Live With Intention

Print Available - HERE 

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.
 ― Marie Desiree



 

Yellow-rumped Warbler Series

What a SWEET Face! 

Surrounded by Berries 

You can see why it's called a Yellow-rumped Warbler

A Lucky Flight Shot!

Live your life as a curious student and you will discover how fascinating it is.

 ― Elena Ornig

And Sandy Was Her Name

Cloudy Skies
(taken from our moving car Sunday 10-28-12 - skies courtesy of Hurricane Sandy)

Sandy met a winter storm from the west and arctic air from Canada
and gave us snowy weather
Thinking of all of those in harms way and the first responders 
Thoughts, Prayers, and Positive Vibes being sent to you all.

Update Post Sandy - We lost power at 3am and got it back by 2:30pm today.  Sadly a home in our neighborhood was badly damaged by fire.  

Shining Through

Looking up through the leaves

I am intrigued by the sunburst that shines through the leaves

My attempt of a "close-up" of the sunburst :) 

This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it does today.......

~ Hermann Hesse

How thought provoking ..... every moment we live is a "once in a lifetime" moment - and will never happen again .... All the more reason to Cherish Every Moment

Flying Into The Sunset

Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under! 

~ C. JoyBell C.

Sunset from my front porch 

Through The Forest

There's gold, and it's haunting and haunting; 

It's luring me on as of old; 

Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting so much as just finding the gold. 

It's the forests where silence has lease; 

It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,

 It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

~ Robert W. Service

Driving thru a Forest in Amherst County, Virginia

Cedar Waxwings

 I think their feathers are Amazing!

Alone you can go faster, but together we can go further.

~ African Proverb

Cedar Waxwings in my backyard 

Print Available - HERE 

The Road Goes Ever On and On .....

Deerfield Trail - Blacksburg Virginia

The Road goes ever on and on 
           Down from the door where it began. 
                       Now far ahead the Road has gone, 
                                             And I must follow, if I can,
 Pursuing it with eager feet, 
         Until it joins some larger way 
               Where many paths and errands meet.

                              And whither then? I cannot say  

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Print Available - HERE 

Find The Light

 There is light in darkness, you just have to find it.

~ Bell Hooks

Don't Be Afraid

Oh, How I Want to LIVE this quote!

~ Red-bellied Woodpecker
 (same one from my last post)  
dives down to pick up another acorn ~ 

Prints Available - HERE 

At Home In the Forest

Red-bellied Woodpecker in the Forest along Deerfield Trail

Blacksburg, Virginia       

You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest, 

and I smile, and am silent, 

and even my soul remains quiet: 

it lives in the other world which no one owns. 

The peach trees blossom, The water flows. 

 ~ Li Po

Think and Wonder

Think and Wonder
Wonder and think
~ Dr Seuss

Linking with Inspired Tuesday 

Layered Leaves

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.

 ~ Anaïs Nin

Turning Over a New Leaf

The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.

 ― Arnold Bennett

A Glorious Autumnal Day

 Sun and Clouds

Clouds and Sun

 No Moment Wasted

 Deliciously Spent

Drinking In the Beauty

  Deerfield Trail - Blacksburg Virginia

Iphone image - edited with Snapseed and Instragram Filter 

The View Outside My Door

Autumn Leaves Make Me Absolutely Giddy!

Outside My Front Door
Light and Love Reveals Itself
Dangling From The Branches 

Linking with Fabulous Friday 

These were taken on Friday 10-19-12 with my iPhone.
I am still amazed and what that little phone can do!

Don't Forget To Look Up

Colors play an important part of our world, so when you mix them up the outcome can be beautiful... Love blindly and selflessly. 

~ Devon Ells

A Father's Love

A glimpse into

that moment

Forever captured

a Father's Love

As many of you know - I am not a "people pictures" person.  I try - but it just hasn't "clicked" (pardon the pun) for me.  But sometimes I get lucky.

That's the way I feel about this image .... very lucky to have captured this.

Taken with my iPhone - processed in Instagram - a moment in time captured.

My Son - the brand new Dad - with His Son - Conner
 

 

At Your Own Speed - And My First Giveaway!

You may wonder what a 35 mph speed limit sign along a back country road has to do with a giveaway……All will be explained!

Linking with Rural Thursday 

(can't get much more rural than a field of wildflowers and a 35 mph sign - unless of course it was 10 mph)

I encourage you to check out the wonderful rural images posted each Thursday.  It is one of the highlights of my week.

And NOW for the Giveaway!

I am excited to announce that 

My friend Desirae at sommerfugl design is allowing me to give away a spot in her Blogger Design E-course 
Desirae will teach you: 
The basics of coding for your blog (CSS and HTML) 
How to design a great looking header image and blog button Fonts: 
How to install them on your blog, and use them in your designs Backgrounds: 
How to add them, and what works best 
The blogger elements, and how to customize them. 
The Navigation Bar: how to customize it and how to create a drop-down navigation bar. How to add social media buttons.
Adding additional widget areas to your blog. 
The little extras: post signatures, post dividers and more. 
How to install your new blog design.

