52/365 Captured Moments - Blossoms & Snow Capped Peaks

What a beautiful day, it was all that a spring day should be!  With blue skies as far as the eye could see, the scent of blossoms in the air, bees buzzing, and warm enough not to need a jacket.

With accidents on the freeway causing lengthy backups on all the usual routes, I chose to pay the toll and take the long way home.  As you can see I got waylaid.  I drove to Heritage Park in Mission where I captured this image of cherry blossoms with Mount Baker in the distance. I live in such a beautiful place!

51/365 Days of Captured Moments - Afterglow

Once the bloom of youth has passed there is still beauty to be found in the afterglow.

50/365 Captured Moments - Beautiful Solitude

Solitude is a time of aloneness that I choose, embrace, and crave.  A time for rest and reflection, a time to create and dream, a time for me to just be me. I sometimes wonder if it is a selfish act, but selfish or not it is a necessity for me, much like breathing.  

Beautiful Solitude

In this place I can breathe, it calms my soul.

 

49/365 Days of Captured Moments -Hollywood Beach, Fort Lauderdale

Bliss is a beach day,  the warmth of the sun, the sound of  waves crashing on the beach, sand between my toes........

46/365 Days of Captured Moments - And The Rains Fall

The rains are falling....... and i'm OK with that......when it's raining I feel no guilt for staying inside spending the day painting, reading, or organizing my thousands of images.

48/365 Days of Captured Moments - Across the River a Train Chugs Along

A train makes a slow journey across the Fraser River. I find this image interesting as the landscape reflecting into the water is shaped like a boat paddle.

47/365 Days of Captured Moments - Blue Reflections

Beauty is found everywhere.  This reflection was found in a standing puddle of water in a farmers field.

Cards & Prints

45/365 Days of Captured Moments - Magnolias

Flowers are the music of the earth.

44/365 Days of Captured Moments - Beauty in Everything

In everything there is beauty, if you choose to see it.

43/365 Days of Captured Moments - Oddities

Sometimes it can be difficult finding things to photograph.......

                   But today I looked up ......

                                    And this is what I saw.......

A Tree With Balls

It put a smile on my face

This first shot was taken with a cloud in the background.

A Trio of Balls

The blue sky was a perfect backdrop

Lots of Balls

The big question is......what kind of tree is this?  I tried googling it but so far no luck.

42/365 Days of Captured Moments

The first day of Spring was an absolute success.  The sun shone, the air warmed up, birds sang, and my day ended with a beautiful sunset.  

This is my life, finding joy and pleasure in the simplest of things.  I wish you all the same.

41/365 Days of Captured Moments

Spring, a time of rejuvenation, blossoms open, their sweet scent permeates the air as they playfully dance in the breeze.

40/365 Days of Captured Moments

Dearest winter thank you for our time together I appreciated the time of rest but now it's time to say goodbye.  I am ready to throw open the windows,  let the fresh air in and welcome in Spring.

PS... Please that fresh blanket of snow on the mountains today was overkill!

39/365 Days of Captured Moments

I've decided to change my 365 Days series to Captured Moments.  Although I'm grateful for so very much I didn't feel that my images expressed gratitude in the way I wanted.

Captured Moments will allow me to share moments in my life, images I create from the world around me, both with my photography and the occasional painting.

We so often reach for the shiny and new and overlook the beauty in the old.  I love how the rust on this metal roof matches the red of the wintering blueberry bushes.  Did you notice that the buds are starting to open, soon the fields will be green again.  I will have to return when the blueberries are sweet and juicy.

Sylvester Rd.  Mission, BC

38/365 Days of Captured Moments

Clouds break, light filters through, warming up the land.

Harris Road Blueberry Farm, Abbotsford, BC

36/365 Grateful - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

I didn't win the lottery but I did find the pot of gold and a leprechaun!  

"May your heart be light and happy, 
May your smile be big and wide, 
And may your pockets always have 
a coin or two inside!"

37/365 Grateful - PJ's and Painting

My rural wanderings on Saturday, as well as a wet and dreary day today inspired me to have a pajama painting day.  

It's been a long time since I picked up a paint brush and happily I still know how to paint, although it took a few starts to get back in the swing.   

For me life is perfect when I get to hang out in pj's and paint all day, absolute bliss, this makes for a very happy and contented me.

Now i'm off to close my day with a nice hot soak and a good book.  I leave you with one of my Caribbean sunsets.

35/365 Grateful - Snow Geese

It's early morning, I wait in the dark for daylight to come, it's chilly and fog forms as I breathe out; but I have my coffee to sip as I patiently wait.  

In the distance I hear their muted honks calling out to each other.  As the sun lifts the veil of darkness, I see a gaggle of snow geese slowly swimming my way. Their white bodies stand out against the lingering darkness.  

With a series of honks and a beating of wings soon they will head for open fields to forage.  

It won't be long now and they will leave migrating back to Wrangel Island which lies in the Arctic Ocean, north of Siberia, and belongs to Russia. To learn more see George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary 

Lesser Snow Geese

Fraser River, Poplar Bar, Glen Valley

34/365 Grateful - This Rocks My World

This rocks my world.... oh yes it does.  I've always loved rocks and rock formations it's all about the textures,  colors, and the little bits of moss and fern clinging so tenuously to such a inhospitable home.  This was one of my finds today, yes I will be going back, next time on a dry day and with some decent foot wear.

