Feasting at the Suet

A good memory is one that can remember the day's blessings and forget the day's troubles 
~ Unknown

One of my many blessings are the birds that visit my feeders. This is a Male Downy Woodpecker. He has such a vibrant spot of Red on his head!

Nature's Jewels

Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leave you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as heaven whispers, "Do you like it? I did it just for you.

 ~Max Lucado

Available - HERE 

Reflecting

Only when the clamor of the outside world is silenced will you be able to hear the deeper vibration. Listen carefully. 
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Simple Pleasures

One of my favorite things to do is to watch the birdies feast at the feeders on my deck.

Life is one long struggle to disinter oneself, to keep one's head above the accumulations, the ever deepening layers of objects ... which attempt to cover one over, steadily, almost irresistibly, like falling snow.
- Rose Macaulay

Autumn Gold

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
~ George Eliot

Truly a "piece" of Autumn Gold!  
Would you like to hear what an American Goldfinch sounds like?
Click - HERE  

Wishing you all a Wonderful Day!

Happy Thanksgiving

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Unknown

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fascinated with Flight

We are each of us in this world an angel with only one wing. In order to fly we must embrace each other. 
~ Unknown

I am fascinated with butterflies and birds in flight. Actually all flying creatures fascinate me. They seem so graceful and carefree.

Print Available - HERE 

Change

 We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.

- Johann von Goethe

Leaves from the bush in my backyard.  I am not sure what type of bush this is but it has lovely green leaves during the summer and then they turn RED.

Bee on a Wildflower

I find it so interesting to get an up-close look at these creatures. 
I LOVE those see-thru wings.

Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is only a vision. But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day, for it is life, the very life of life.
- The Sanskrit

Time to Reflect

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. 

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Side View of a Skink

This is the skink I saw during vacation in North Carolina. Quite interesting little creatures! I posted a different view of the skink HERE in an earlier blog post.

And to see more interesting critters ~ Visit Camera Critters HERE.

Low in the Water

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart... will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.
- Henry Ward Beecher

I am very thankful for you my friends! Hope you have a Wonderful Day!

Happiness Is To Be Found Along the Way

Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.

- Robert R. Updegraff

Benches are one of my favorite subjects. To some, an empty bench looks lonely - but to me - an empty bench looks inviting - just the spot for a short rest along my journey, and the perfect place to stop and breathe deeply of nature.

A Song in the Air

Then from the neighboring thicket the mockingbird, wildest of singers, Swinging aloft on a willow spray that hung o'er the water. Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music, That the whole air and the woods and the waves seemed silent to listen.  
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A LINK to the beautiful sounds of a Mockingbird - HERE 

A Version of this Print Available - HERE 

Still on the Journey

To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.
 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


As they fall...some don't quite make it all they way to the ground - but get caught on a branch. Over the years I have taken many shots of leaves like this, their journey to the forest floor not quite complete.

Up Close to a Tiger

To be seeing the world made new every morning, 
as if it were the morning of the first day, 
and then to make the most of it 
for the individual soul as if each were the last day, 
is the daily curriculum of the mind's desire. 
- John H. Finley

Available - HERE 

Autumn's Palette

How beautifully the leaves grow old. How full of light and colour are their last days.
- John Burroughs

Print Available - HERE 

A Face to the Sun

As I was watching/photographing this White-throated sparrow thru the dining room window, the sun came out and shined on his sweet face. If you look closely you can see some left-over berry juice on his beak.

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you 
~ Maori Proverb

Masked Bandit Elegance - Cedar Waxwing

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others. 

 ~ Audrey Hepburn

I think of Cedar Waxwings as the masked bandits of the bird world. They also have a type of simple elegance to them ~ reminding me of Audrey Hepburn, who is one of my favorite actresses. She is also has wonderful quotes!

In Over His Head ~ Almost

  I thought this Ibis looked like it was in "over his head" but it was most likely the perfect place for him to find some food. Sometimes in life, we can feel like we are in WAY over our heads, but eventually find out that it was really the perfect place for us to be at just the right time.

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
 ~ E.E. Cummings

Oh What Freedom

 Doesn't it look like it hasn't a care in the world?

"How does one become a butterfly?" she asked pensively. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." 
- Trina Paulus

Print Available - HERE 

Time Flies By

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying. And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.- Henry David Thoreau

Scatter Seeds of Kindness

Scatter seeds of kindness everywhere you go; Scatter bits of courtesy-watch them grow and grow. Gather buds of friendship, keep them till full-blown; You will find more happiness than you have ever known.
 - Amy R. Raabe

More of my Robin Images - HERE 

Cedar Waxwings Are Amazing

I thank You God for this most amazing day; for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes. 

 ~ e. e. cummings

Hope

 Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.

- Emily Dickinson

Thru the Window

This was taken through the dining room window. I am blessed to have such a nice tree in the backyard ~ that the birdies LOVE!

Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.- Erich Fromm

 

Always Cheerful

Cheerfulness is contagious, 
but don't wait to catch it from others. 
Be a carrier.
 Anonymous

Some of My Note Cards Available - HERE 

Glistening with Dew

When your inner eyes open, you can find immense beauty hidden within the inconsequential details of daily life. When your inner ears open, you can hear the subtle, lovely music of the universe everywhere you go.
- Timothy Ray Miller

More of my Art and Photography - HERE 

Taking it Slow

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment; and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey.- Harold B. Melchart