 One of the best parts is that not only will she teach you how to do all of these things (with some one on one help if needed) she will ALSO provide you with a free e-book that will allow you to reference it in the future. This is where the 35 mph speed limit sign comes in:  that E-book is yours to keep and you can go slow /at your own pace referring back to the E-book when needed. (see how I tied that all together :)  She will also provide free blogger templates to work from and resource lists.  That's a whole lot of Teaching and a whole lot of Learning!  


It is Simple to Enter the Giveaway - just leave me a comment specifically stating that you wish to be entered into the giveaway. That's ONE Entry. For a SECOND Entry - promote this Giveaway on your blog with a LINK to my blog - and that will be your Second Entry. (You will need to comment a 2nd time leaving me a link to the promotion on your blog)


The Giveaway will run thru midnight EST on November 1, 2o12.  I will draw one random name from all of the entries on November 2nd - and I'll post the winner on November 3rd.

Good Luck!


EDIT - This Giveaway is closed. 

 

The Great Egret

The Long Necks of the Egrets and the Herons amaze me!

Looks like he's walking towards me

The entire Reflection

This is the same image just cropped in different ways.  

Image made June 2012 during our vacation in North Carolina

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday 

Just Before Sunrise

Veil after veil of thin dusky gauze is lifted, and by degrees the forms and colors of things are restored to them, and we watch the dawn remaking the world in its antique pattern.  

~ Oscar Wilde

Just before sunrise 
Claytor Lake State Park - Dublin, Virginia

Available - HERE 

Watch and Listen

The most uplifting music in the world is that of Mother Natures orchestra. Sit atop a hill or mountain, with a fabulous view and listen..... Hear the winds song, the birds chorus, and the far off sound of childrens laughter and song and the sounds of life that you can soundtrack to your own playlists.

~ Michelle Geaney

 

A New Arrival

Introducing.....

Conner James Kirker

Born 4:43 PM

10-12-12

6 lbs, 11 oz

19 1/2 inches

Life is so full of unpredictable beauty and strange surprises. Sometimes that beauty is too much for me to handle. Do you know that feeling? When something is just too beautiful? When someone says something or writes something or plays something that moves you to the point of tears, maybe even changes you.

 ― Mark Oliver Everett

My first Grandchild - I am moved to tears every time I see this amazing little person.  I had NO IDEA it would be this way.

What a Wonderful Blessing!

Always Believe

Always believe that you will ultimately succeed at whatever you do, and never forget the value of persistence, discipline, and determination.

~ Anonymous

 Heritage Park, Blacksburg Virginia

Taken during the many hours spent trying to capture the butterflies in flight

To Me - The Monarch is the Symbol of Determination.  

Red-breasted Nuthatch

"Don't I have pretty markings?"

Every day brings a chance to live free of regret and with as much joy, fun, and laughter as you can stand.

~ Oprah Winfrey

I LOVE to have the Red-breasted Nuthatch visit the feeders   
They don't show up very often  so this was Pure DELIGHT!

With Open Eyes and An Open Heart

Awareness is a choice, and sometimes it takes effort. But it’s never disappointing if we truly put some effort into it. The rewards for our effort already surround us all the time, but they’re awards that we miss constantly until we make the decision to open our eyes and our hearts to the beauty that’s always everywhere.

~  Tom Walsh

  Claytor Lake State Park - Dublin Virginia - with my iPhone

The Leaf Love Continues

Even in the familiar there can be surprise and wonder.  

~ Tierney Gearon

Available - HERE 

Here Comes The Sun

 Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)

 Here comes the sun, and I say It's all right

~ George Harrison

Sunrise at Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin, Virginia  

Some interesting insight into the writing of this song - HERE 

Osprey At Claytor Lake State Park

The Osprey looks like it is flying into the tree branches

A little closer look.

And even a bit closer

I am very fortunate to live relatively close to Claytor Lake which is home to a wonderful Virginia State Park. 

A Link to info about the Osprey:  HERE 

Days Like These

Life is short 

Let's go live it 

No time for wasting time 

Days like these they go too fast 

Yeah, days like these you wanna make them last 

Songwriters: Wendell Mobley, Neil Thrasher, Michael Ford Busbee

Leaving Ocean City, Maryland after a visit

A Leaf Affair

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

~  L.M. Montgomery 

Autumn

the time of year

when the leaves

grab hold

of

my 

heart 


 

Forever in the Distance

Moons and years pass by and are gone forever, but a beautiful moment shimmers through life a ray of light.

 ― Franz Grillparzer

Northern Cardinal Youngsters

Is that an expression of curiosity?

Or more like "how can I get away from my sister"?

When you're curious, 
you find lots of interesting things to do. 
~ Walt Disney  

Let The Light In

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. 

 ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Nature Amazes

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly  

Hold on to your sense of wonder; if you do not have a sufficiently strong one, then develop it. For me, it is the most precious resource in the world. 

~  Arthur Silber Jr.