Did you spot the climber?   To see a close up of him scroll down.....

The Climber

33/365 Grateful - Roaming Back Roads

 I saw a robin, the first this spring for me.  Just for a moment he stood on this post and perched for me.  

32/365 Grateful, The Early Bloomer

Eagerly this early bloomer begins to unfurl its delicate soft pink petals, opening up to the warmth of the sun. 

The Early Bloomer

31/365 Grateful - A Time To Kick Up Your Heels

Spring is in the air, a time to kick up your heels.  This image isn't one of my better shots but I loved the exuberance of this young colt racing around, enjoying the warm sunshine, and kicking up his heels. He rolled in the dirt, jumped up and started galloping towards two other horses who were watching him, they were both watching him as if to say "Look at that idiot" as he came up behind them he started to slide and almost wiped them both out lol.

30/365 Grateful What Happens When You Flip ...An Image That Is.

Blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and sunshine, I couldn't wait to get out of work and head for the river with my camera. It's surprising how quickly the water levels go down, this morning these little splotches of sand weren't even visible.  I liked the blue/grey of the sand and golds of the trees reflected on the water.  

The second picture is a flipped version of the first picture which I think would make an excellent abstract painting.  What do you think?

Cards & Prints Available

29/365 Grateful - The Little Blue Boat, Serene Moments & A Hint of Cinnamon

As I awoke I cracked an eye open expecting wet and dreary instead to my surprise I saw baby blue skies with touches of soft pink and low fog.  I jumped out of bed, got the coffee started, and quickly got dressed, threw my hair up in a pony tail gathered up my camera gear and I was off.  If you know me you know that I treasure my weekend mornings, they are set aside for sleeping in, and numerous cups of coffee before I even begin to think about doing anything.

I've been on a search to photograph the snow geese, so I went to my usual spots but after speaking to another photographer it seems I had just missed them, but he believes that they rest in this particular area during the night so it seems i'm going to be getting up very very early for the next couple of days so that I can try to get some shots off before going to work.

These two little boats are in an area that I usually can't get to, right now the water is down low enough that I was able to walk along a bit of shore line.  It was so calm and serene. I sat there and listened to the birds chatter while inhaling the soothing scent of cinnamon pine cones that someone close by must have tossed on their fire.  So for today no Snow Geese to share, maybe tomorrow.

28/365 Grateful - Catkins & Rain Drops.

The rain is falling much heavier now then it was this morning when I shot this pussy willow, the catkins heavily laden with rain drops clinging to their soft silky grey fur.  As a photo shoot expedition the day was a wash out, I came home wet, cold, and hungry.  But I did find a new place to explore, and I caught a glimpse of a raptor, he screeched loudly at me as he flew to the top of a tall fir tree such an eerie sound.

Of Interest:
The willow (Salix genus) is the original source of one of the most prescribed medicines throughout history  the aspirin.
Perhaps long before the Greeks, the American Indians also used willow to relieve fevers and pain. In the 1800s, scientists isolated the key pain-killing ingredient – salicin – from the willow, and in 1899, the Bayer Company, in Germany, was the first to market aspirin tablets.

http://www.wildones.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/BeyondTheBirdfeederPart6.pdf

27/365 Grateful - Lift Off

Slowly the thin ribbon of fog dissipates,  a small flock of ducks float by, silent and effortless.  

Lift Off

In Memory of Michael

26/365 Grateful - Color Makes Me Happy

We had snow all weekend but as is normal for us our snowy season is fleeting, here today gone tomorrow.

From the bright white of the snow we transitioned into heavy slate gray skies, the heavy rain falls, washing the snow away, the rivers and ponds swell and grow.   Escaping the gray I search out color, finding that the beautiful, effervescence of the bougainvillea fills my need.

25/365 Grateful Dawns Morning Light

Simple pleasures, breathing in the invigorating air on a crisp cool morning while watching the sun paint the valley with morning light and a hot cup of coffee in hand.

Glen Valley, Langley BC

24/365 Grateful San Juan, Puerto Rico

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery

San Juan, Puerto Rico

The cemetery was built in 1863 in Old San Juan and is located outside the walls of Fort San Felipe del Morro fortress.  They built the cemetery to overlook the Atlantic Ocean to symbolize the spirit's journey to cross over to the afterlife.  

I was completely taken with Old San Juan, I will return one day to explore it's many charms, to wander at will up and down the narrow cobbled streets, to poke around in the small tiny curio shops and artists studios.  To take the time to sit in one of the many patios and absorb the music from the musicians playing in the streets.  One day was simply not enough time to do all that I wanted to do.

23/365 Grateful - Bougainvillea

I'm always drawn to images of flowers against weathered buildings.  The contrast between old and new carries a certain charm.

22/365 Grateful Serenity

Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of a blue heron standing oh so still next to a pond; the ponds edge is crusted with ice and bits of left over snow, the water so still that it was the reflection of the heron in the water that first caught my eye.  

A bald eagle is perched high up on a telephone pole, I've seen him there before sometimes alone sometimes with a mate. 

In the field across the way I see ducks and geese and then the soft filter glow of the sun working it's way through the clouds and fog.......such a perfect start to my day.

 Serenity

Glen Valley, Langley BC

Cards & Prints Available