Sunday, May 27, 2012

My Soul is Sunshine

In the garden, my soul is sunshine. ~ Proverb


butterfly and blossoms
Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~ Jeffrey Glassberg
This little beauty was flitting about from flower to flower but paused here and there allowing me to photograph it.




new pine needles
We were so far back in the woods, they almost had to pipe in sunlight. ~ Roy Rogers
A brand new growth of pine needles. They're as soft as a kitten's ear.




gull meal4 missing foot
What is it about a beautiful sunny afternoon, with the birds singing and the wind rustling through the leaves, that makes you want to get drunk? ~ Jack Handy
This gull was photographed from across the creek. Look closely and you'll see that it's making a meal of one of the trout which never made it all the way upstream, this spring. Look even closer and you'll see that the gull only has one leg. His left seems to end abruptly right below the joint. I only noticed this once the photos were uploaded.




sunlit tree
I never knew how soothing trees are - many trees and patches of open sunlight, and tree-presences - it is almost like having another being. ~ D.H. Lawrence
This is the field across the street from Frank's place. You can see the park bench in the background. I just liked the way the sunlight was illuminating the tree.





mama and baby robins
Love comforteth like sunshine after rain. ~ William Shakespeare
This little baby robin was keeping his mama busy searching for worms and feeding him. His little "cheep, cheep!" sounded an awful lot like "feed me!" I'm certain that his mama thought so too.





mini buds
Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. ~ Hans Christian Andersen
I'm not sure what these flowers are but they're about as tiny as the nail on my pinky.




new maple leaf in sun
Sunlight is painting. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
A brand new red maple leaf caught within a shaft of sunlight.




shadowy figure
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. ~ Walt Whitman
You might have to lean back from the monitor to see the human profile in this image. This was what I saw, one evening when looking through the curtain on Frank's back door. Does he look a bit foreboding? Worry not, it was just Frank's older son standing on the back deck talking to his dad.




dumb bunny
Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day. ~ W. Earl Hall
Bunnies are incredibly cute creatures. Not terribly bright. But darn cute. This little guy was dining on grass and weeds. You can see that we caught him frozen in mid munch.




bleeding hearts2
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. ~ Luther Burbank
What more is there to say about these Bleeding Hearts? I think Luther pretty much covered it all.

I'll have more photos in a few days. Thanks always for joining me.



A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. ~ Steve Martin




48 comments:

Andy said...

Another group of fine photo to feast my eyes. Great job Hilary.

Laura~Pretty Pix said...

Wonderful series, Hilary, a delight to the eye!

Rob-bear said...

Such delightful photos, and equally marvellous quotes. Particularly loved the baby Robin. I've seen several nest-making robins in the last few days. I goes we're just a bit behind you.

All wonderful!

Rita said...

With your beautiful shots,it would bring sunshine to my soul too. Love that proverb.
Rita

Ruth Hiebert said...

Taking a walk in nature with you is so refreshing. Each one of these scenes has so much beauty to enjoy. Thanks for allowing me to join you as you seek out new beauties to photograph.

Kappa no He said...

You must blend it with nature so wonderfully. All the photos delightful, but the butterfly/moth about to take flight is stunning!

Steve Gravano said...

Great quotes and photos. T love the door shadow, I looked for an Alfred Hitchcock quote, but couldn't find one to fit!

DJan said...

As usual, I love your pictures. The bokeh in several of them adds to the picture without distraction. I love the illuminated leaf, and the cute little bunny, especially.

Brian Miller said...

the butterflies are cool...and so are the rabbits..the cloth with the shadow though def is a cool shot and sent my mind to thinking...

ellen abbott said...

the wild bunnies are out here this morning in my neighbor's empty half acre. great pics. love the tiny pink flowers.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Sunlight carries so much magic! Love the tree and the new maple leaf.

TexWisGirl said...

enjoyed every single photo and matching quote. :) love the sun and light and beauty you capture all around.

Anonymous said...

He does look a tad foreboding, but what a great photo!

Red said...

Another great stroll of some kind with great photos. I have seen one legged gulls before.

messymimi said...

You bring us sunshine and flowers with your images, and i thank you.

Anvilcloud said...

That moth/butterfly one? Wow!

CiCi said...

The gull and the salmon photo remind me that in nature there is similar loss as in humans.

Mage said...

Spring is bursting out all over. Tabor gives us fledglings, you offer us delight. Flowers are on every blog. What delightful viewing.

