Take Possession of the Sky & Posts of the Week

A lovely night heron sits on top of the dam. Unfortunately, I spooked it when I snapped a shot. Fortunately, I was able to follow his flight path for a short while, allowing you a look at the view I see each day at the east end of the pond.


 Happier of happy though I be,





like them I cannot take possession of the sky,





mount with a thoughtless impulse,




and wheel there,





one of a mighty multitude whose way and motion is a harmony and dance magnificent.
 ~ William Wordsworth


And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.

PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Icy Beauty
by Ruth
at Ruth's Photo Blog

Sip N' Soda
by Steve
at Take a Look Around

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A GOOD READ

A Bag Full of Memories
by Pauline
at Writing Down the Words

Remembering Uncle Moshe
by Phyllis
at Prompt Prose

Memorial Day
by Sandy
at Writing in Faith

21 Grams of Truth
by Brian
at WaystationOne

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JUST PLAIN ENJOYABLE

Thailand - The Elephants
by Elizabeth
at Magical Moments

Small Treasures
by Laura
at Shine the Divine

How Do You Blog?
by Hilary
at Crazy as a Loom

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IT'LL MAKE YOU LAUGH

Of Human Conditions
by MessyMimi
at MessyMimi's Meanderings

Cat Mischief
by Doris
at Thoughts and Things

*** 
 
Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

And Then What Happened?

I have few photo pairs for you - and in one case a trio of images - all which answer the question "And then what happened?"


I photograph this soft, fuzzy branch often. In all seasons. At all times of day. In all kinds of weather. From all angles. It's a young growth of sumac just behind the fence, alongside the walking path at my park. On this day in early May, I noticed that the buds were just about ready to open. And then what happened?




Well.. then I came back and photographed it just four days later. Four sunny, warm summer-like days later. Magic happened.





This hazy image is a reflection of contrails as seen in my local pond.





I looked up to snap a shot of the matching scene in the sky above. I decided to click a second time, from a slightly different position through the willow branches. A loud "GROK!" reached my ears. And then what happened?
 



A vocal heron in flight filled my viewfinder. His long bill was open in mid-GROK! A lovely surprise.





There have been some changes around my park over the past year. There are new benches, information areas which discuss wildlife and plant life in the area. There is a beautiful tree carving depicting the creatures which grace us with their presence. And there's talk of a couple of other things to come. One day, these bright orange balls appeared in the pond. I wondered about their symmetry and figured out pretty quickly that they were anchored down like that for a reason. I had a vague idea what they were about but I wasn't certain. And then what happened?





Just a few days later there were multiple hexagon-shaped pieces surrounding the place-keeping balls. Eventually, plant life will sprout from these forms and a floating island will be born. That orange glow behind it all was my first snapped sunset of the season. I'll have more from that evening coming up at some point.





On a dull evening, just before dusk, I heard this cardinal atop the tree, singing his heart out for a mate. And then what happened?





He found her. Perhaps. He took such a quick nosedive off of the branch, it couldn't be anything else. Perhaps.





Grape hyacinths are growing randomly in my front yard. I posted a different photo of them in a previous post. For this one, I had to get up good and close to them with the macro lens - they're so pretty. And teeny-tiny. And they look so colourful dotting the otherwise boring grass. And then what happened?



They ended up looking even prettier when my adorable neighbour Lily decided to pick them.

And that's what's been happening around here. More photos in a few days.

Share and Share Alike & Posts of the Week

Sharing is what the POTW are all about.

You visit me.

I visit you.

I do my best to keep track of the posts that make me think "more people should read/see this" and so I share it.

It's simple really.


I love it when kidlets understand fairness and show empathy to others. Lynzie is enjoying a cool drink of water. You can see that Lily is anxious to quench her own thirst and Ms. Lynzie is quite aware of her.




Lily's turn. Who says kids don't know how to share?

It looks like it's about time to do a bit of sharing of my own.

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.

READERS' CHOICE

Recommended by: Karen  AND by Pauline
Where I'm From
by Ursula
at Friko's World
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A GOOD READ

Forgiveness
by Mage
at Postcards
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JUST PLAIN ENJOYABLE

Thinking Back
by Sue
at Photowannabe

Redbuds Along the River
by Sage
at Musings

Noisy Neighbours
by Tabor
at Room Without Walls

Beautiful Mess
by Dawn
at Just One Life

***

IT'LL MAKE YOU LAUGH

Placemat Man
by Cuppa
at Brown Betty Brew
 
Help
by Sharon
at Sharon's Paws Create

*** 
 
Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

I Must Have Flowers

Earth laughs in flowers.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face.
~ Walt Whitman





Where fall the tears of love the rose appears, And where the ground is bright with friendship's tears, Forget-me-not, and violets, heavenly blue, Spring glittering with the cheerful drops like dew.
~ William Cullen Bryant





She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead."
~ A.A. Milne




You cannot forget if you would those golden kisses all over the cheeks of the meadow, queerly called dandelions.
~ Henry Ward Beecher
 




Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.
~ Gerard De Nerval






Oh, tiptoe from the garden
By the garden of the willow tree
And tiptoe through the tulips with me
~ Al Dubin





Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?
~ James Montgomery

I must have flowers, always, and always.

