They Give Color To My Day

The mere studying of the birds, seeking mere knowledge of them, is not enough. You must live with the birds, so to speak; have daily and seasonal associations with them before they come to mean much to you. Then, as they linger about your house or your camp, or as you see them in your walks, they are a part of your life, and help give tone and color to your day. 

 - John Burroughs 

Under the Maples

More of My Cardinal Images - HERE 

Making Friends

Tufted Titmouse

People who have not made friends with the birds do not know how much they miss.
- John Burroughs

More of my Tufted Titmouse Images - HERE 

Monarch Butterfly

"...the naturalist finds his pleasures everywhere. Every solitude to him is peopled. Every morning or evening walk yields him a harvest to eye or ear." 

- John Burroughs

Print Available - HERE 

In The Leaves

Cedar Waxwing

Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world.

 ― John Burroughs

Print Available -  HERE 

Leaves Covered In Ice

I guess you could say it was a little bit icy 

What a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel. 

~ John Burroughs

Bluebird of Happiness

Indeed, this bird seems incapable of uttering a harsh note, or of doing a spiteful, ill-tempered thing. 

John Burroughs, The Bluebird, 1867

~  Heritage Park - Blacksburg, Virginia ~ 

Wildflower Dreams

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

~ John Burroughs

One of my favorite quotes that I've used often on this blog. It is quite thrilling to me to hear the birds sing, to see flowers in a field or a butterfly in flight. What wonderful entertainment and beauty there is in just going for a walk. This was taken on one of my many summertime walks.  The white flower is Queen Anne's Lace and the blue in the background is Chicory

Snow Queen with Snow Beak

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. 
~ John Burroughs

More Cardinals - HERE