Rita said...

"soft as a kitten's ear"--loved that!
Funny how those fluffy baby robins look bigger than the parents by the time they're weaned from mom and dad.
Love the bunny. Maybe that's where the term "dumb bunny" came from, but I adore them. I tried to raise up some abandoned babies when the mom got killed when I was a kid. Their eyes weren't opened yet and only one survived to adulthood, but she stayed in the neighborhood for years having babies. The neighbors with gardens weren't thrilled--LOL! But I was. :)
Love your quotes. Maybe can't relate to the wanting to get drunk one, but loved the rest of them. Excellent, as usual.
Have a stupendous day! :)

Sueann said...

Beautiful flowers...love the bleeding hearts
Hugs
SueAnn

~JarieLyn~ said...

Yes, bunnies are too darn cute. I really like your photo of the tree and of the foreboding shadow. The shadow is a really cool picture.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

The first picture, the one with the butterfly on the flower, is just so eye pleasing...and such a peaceful image. The poor gull seems to be managing. As the theme song to "Monk" says, "It's a jungle out there." There are some faint swirly things in the background of the bunny picture that made me wonder if you had shot that one through a fence. Whatever it is, it enhances the overall picture.

Sarah Anne said...

I love the butterfly photo.

yaya said...

All the pics are beautiful but for some reason the new pine growth was my favorite..hmmm...I wonder why? Have a good weekend!

Gail Dixon said...

All of these tell such a story! The nature quotes are so perfect for each. Regarding the gull, isn't it amazing what you can see once the photo is enlarged? I'm always finding little surprises that I don't detect through the viewfinder. Marvelous post as always.

NitWit1 said...

I truly love the bleeding hearts! Nice composition.

Since I have Japanese red maples I have partiality for the maple leaf also.

Maggie May said...

Love the birds and the bunny picture.
Not sure I agree about bunnies not being very bright. Mine know the time down to the nearest 5 mins...... and one of them can play football.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Bob Bushell said...

Lovely series Hilary, and your speech after each one, is clear and short, that is great for me. Beautiful images and especially the Rabbit one, superb.

Zuzana said...

Dear Hilary, beautiful images showing the magic of nature, always a pleasure to stop by here.;))
xoxo

Mental P Mama said...

I feel like I've just meditated for a half hour. just wonderful...

Sharon Wagner said...

What an abundant post! I love the joining of quotes with your thoughts. And the bunny shot is so crisp. Happy Memorial Day!

Anonymous said...

I do love the light in these shots.

I'd like to nominate Bob for his beautiful butterfly shots. You can see them here:

http://birdsfod.blogspot.se/2012/05/small-blue-butterfly-marshes-lydney.html

Daryl said...

lovely ...

Laura said...

oh dear Hilary...so much beauty!

Reb said...

Beautiful as always. Glad that the gull is making do with only one leg.

Barbara said...

As usual, these are simply breath-taking, especially those Bleeding Hearts. I've never seen them before and now understand how they got their names! That poor gull - although it seems he's doing quite well with one leg. I love how photography reveals things like that to us we would never have noticed otherwise! Thank you so much for sharing these, Hilary!

Kerri Farley said...

...... my heart skips a beat!
WOW!

Daanish said...

a true spiritual journey with joy :)

Joanna Jenkins said...

In the garden, my soul is sunshine..... I think that is my new favorite quote.... so much so that I might just have to pull out my old embroidery materials and stitch that for all time. I love it.... And you photos go with it perfectly.
Thanks, Hilary.
xo jj

Dave said...

Good pics Hilary, and your quotes and words are well chosen - Dave

Dianne said...

the Steve Martin quote is priceless

I love that even a butterfly will pose for you, you're magic

the bunny is a sweetie
and the bleeding hearts are just plain amazing

MaggieGem said...

Wonderful photos Hilary! Always a pleasure to stop by and see what you've up to!

Suldog said...

How close did you get to the bunny for that shot?

Nadezda said...

Hilary, good job, wonderful pictures! I loved the tree,illuminated by sun and red maple leaf.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

So beautiful! *sigh* "soft as a kitten's ear" and shafts of sunshine and color are indeed music for my soul today.

lime said...

this is a calming, peaceful post. i always love when you marry apt quotes to your images. you do it so well. :)

Linda said...

More gorgeous pictures, and the bunny could be the one living in my back yard.

Betty Manousos said...

oh my gosh!

these are all STUNNING!!