MARCH TO APRIL...2

On a rainy day...I found color looking out the kitchen window. The intensity of the red coloring of my Eastern Redbuds deepened.

Redbud blooms reaching for the early evening sky as the moon begins to rise.

Three different sunsets shown in this post...

I was photographing this view when Bandit casually took her place on the rock and decided to take in the sight as well! I wondered what she was thinking as she gazed into the water. Was she capable of enjoying beauty through her eyes?

This was the overall view of the above photo with Bandit.

Home, Sweet, Home
I thought it would be nice to show how quickly the setting sun deepened the colors across the sky and pond. There is approximately one and a half minutes between the times taken of each of these photos.

A LITTLE AFTERNOON DRAMA...

March has finally arrived...and it has begun in a whirlwind...literally! These first two weeks in March the weather has been seasonably variable, but wow, have we ever had the wind gusts going. What has impressed me is the action going on in the upper atmosphere. Clouds changing and reshaping at such rapid pace...at times I felt as if I were watching a documentary on the climate. You've all seen clips where the speed of the film is increased to show the changes of the weather in quick time...well, it has been somewhat similar to that. Personally, I'm not a fan of strong wind here in our lower atmosphere...but up in the clouds, it's just fine. These captures were all taken between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. on March 5th and 7th. The skies changed from bright and sunny to a mixture of bright sun and dark clouds...and everything in between. I have upcoming full moon photos were you can actually see the speed of the clouds as I'm photographing (well, trying to photograph!) using the tripod.

AN EXPLANATION TO MY GUESTS..........

Many of you may have noticed that I haven't been visiting your blogs as often...I have...and I haven't! Most of you know of my weak connection as we don't have high-speed. Some of you, I have explained the amount of time it takes for me to blog due to my regular issues with our location and poor internet connection. Well, here's the scoop to anyone who cares!

On any given day while blogging, ONE page may take several minutes to load, I'm lucky for it to load in 40-60 seconds! Even then, the page may load, but not fully. Sometimes in the middle of reading a post, typing a post, leaving a comment or preparing a post, I lose whatever it is completely...and then have to start the whole process over! You should see how much time is involved for me to prepare a post (today was a doozy!). On a regular basis, I have a couple of good days a month with few problems, usually the fore mentioned is the norm 95% of the time. It is extremely frustrating!

These past couple of weeks, my issues have been worse with connection problems to many other sites, usually the blogs. Some blogs I can get to, but can't leave a comment....some blogs I can't get to at all. My dashboard hasn't shown my followers, nor has my blog. I contacted blogger, maybe they took care of this recently, now it's showing.
I'm spending hours on this computer a day, attempting to enjoy as many blogs as I can. I am tired of struggling with this computer and need to spend more time getting things done! I've had a few people try to drive these DEMONS(can't think of a better word!!) away.

So! Now that I've vented, I hope you all understand my dilemma. I will try to visit you all when I can on my better days, it won't be as often as I would like, believe me! I've got to manage my time better here in the real world and not spend hours a day on this computer...and stressing so much over it! I know that I will probably lose followers over this and I understand. Who knows...maybe someday this will all click into place! My fingers are crossed.

WOW!!!....talk about afternoon drama!?!?!

EDIT...After publishing these past few posts, I viewed my blog...my followers are gone again.

I give up!

INTO THE NIGHT...

One night...without regard to where I wandered... the darkness, the moon glow and the woods as one surrounded me. I felt as if I was being drawn in. To where? I wondered. Such an eerie, yet so comfortable feeling to be engulfed in. The night air was cool, thick with mist and fog... unusual for a winter evening. I felt as if I were being held, comforted. What a wonderous feeling... one with nature.

MISSING THE SUMER SEASON...

Here it is, January 4th, and I don't want to talk about winter. Usually, at this time of the year I'm O.K. with the cold still. We haven't been that far into winter. Maybe it's the extreme ups and downs of the temperatures lately. We have had a few unseasonal warm days here and there which casts a bittersweet feeling. Although I sure appreciate the milder temps., part of me then longs for the warmer weather all that much more. The cattails swaying in the breeze, my dragons playing around the pond and the butterflies skipping gingerly bloom to bloom. I miss the colors of summer, the sounds and scents of summer.












I'm not the only one dealing with this whole idea of winter. All of those tiny birds coats fluff up, they scurry to get as much seed as they can and disappear as fast as they came. I wonder if they are ever anywhere close to warm during the cold months? All of my outdoor cats' coats of fur have filled in twice as thick to help protect them. Look at Bandit here, she looks like a little black snowman posing in front of the pure white snow covered pond.

Now here's a seldom seen happening here in the woods. Only once before have I witnessed deer laying down in the woods. Usually they're nervous and on the move from the hunters. The slightest sound may send them off in a hurry. This deer was all alone, she didn't run the closer I moved towards her. I stayed at a distance of about 150 feet away. I wanted to get a better shot, but more importantly I didn't want to scare her off. She was calm and resting, more than likely she witnessed the rest of her family taken down. She needed her calm more than I needed a better photograph. Naturally, I'm out there quietly talking to her. Each time I spoke her ears perked. I was driving into town the other day and the tiniest fawn crossed the road in front of me. No other family of hers was in sight, she ran off all alone. I wish I could've scooped her up in my arms and took her home. That's another "thing" about winter that brings unpleasant thoughts...hunting.

