - post processing, mumbo jumbo... whatever!  but it felt good and... if i stretch it, i can almost say i had a piece of chalk in my hand with a sketch book in my lap...
 
happy day.....

snap shots...

...for fun

remember old polaroids?  you'd take the picture, peel off the front - then have to wait for the shot to appear?  and wait... still waiting... finally, to see whether you took a decent photo or not.  i found a cool processing feature in my editing toolbox... that makes your finished photo look like a polaroid... how cool is that?  of course, i needed to play around with it - just because...  not like i don't have better things to do with my time... but you all know how that goes!  the to-do list grows longer while i play. sigh... and so it goes...

go have some fun... play... harken back to the old days - like mama said "it'll come back around again..."  seems like mama is usually more right - than she is wrong...

happy day.....

love divine...

“now on the first day of the week mary magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” (john 20:1)



love divine... he is risen - death has no victory!  on this easter day, it is a time for rejoicing: to live - to celebrate - happy skippy dancing with the angels - spend time with family - search for eggs - praise the one who is...

happy day.....

springy flowers...

nothin' like some spring flowers to brighten the day.  i was a bit worried that snow combined with freezing cold temps earlier in the week - might have ruined the blossoms... but it doesn't appear to have done damage... yay!  stems are standing upright - bees are continuing to buzz about - if anything, the cold may have enhanced the colors...

can you smell the fragrance?

happy day.....

buzzzzing along...

bees are fascinating little critters... put freshly blooming flowers out - and it becomes a bee-fest for them... suddenly swarming about - collecting all the pollen possible.  there is a peach tree in the backyard - just nearing full bloom... the bees are having a literal hey-day and now they've thrown down the gauntlet - to see if i can catch them in mid-flight...

i'd say - success!

happy day.....

blue and yellow...

flowers brighten a day... when they come in shades of yellow and blue - the combination is especially lovely... i stumbled upon these early bloomers on a recent walk through a local park - they brought an immediate smile to my face...

happy day.....