...daffodils
the time changed today - i wasn't necessarily prepared for it, however am prepared for the changing of seasons - the beginning of new life that springtime brings with it... buds that will be bursting forth soon on trees, bushes and flowers - grasses turning from ugly brown to lush greens - butterflies fluttering about - and, of course, wildlife showing off their newborns...
to hasten spring just a bit - stores are flooded with early buds of a variety of flowers... among them daffodils. not being able to contain myself - i indulged and have been rewarded with beautiful golden color - reminding me of this...
daffodils (also known as: i wandered lonely as a cloud)
i wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o'er vales and hills,
when all at once i saw a crowd,
a host, of golden daffodils;
beside the lake, beneath the trees,
fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the milky way,
they stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
ten thousand saw i at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
the waves beside them danced; but they
out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
a poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
i gazed--and gazed--but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:
for oft, when on my couch i lie
in vacant or in pensive mood,
they flash upon that inward eye
which is the bliss of solitude;
and then my heart with pleasure fills,
and dances with the daffodils.
by william wordsworth
there's something about those words - wordsworth and his magical ability to manipulate the english language - along with poems in general - that leaves me feeling rather artsy. add in daffodils, mixing with natural sunshine - making them golden... and one must simply go with where the mood takes you -
hope others will then come along for the ride - and on that ride will find a
happy day.....
...free to fly
...free to flutter around the yard - while i chase after them... like a little girl - all i needed was one of those long handled nets to catch them! that was the day the yard was filled with monarchs - landing on all the yellow dandelions - lighting up the day, shining in the sun - glittering with bold colors... glorious. nature is so awesome - and in all my years living in this house, i've never been privy to having so many monarchs floating around at one time... truly amazing - although i'm sure they wondered who the crazy lady was chasing after them with the black box...
with a flash of white - i noticed one lone butterfly - standing out from the rest... not certain what kind it is - perhaps a white cabbage, although the purplish-brown markings - appearing as tiny flowers, aren't totally characteristic... so i'm not positive. and it moved extremely quickly - making capturing it difficult but i managed to get one decent shot...
this last... i discovered playing camouflage at a local park - trying to hide in a brilliant fluorescent yellow bush... i believe it belongs to the sulfur family of butterflies - only because a friend pointed me in that direction... otherwise, i'd simply be calling it a pretty butterfly. once it realized i wasn't going to hurt it, it almost seemed to pose for me... remaining very calm and poised...
they are amazing - butterflies are... gracing us with beauty to behold as they take wing to the air - providing entertainment aplenty, leaving childlike wonder behind...
happy day.....
...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.....
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.....
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.....
