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.

The Very Breath of Spring

“Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?”  ~ Neltje Blanchan

Spring.. it ain't over yet. Come join me in taking in a few more sights around my neck of the woods, and Frank's. 

One of just a few red tulips which grace my front yard this spring. 

Not far away, a daffodil bud shortly before it opens.

  Outside my back window, this little cutie was enjoying some of the seed which was scattered primarily for the birds. The photo quality is poor as it was taken through two panes of glass. I've always loved red squirrels, and especially since I was introduced to sweet, little Roxy. Go on and have a look - she's adorable. 

Frank lives near a lovely creek which makes its way into Lake Ontario. Each year, they lose more trees and other plant life to erosion. I suppose it won't be too much longer until this tree loses its grip and makes its way into the great lake. For now, it still makes a pretty picture. 

There are a lot of walnuts to be found around the area.

And of course, what self-respecting spring season makes its appearance without the obligatory robin. This one stopped pecking in the dirt in order to watch me rather closely. You can see some of the wet earth on its beak. 

Back home again, the sun is setting behind a new leafy growth.

That's it for today. I'll have more images for you in a few days.

Colourful Days

Some lovely weather has hit my part of the world and my camera has been kept quite busy. I hope you'll enjoy the following photos.

Sweetness.

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Mother's Day. My son and his sweet girlfriend arrived bearing cupcakes, which they spent the morning baking and decorating. It was such a sweet treat in more ways than one. Thank you Alex and Veronica!

Kicked a bit too hard.

A lost golden soccer ball lays in the bottom of the inflow of the pond. The yellow booms are used to filter the water from potential grease spills. We've had a few of those in the past.

Three redheaded beauties.

In my front garden, colourful tulips were in full bloom one day, and totally gone the next. It might have been squirrels or rabbits who did the munching. I'm glad I got a few photos out them first.

Cheers!

A few of the neighbours got together one evening and toasted the season with wine.

Salut!

And with beer.

Benny is high on grass and on soap bubbles.

I hope you're enjoying the season and like Benny, are jumping for the sheer joy of it.. and for bubbles.

Back in a few days with more photos.

Spring Miscellany

Following are a few photos taken over the last couple of weeks around my place and Frank's


I can't begin to count how many times I've seen a bird perched upon a branch or other interesting surface which begged to be photographed for one reason or another. Usually it's the bird's own beauty that draws me in. Sometimes it's the setting. Occasionally the background. More often than not though, I'll raise my camera, focus on the creature and snap the shot just as the bird has taken off in flight, leaving me with an attractive branch and background but no bird. This robin was kind enough to stay put for one photo.





And when it did take off, it was even more thoughtful to do so at the exact same time that I pressed the shutter and not the usual split-second before. Thanks, robin!





The remaining trunk from a tree which was cut down last year. I expect more interesting growth of moss and fungus around its rings each year.





One of the tulips blooming in my front yard.





Now that the warm weather is here, Benny loves to fetch a stick which we toss out into the creek for him. It allows him to practice his swimming skills which are quite good.




One afternoon, we had finished tossing sticks for Benny and decided to sit at a bench and take in the sights for a few minutes. A woman was walking along the path, approaching us from the left. As she passed by in front of us, we both distinctly heard what we thought was her stomach growling. It was only when she had continued past us that we realized what had really growled...


This wee beast.. all safe and sound hiding behind his person.





This damaged tree provides a perfect shelf to place a peanut for a lucky squirrel. It's a bit of a crude offering - only because of the graffiti to the bottom right of the peanut.





Late at night, along the path, the park lights create interesting shadows of the new growth.





There must have been some sort of promotion going on a the car dealership across the street, beyond the hill. Those spotlights were criss-crossing in the night sky and I decided to get a picture of them. I tried some with and without the flash and I played around with the ISO. It was only when I uploaded this one, that I noticed that the tree supports were angled pretty much the same way the lights are behind them. A lucky mistake.

Through the Glass

Yesterday's post showed a closeup of this recycling bin which sits on the platform at Toronto's Union Station. It was shot through the window of the GO Train which took me to visit Frank a couple of weeks ago. A few of you suggested that it was a trash bin and a couple of you got the precise answer. Tabor was the first one to guess that it was a recycle bin. Thanks for playing along.

I guess the bags had just been changed. Toronto can't possibly always look this neat.




Also shot through the window was this view of the St Lawrence Market. I had to be quick since the train was on the move.




Once I met up with Frank, we drove up to Orillia together. Wandering around town brought us to a craft shop. These colourful beads in glass bottles caught my eye.




Further along the main street, this unusual table setting in a store window beckoned to be photographed. It was a promotion for a murder mystery dinner theatre.




Back at Frank's place, this red-winged blackbird sat on a branch of his magnolia tree and sang to us through the closed window. Photography is never all that sharp through glass.




Case in point - this blurry little chickadee on my own back yard tree one rainy morning. She had collected a sunflower seed from the ground beneath the feeder and was about to set to work cracking it open...




By striking it repeatedly on the branch. They're such clever and agile little things.




Now this is the only photo on this page which wasn't taken through glass but they're the reason why the next photo was...





Flower-stomping, bud-biting, grass-ripping, lawn-digging, blind-wrecking little brat! Can you tell how much he wanted to be back outside?