Standing Tall

You can stand tall without standing on someone. 
 ~ Harriet Woods

Dove in the Blossoms

It is only when the mind is free from the old that it meets everything anew, and in that there is joy.

― Jiddu Krishnamurti

Posing in the Pines

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
~L.H. Bailey

Open

This shot was taken thru a glass door on a WET February day back in 2009. The Tufted Titmouse was trying to dry his feathers.

All the windows of my heart I open to the day. 
~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Each Moment .....

Red-bellied Woodpecker sticking his head into a cavity in a tree - October 2010

Each moment is a place you've never been. ~Mark Strand

Powerful words!

Honey From the Moment

I expect some new phases of life this summer, and shall try to get the honey from each moment. 
~Lucy Stone

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall - I'm striving for the 
"honey from each moment".

Each Day is a Gift

Male Blubird taken at Blackwater NWF in Cambridge MD - December 2010
Every day you are alive is a special occasion. Every minute, every breath, is a gift from God. ~Mary Manin Morrissey

Remain Hopeful

Carolina Wren from October 2009 with a Hopeful expression :)
By seeing the seed of failure in every success, we remain humble. By seeing the seed of success in every failure we remain hopeful. ~Unknown

Elusive Moments

Brown Creeper seen on my walk last Sunday 02-13-11

The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in ones hands. The harder we grip, the more it slips through our fingers.

~ Alan Watts

Invest in Goodness

A perfect spot for a Pine Siskin ~ In the Pines.

A quote that has absolutely nothing to do with the pic - 
but EVERYTHING to do with each of us.

Goodness is the only investment that never fails.

~Henry David Thoreau

A Song Found

Song Sparrow seen on my walk 02-17-11

Those who wish to sing always find a song. 
~ Proverb

Imagination Took the Reins

White-breasted nuthatch on tree in my front yard

Imagination took the reins, and Reason, slow-paced, though surefooted, was unequal to a race with so eccentric and flighty a companion.
- Fanny Burney

Creativity Is ...

(Taken at Bellpoint Park - Hinton WV)

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun. - Mary Lou Cook

Remaining Silent

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

~Dalai Lama

Nature's Heart

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive. ~Eleonora Duse

The Greatest Science

The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.

~Mother Teresa

A little bit of love ~ smooths the rough edges.

Another "heart shape" I have found in nature ..... can you see it?

Rest Among the Breaths of Nature

Pipevine Swallowtail from Last Summer
Happiness flutters in the air whilst we rest among the breaths of nature.
~Kelly Scheaffer

Friday Feathers - Wings in Flight

Be like the bird in flight . . . pausing a while on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, yet sings knowing yet, that she has wings. ~Victor Hugo

A Blue-headed Vireo from last September. It was my first sighting of this pretty little bird.

The Seeds of Today

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today 
~Unknown

Powerful words in such a short quote.

Wings Like Tree Bark

A Mourning Cloak Butterfly from May 2010.  One of the first butterflies I see in spring.
Doesn't the underside look like tree bark?

Another Mourning Cloak from a prior year with wings open is: HERE

Well Balanced

If we could learn how to balance rest against effort, calmness against strain, quiet against turmoil, we would assure ourselves of joy in living and psychological health for life.

 -  Josephine Rathbone

Finding a balance in life is quite the undertaking! I'm working on it!

(pic from the Autumn archives)

Threads in Nature's Tapestry

Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.
- Richard Feynman

Visit Lisa HERE for more Macro Monday images!

Away from the Crowd

Get away from the crowd when you can. Keep yourself to yourself, if only for a few hours daily. ~Arthur Brisbane

Everything is Extraordinary

Ladybug from the archives.

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.

~Aaron Rose

Joy in the Morning

White-throated sparrow
I used to love night best but the older I get the more treasures and hope and joy I find in mornings. 
 ~Terri Guillemets

An Unwrinkled Heart

To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent -that is to triumph over old age. ~Thomas Bailey Aldrich

One of my favorite things to do when I am out walking is to try to find "shapes" in nature. Can you see the heart shape in this leaf?

Little Things

It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.
~ John Wooden
When I saw this quote I thought of all the "little" feathers making it possible for this Tufted Titmouse to fly. Birds in flight are a constant fascination to me and any time I can get a shot of one in flight - or in take off mode I am thrilled.

We Only Have This Moment

We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand... and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.
Marie Beyon Ray