Bluebird at Bisset Park

As long as there are bluebirds, there will be miracles and a way to find happiness.

- Shirl Brunnel

More Bluebirds - HERE 

Backlit Butterfly

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

~Henry David Thoreau

See More of My Butterflies - HERE 

Free February 2012 Calendar Download

The Purpose: To show my appreciation for all of the kind words and visits from my Dear Friends! I hope to be able to post a New Monthly calendar at the end of/beginning of each month. Here is the one for February. I chose the male cardinal - which I have fondly named Mr. Red. You should be able to click on the pic and download it (I've uploaded a Hi Res version about 8 x 10 size) If for some reason it doesn't work - email me and I will send you the Hi Res Version. I hope you ENJOY!

Atlas Moth - Wings of Wonder

Wherever life takes us, there are always moments of wonder.

~ Jimmy Carter

More Wonderful Wings - HERE 

Moon Set on the Trees

Only from the heart can you touch the sky.

~Rumi

Spread Your Wings

Question Mark Butterfly

Make  Your Days Count!


 
Izaak Walton Park - Christiansburg, VA

I believe this is a Question Mark Butterfly - ID help is always appreciated!

Mockingbird - Grabbing a Bite

Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.

~Rumi

Damselfly Close-up

If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere.

~Vincent Van Gogh

  Gateway Trail - Blacksburg, Virginia 
Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 105mm lens

Hummingbird Moth - Marvelous Nature

One of my favorite quotes to go 
with one of my favorite creatures. 

Available - HERE 

Keep Climbing

When you reach the top, keep climbing.

- Proverb

Motivational Print Version Available  
- HERE 

A Morning Star

The sun is but a morning star.

~Henry David Thoreau

Winter Wildflower

In seed time learn,
in harvest teach,
in winter enjoy.
- William Blake 

 

Great Blue Heron Strikes a Pose

Miracles come in moments. 
Be ready and willing.

Wayne Dyer

Print Available - HERE 

I count these little glimpses into nature as daily miracles. There was a time when I would not stand still and look but hurry past. Thankfully not any more.

Have a Miraculous Day!

White-breasted Nuthatch - Treat in His Beak

Every day is an opportunity 
to make a new happy ending.

~Unknown

My FaceBook Page - HERE 

Snowflake Macro

No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.

~Zen Proverb

  

Female Cardinal Showing Her Crest

Be — don't try to become.
 ― Osho  

Morning Moon Over the Trees

The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.

~Frederick L. Knowles

The bird was a huge bonus!

A slightly different version - HERE 

Muscovy Duck - A Unique Beauty

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

~Confucius

Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic.

~Rosalind Russell

  Virginia Tech Duck Pond - Blacksburg, Virginia

White-breasted Nuthatch and His Song

And the song, from beginning to end, I found in the heart of a friend.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

More White-breasted Nuthatches - HERE 

A Link to the White-breasted Nuthatch Songs and Calls can be found

HERE

Chickadee on Frosty Thorns

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

--Unknown

More Chickadees - HERE 

 With temps at 27 degrees things were quite frosty. 
It was one of those amazing mornings that even though it's cold on the outside - you are warm on the inside. 
 The pounding in my chest was not from the exercise, 
but from this consuming emotion that seemed to take over my body ..... 
Thankfulness.

Dandelion Droplets With an Olloclip

Above straight out of the camera (iPhone) - no editing

Straight Out of the Camera but cropped closer.

My first exposure to the Olloclip was January 2012 -  I stumbled across some awesome MACRO shots on Instagram.  I was AMAZED at how fabulous they looked. I soon found out that most were using a lens designed specifically for the iPhone called the Olloclip. They are sold at Best Buy and even on the Apple website but were back ordered. That told me that this was something to check out! I went direct to the Olloclip webiste. Ordered it on January 3, it shipped January 4, and I had it on January 6. Pretty quick service! The above shots were taken with my iPhone with the Olloclip. If you love taking pics with your iPhone and love Macro, I encourage you to check out their website HERE. The lens is actually a wide angle, fisheye, and macro all in one!

Olloclip did NOT ask me to write this review - I just wanted to let you know what a great product it is!

PS - not sure what the little creature is in the pics - maybe an aphid? It was TINY - I couldn't even see it when I was taking the shots.

Sun Rising

"The morning light, 
which rains its quivering beams

Wide o'er the plains, the summits, and the streams,

In one broad blaze expands its golden glow

On all that answers to its glance below."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Print Available - HERE 

Great Blue Heron - One Step At A Time

A close up of the Great Blue Heron walking up the tree branch

A view with the GBH and the tree.

There is no one giant step that does it. 
It’s a lot of little steps.

~ Peter A. Cohen

More of my Great Blue Heron shots - HERE 

In the Morning, Everything is New

In the morning, everything is new.

The day's blank slate lies before me,

ready for my writing.

May it be words of beauty I write.

May it be deeds of grace I do.

May it be thoughts of joy I think.

~ Ceisiwr Serith

Go For It!

Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.

~Wayne Dyer

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Eyeing Me

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. 
Pursue those.

~Unknown.

 Bisset Park - Radford, Virginia.

Summer Softness

Life is soft and smooth when lived gently.

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

  Gateway Trail - Blacksburg, Virginia


Prints and More Available - HERE 

Cardinal Connections

When we know ourselves to be connected to all others, acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do.

― Rachel Naomi Remen

I definitely feel a connection with the birds and the beasts of this world - and a VERY SPECIAL connection with the cardinals in my backyard.

More of My Cardinal Images - HERE 

The Glory of the Journey

The Overlook at Pipestem State Park 
Pipestem, West Virginia

The Road Ahead

About the Images: Photographing "every day" life - with the Instagram App for the iPhone. (these are both iPhone pics.) Some come out pretty cool.   "The Road Ahead" was taken thru a dirty windshield at about 55mph - but I still like it :)

We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.

~John Franklin

Free January 2012 Calendar Download

Dear Friends - You GIVE SO much to me - with your kind visits and sweet comments. I want to make 2012 a year of Giving Back! I am a bit late in getting this up - but I wanted to give you this January 2012 Calendar. You should be able to click on the pic and download it. (Please let me know if this doesn't work for you and I would be HAPPY to email the file to you.) It should be a Hi Res shot - so if you print it out it should look OK. I hope to be able to do this on the first of every month.

You All Mean So Much To Me!!

The Image Was Taken January 1, 2012

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

~Albert Schweitzer

Let Your Spirit Start to Soar

Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be…Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.

~ Erich Fromm

Sunrise and Another New Beginning

Another Sunrise, Another New Beginning

Jonathan Lockwood Huie