Sunday, June 3, 2012

Nature Does Not Knock

How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!
~ Emily Dickinson


Just a few photos taken over the past month. I hope you enjoy them.



mystery flower 2
These lovely sprigs of coral coloured flowers are growing wild in the field near Frank's place. We see them every spring but neither of us know what they are. If any of you know what they are, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me. Thank you to Gayle, Teri and Photowannabe for all identifying this lovely plant as Flowering quince or Japonica. Ain't the blogging community great? :)




chipper munch3
This little cutie takes a break from munching and a offers an endearing pose for the camera.





new leaves to be
New leaves-to-be. I snapped so many photos of freshly-emerged leaves. I just couldn't seem to get enough of them.





blossoms in sunlight
These little blossoms looked so perfect just basking in the warmth of the sun.





butterfly on blossoms
And then they shared the sunlight with a colourful friend in transit.





nursing
While walking, one morning, I happened upon what I thought was two squirrels which I had presumed to be young siblings, play-fighting and chasing each other up over branches and around the tree trunk. It finally occurred to me that it was actually one young squirrel and its mother. The little one wanted to nurse and the mom had probably had enough of her little one for a short while. Junior won though - as you can see in this image. Nom, nom.





warm bark
There's not to much to see here. I just liked the way the sunshine warmed the rich colours of this young tree.





osprey2
On a day trip that we took a few weeks ago, Frank and I stopped at a lake just to have a look around. We glanced up and realized that we were looking at a platform which was constructed for an Osprey's nest. Just as that dawned on us, we saw the mama circling her nest. Cool birds, aren't they?





golden
This little goldfinch looked so pretty sitting amid the blossoms. 





tiny blossom
And if you want to get a closer look at those blooms, I'm happy to oblige.

Just as a note, this was my 600th post. I should have another one for you in a few days.

59 comments:

CorvusCorax12 said...

gorgeous pictures..i hope you have a lovely Sunday.

Anonymous said...

What a cute little fella there posing for you. It looks like the little ground squirrels that Rowdy chases from our front bushes. Love their stripes and their tiny little ears and hands. Too sweet!

Brian Miller said...

600 wow...nice...i love the munk and squirrel pics....and everything else is beautiful as well..happy sunday hilary..

Cricket said...

Lovely photos... full of the warmth of the season. I'm desperately trying to make a return... can you tell?

And so, though the photos are not beachy, I will give you The Beach Boys: The Warmth Of The Sun which seems to suit nonetheless.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Congrats on 600 posts. This post like every one before is filled with so much beauty. Thanks for making ny day brighter with these images.

L. D. said...

Your photos are so wonderful. I really like the variety of you outdoor adventure. Beautiful blooms.

DJan said...

What lovely pictures, Hilary. I especially love that little female goldfinch sitting amongst the blossoms, but they are all wonderful. Thank you, and congratulations on 600 posts! :-)

Gayle said...

Photos, quotes, artist eye, all as exquisite as ever. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.

The first photo is flowering quince aka japonica. I have one, too.

Gayle
San Diego

christopher said...

Excellent...I especially love the various shades of grey in the squirrel photo.

messymimi said...

Having nursed babies, and bottle fed tons of kittens, i know how that mama feels, wanting to be left alone for a few minutes!

Beautiful pictures and quotes as always.

Bob Bushell said...

Brilliant photography Hilary, the one I am in love with, is the Chipmunk, superb.

TexWisGirl said...

those coral blossoms are unique and very pretty! chippy won the show for me today. :)

Teri said...

I think the coral flower is a quince.

Shammickite said...

More great seasonal photos, thanks for posting them!

photowannabe said...

Congratulations on 600 posts. Everyone is a prize in its self.
I love the closeups of the buds. Gorgeous.
The first blossom sort of looks like quince to me, but my thumb isn't very green so I really don't know.

ds said...

Gorgeous photos. I love ospreys, too. Congratulations on reaching 600 posts! Wow. Here's to the next 600--and many more!

Rita said...

I cracked up with the mama squirrel and her big baby--LOL! See--you catch pictures of things nobody else would. All beautiful!! :)

CiCi said...

The goldfinch and blossoms is a beautiful photo.
Looks like it should be in a book somewhere.

Country Girl said...

Such a wonderful collection of images here, Hilary. So interesting about the squirrels - and that last one: wowza!

Rosaria Williams said...

Congratulations! You have 600 posts and many more pictures! What an accomplishment!

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

You'd think I'd be getting used to your photos by now, but you continue to amaze me. The first one, of the coral flowers, was especially beautiful. But the one of the goldfinch amid the blossoms won the day for me.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Those white blossoms are delectable, but what is really thrilling me today is the warm sunlight on the bark of the young tree. ♥

Rob-bear said...

Wonderful pictures, as always. Loved the chipmunk, squirrels, and awesome Osprey.

Barb said...

A squirrel nursing? That's really being observant!

SandyCarlson said...