~ Claude Monet

At Jill's request, I have linked this post with her Weekend Garden Party page. You might want to give her and her other posters a visit for some fine spring greenery. 'Tis the season, after all. Jill's beautiful photography can be seen regularly at She Who Carries Camera.

At Laura's request, I have also linked this post to her I Heart Macro page. Laura's blog is a lovely, peaceful oasis. You'll enjoy her photography immensely and marvel how she so often find heart shapes in nature. This post is about macro photography though. Head on over to Shine the Divine.

A Blush of Scarlet & Posts of the Week

I stepped outside one April morning to find that some of the fallen buds from my neighbour's tree to the left of me had landed on the hood of the car belonging to the neighbour to my right. It caught my eye. I grabbed my camera and voila.. instant blog post!


"Sunshine steeps your boughs





and tints the buds





and swells the leaves within."  ~ William C. Bryant





"Thought is the blossom;





language the bud;





action the fruit behind it."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson




"When April winds grew soft,




the maple burst into a flush of scarlet flowers."  ~ William Cullen Bryant

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.

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A GOOD READ

For Mama
by Pauline
at Writing Down the Words

For Mother's Day
by Stacey Dawn
at Dawning Inspiratio

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JUST PLAIN ENJOYABLE

Button Can Memories
by Sandi
at Holding Patterns

Mother's Day Promises
by Gary
at Gary's Third Pottery Blog

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IT'LL MAKE YOU LAUGH

One Step at a Time
by Joanna
at The Fifty Factor

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PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY
 

Just Pictures
by Keith
at Holding Moments

Deep in Thought
by Lisa
at Lisa Gordon Photography

Battle of the Birds
by Gail
at Louisiana Belle

The State House, Vermont
by Steve
at Take a Look Around

A Spa Visit
by Reena
at Missing Moments

***

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

We Find Delight

We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nearly two years ago, I posted some photos of my neighbour's niece, Lynzie. We have many adorable children who live on our street. I've shown you their faces before and I will again. They're beautiful little people. For today's post, the focus is back on Lynzie.

If my math is correct, Lynzie is just about four and a half now. And I still think she's still one of the most photogenic kidlets on the planet. Tell me if you don't agree. I dare ya!

Here she is - two years older than last time and every bit as cute.


Children are a great comfort in your old age -- and they help you reach it faster, too. ~ Lionel Kauffman





Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires. ~ Marcelene Cox






There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child. ~ Frank A. Clark





I take my children everywhere, but they always find their way back home. ~ Robert Orben





Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected. ~ Red Buttons





You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. ~ Franklin P. Jones

 



One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is. ~ Erma Bombeck

I hope you enjoyed the many faces of Ms. Lynzie

About Little Things & Posts of the Week

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. ~ Leo Buscaglia

It was the very beginning of April when I was last at Frank's place. My house has been getting something of a facelift in order to ready it for selling once Frank and I find our place. Right now, the area where we've been looking is recovering from some serious flooding so there hasn't been too much on the market the past few weeks. Hopefully that will change shortly. In the meantime, here are some photos taken in late March, when I was last at Frank's place.


Several weeks before the leaves emerged, the snow had long melted but this snow-like waxy substance propped in the tree branch caught my eye. I have no idea what it was.





Here's another one of those perceived faces in a wet patch of sidewalk. Can you see the feminine profile, complete with eye brow and lashes looking to the left? You might need to back up a bit and squint. How about Alfred Hitchcock with his head tilted upward, looking to the right? His collar would be the lady's mouth. Or do you just see me in a straight jacket?





A pair of peanuts waiting for one of my squirrel buddies to claim them.





Another pair of peanuts - cute as can be.





This trio of adorable pooches walked so nicely together.





A tiny flower head from last year - still beautiful to me.


And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.

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A GOOD READ

Teaching Through Texting
by Betty
at Bossy Betty

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JUST PLAIN ENJOYABLE

Happy May Day
by Fragrant Liar
at Fragrant Liar

Finding Fistfuls of Flowering Hope
by Karen
at Spokalulyu

An Extraordinary Day
by Djan
at Djan-ity

Concert Hall
by Mimi
at Mimi in Dublin

Sugar Junkies
by TexWesGirl
at The Run*A*Round Ranch Report

Crackpots: Easter in Corfu
by Madie
at The World from My Window

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IT'LL MAKE YOU LAUGH

Undies
by Sharon
at Sharon's Paws Create

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PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY
 

Beltane
by Tammie Lee
at Spirithelpers

River Otters Preen
by Kerri
at A Little Piece of Me

Beribboned
by Fiona
at Lady Fi

STARling WARS
by Gail
at Louisiana Belle

Spring is Alive and Well
by Daniel
at The Pixel Collective

***

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you