All of these photos were taken from a distance, I was practicing with the zoom of my new camera. I love the silhouettes against a darkened sky...so simple and so eye-catching. This branch looks as if it were wearing a glove as it pointed north.
More pond views...I'm struggling to find color in this predominately monotone season. When the skies are sprinkled with peaches and pinks as the sunset nears...
the results are soothing pastels painting the pond.

Here the ponds' ice is melting and in certain areas has a crackled effect to add texture for interest. Just look at those pastels...almost reminds you of summer blooms!

SHADES OF TWILIGHT...

As an early riser, I treasure my twilight walks. I awake habitually around the same hour shortly before 4:00 a.m. I practically inhale my first mug of coffee and leisurely sip my second mug. In the sweet morning light as the moon sets and the sun has just barely begun to peek over the horizon, I breathe in deep the freshness of the air. I let my senses absorb all the sights and sounds of nature bathed in various shades of twilight blues.

All of these photos were from the past few days, and on each of these days I spent about a half hour to an hour outside enjoying the darkened surroundings.

Each twilight hour brought forth its' own shade of blue, as well as varying intensities of color. Of course, the longer that I linger, the twilight glow brightens. This garden statue was a gift to me. I call her my Celine statue, named so, after my granddaughter. The light reflecting across the pond towards my "Celine" is that of an automatic photo-sensor light that turns itself off in daylight.

In this wee hour of morning... each tree, plant and rock along with the water and sky almost lose some of their identity but are connected as one in the shades of twilight. Just briefly, they all share the colors for a harmonious sight.

SUNSETS AND FEATHERED FRIENDS...

Out of each season, there are unique reasons to enjoy each in its' own. Back in the woods here, summertime only allows me limited views of the sun rise and sets. It's fall, winter and spring that I am truly able to enjoy all the colors of the sky against the silhouette of the towering trees. Once winter is here, I have an amazing view of the sky, the bare trees , along with the large rolling hills and horizon beyond. At times, I'll bundle up in the cold weather and go into the woods, sit on a bench(that my hubby created out of downed trees), and just sit in the quiet solitude to admire the awesome majesty of it all.

This side of the woods still has plenty of the bronze, orange and peach foliage left. The majority of the woods are quickly becoming bare.

At least now I am able to see the nests in the trees much easier. When you think about wildlife and how they manage to survive all the elements of nature, it justifies how much respect I have for all the critters.
As I was out and about this past week, on one very windy day, the birds were quite active in the tree tops. I was happy to see the wind blown Gold Finch's . Before we started providing food and a large heated cat home for the five stray outdoor cats, we had all kinds of feathered friends at our feeders along the porch. That was the big downside to bleeding heart! Many times I've chased the cats, yelling at them for having a bird in their mouth. It just rips my heart out to see that. I know it's the law of nature, I just can't stand to imagine what pain the prey is feeling. They don't do it in front of me anymore!
I enjoy the Woodpeckers, as long as they're not pecking on the cabin! At one point, we did have that problem. For some reason, it was only the first two years that we lived here.

Now, I'm not sure what type of bird this brave little fellow is...but as small as these birds are, they constantly help themselves to the cats' food...as you can see in its' beak! Surprisingly, there's times when they are within a few feet of the cats....brave, but not so intelligent.

NOVEMBER BEGINS IN THE WOODS...

November started out with unseasonably warm weather, reaching the 60's. The birds were chirping and I still was able to watch my dragonflies...you might have thought it was early spring, if not for the sparse autumn colors that are scattered here and there. A few days last week I witnessed snow flurries and plummeting temperatures. Saturday was the first, the skies couldn't decide on bright and sunny or just plain cloudy. The result made for some interesting reflections on the pond. Not much color in the first photo, but the stark contrasts kept me planted on the wooden bench just admiring the view for quite awhile. If I hadn't mentioned the skies mood, wouldn't you have assumed this was the moon reflecting?

This is my Hydrangea tree showing off her late fall colors...for the most part, the sage greens are gone and now they're a beautiful blending of gold and just a hint of pink.

The Meadowhawk dragonflies seemed happy to be out and about after the cold spell. The fallen autumn leaves really compliment the red dragon. The backdrop of the pond and the silhouette of the bare branched trees just makes this image perfect!

Even a few butterflies were enjoying the warm weather...now I 'm really not sure what the norm is for these beauties...but I was somewhat surprised to see them after the few days of snow flurries. The underside of this butterfly's wings were a pale yellow.
Just another reflection photo, the combination of the blues, the blacks and maroon offer a dramatic effect. I am always looking forward on my walks to see what the pond surface colors are...as they change throughout the day with the changing sky.
Oops!!... Is that another dragonfly?! Sorry, I just love them...can't possibly have enough!

Very early in the morning...There's the blue and black with red this time. I love being outside so early in the morning...it makes me feel like I am truly one with nature. It's a good time to just soak up the calm and get ready to start a new day.