These are an incredible treat, Hillary. I love the way you see, and I am grateful to you for sharing. I especially enjoyed the squirrel and chipmunk shots just because I really like those dudes. That's an impressive osprey nest, too.

Gail Dixon said...

These are all delightful! Always inspired when I come here and mood uplifted. :) You know my love of birds, so the goldfinch posing among the blossoms spoke to my heart.

Gary said...

You are killing me! Your photos are so BEAUTIFUL!!!

I am happy to see a little chipmunk! I saw one last week whilst visiting a friend on Memorial Day. We don't have chipmunks here and they are so adorable (although my friend said they are a nuisance).

Leah J. Utas said...

Beautiful work. Love the squirrels.

yaya said...

Congrats on 600 posts and on the most lovely photos in blog land!

Red said...

Lots of great work here. The nursing squirrel has to be a very rare shot.

Sarah Anne said...

So pretty! The chipmunk is just adorable, and as always I love the butterfly. :)

Dave said...

I specially liked the squirrell Hilary. He/she will be my screen wallpaper for a few days - dave

Moannie said...

These are totally wonderful pictures. Recognised the Japonica straight away. It will have Quince fruit on it in autumn. I have a bush in my garden and use the fruit.

Maggie May said...

Love the blossom in the first picture and the butterfly & the chipmunk...... especially.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Anonymous said...

What exquisite blossom shots! Lovely use of light. The inside of those white blossoms are so delightful - kind of like pomegranate seeds.

Sharon Wagner said...

I love the osprey soaring into it's nest. And the nom, nom is a good catch.

Shrinky said...

Oh, that is such a sweet shot of the squirrel nursing, what a wonderful capture! I can see you've been thoroughly enjoying the delights of summer, I'm so glad you've managed to wrap a few of them to share with us.

Daryl said...

congrats on being prolific in photos/words 600 times ..

Suldog said...

Congratulations on #600! A couple of notes concerning things you said here...

"Just a few photos taken over the past month. I hope you enjoy them."

I've enjoyed every single one of the photos you've put onto this blog. Every one.

"There's not too much to see here."

Are you cereal? The texture of the bark, by itself, is magnificent. You capture more in your images than any photographer I can remember. Yours are among the few that I could come back to again and again and not become bored.

Sandi McBride said...

beautiful beautiful beautiful! I love the chip monk...the squirrels, the osprey nest...are those Canterbury bells? Wonderful as usual!
hugs
Sandi

Anvilcloud said...

I am quite taken with both of your blossom photos.

Travis Erwin said...

Mother nature at its best.

Mental P Mama said...

Always a treat! Just like the first of each month when I turn my Smitten calendar to the next month! I love it so much! And my lucky feather;)

Barbara said...

All so pretty - spring has been very, very good to you! Love the goldfinch in the tree! Happy 600th post!!!!

Russell said...

My goodness .... 600! Congratulations! I look forward to the NEXT 600!

Enjoyed your images, as always. Can't say anything I have not said before or something someone else has not already said. I will just say I like that a lot.

I really liked the little chipmunk. I always like those images where you have done away with the depth of field - creates an extremely nice image.

Take care and congratulations again on 600! Wow!

Anonymous said...

i love the last one and the squirrel looks adorable!

Andy said...

Keep your photos coming Hilary. I enjoy them all.

Laura said...

oh Hilary each photo is exquisite. I am the same with emerging leaves and light on branches...they call out and say "pay attention"...all of your photos are "wake up and pay attention" photos in my opinion. LOVE THEM. And...congratulations on 600 wonderful posts!

Pauline said...

Flowers close up look like other worlds completely, don' t they?

Dianne said...

I really like the squirrels, so sweet

Christine said...

600 wow!!! and so many of those are potw which take so much time and care, you're so kind to do this.

lately i've been grateful for the progress that blogging helps me notice. i love seeing yours.

the chippy shot is amazing and i love the feather on your dash in the previous post :)))

Glo said...

Not only 600 posts, but 600 FABulous posts! Congratulations...

Excellent photos ~ the little chipmunk was so obliging, and as usual your lighting is superb. I love looking at your photos and try to learn from them. Also, your quotes are so spot on!

Indrani said...

Congrats on your 600th post!
Thanks for the virtual treats you give us.

Reb said...

600 is a good start ;) Lovely photos Hilary, the last one could be sold as a print (with a quote below it) to millions and make you rich beyond belief! But then you wouldn't blog anymore and we couldn't stand that, so forget what I said ;)

Liz Mays said...

I don't seem to have squirrels around here, so this is fun to see some in your photos. I miss those silly things.

VM Sehy Photography said...

Awesome shots. I'm impressed that you got the squirrel and the chipmunk. I have a hard time getting shots of either animal. Especially squirrels. Can't get them to sit still.

Hilary said...

Thanks, everyone. You are SO appreciated. :)

Betty Manousos said...

perfect images!

i really like the lighting in some of these.
excellent photography, dear hilary!

lime said...

just love the colors in that japonica. so pretty.