A Beautiful Marigold Day

Yesterday was a dream day with gorgeous sunlight, singing birds, and beautiful nature around me. I had happy feet as I checked out the creek. The yellow violets had bloomed but they were still in the morning shade so I moved on to other photo shots on the land.

Then I remembered the marigolds Jeff had bought and said aha! a blog photo. :D I love colorful flowers with rich hues and marigolds offer that, although the fragrance leaves something to be desired, but Jeff wanted marigolds alongside of the tomato plants that are waiting to be planted in the garden as soon as the rain stops. Can't wait for a juicy tomato in late summer with salt sprinkled on it. We hope to have a good garden this year. Jeff seeded it with buckwheat the last couple of years to revitalize the soil. We figured we had a problem when the cucumber plants weren't bearing. Keep your fingers crossed we have good vegetables this year. :D

Have a super day!!!

Hugs, JJ

Wild Violets Nestled in the Leaves

Purple wild violets brighten the land, nestled in the dead leaves from the past autumn, their rich green leaves attracting my eye. They bloom at cherry blossom time and brighten up the landscape but you have to look for them because the plant is small and dainty. Their heart-shaped leaves make this an adorable plant and I love discovering them in the meadows and woods in the spring. We also have a yellow variety that grows along the creek next to the jack-in-the pulpits.

On another note, Jeff and I had a good Memorial Day weekend. It was great seeing veterans in church and afterward Jeff and I had pizza down by the town park alongside Lake Huron. I can only eat the pizza toppings with my wheat gluten problem but I enjoyed it.

The only bad thing that happened was that Jeff was setting a plastic tent over the swimming pool and that night we had a tremendous rain pour which ended up bending several of the tent poles to unusable and one of the damaged poles gouged a hole in the bottom of the pool. Poor Jeff. Now he has to empty the water from the pool he has already filled in and fix the tear, and his dream of a covered pool has come to an end. He was hoping to have more pool time this year but the bugs win. I look forward to floating around on a lounge chair, watching the clouds go by, and reading a page or two while I'm in the pool...

Have a super day!!! Did you have a busy weekend?

Hugs, JJ

Springtime and Wood Chipping

The spring wood chipping has begun. What a handy machine for making garden mulch. Jeff has been busy sawing down trees for firewood and the smaller branches are perfect for chipping and holding moisture in the garden. We have sandy soil and watering a garden can be a challenge. Jeff will till the mulch into the ground in the fall to enrich the soil. This beats burning the brush.

You can see the changes in the forest in the photo with the bright green and red hued leaves popping out all over. The wild cherries are in bloom too. And the wildflowers are making their rounds. Purple gay wings, Canadian violets, green and maroon jack-in-the pulpits, bright blue forget-me-nots - and we can't forget those huge dandelions- all greet us on our walks.

I'll begin a series of spring postings as Northern Michigan finally brightens up. That sure was hard posting all winter long. LOL Now every day offers something new in nature that's a delight to the eyes. Except for the black fly bite on my nose and one on my lower back when I bent down for a wildflower shot and my shirt popped up an inch, I've had a beautiful Saturday with Jeff.

Hugs, JJ

Creek Reflections

This morning I spent time outdoors snapping

photos of delicate orchard blossoms and ended up down by the creek where my favorite spot is for shooting tree reflections in the water. I adore this cove because it changes colors from deep and sulky to vibrant and bright during various times of the day. This morning the hues were saturated and a delight, and it was only the thought of the bear being spotted by the neighbor that drew me away from it and back to the house.

The only problem I had today was when I was snapping photos of forget-me-nots and Bubba, see pic below, purred while circling me and then knocked his head into my camera lens, smudging it into a mess. That was a trip back to the house. LOL Has anything like that happened to you?

My camera filters arrived and I can't wait to use them. The polarizing one interests me the most because it'll cut down on unwanted reflections.

This time of year the fruit orchard is full of white, pink and delicate blossoms. I'll post a photo of that next. :D What a fragrant time of year.

Blessings to you this day!

Hugs, JJ

Daffodils, You Enchant Me!

The adventure continues with my Canon Rebel XTi. I've owned it less than a week and am captivated by its capabilities. Here golden daffodils show their grace and charm as they display their glorious color and dappled lighting effects. Daffodils are a humble, beautiful flower and a perfect photo subject. I'm glad the blooms linger. :D

I was outdoors in the sunshine with my knees in the grass, a tripod in front of me and the camera lens waiting for my directions. Insects buzzed around me and the cats watched to see what I was up to. What a beautiful day.

How cool to find this passion when I am older. :D It goes to show you, life brings unexpected surprises to your life. Jeff and I are planning trips to the Upper Peninsula so I can take shots of the Lake Superior sunrise, the Pictured Rocks, and the Tahquamenon Falls area. Now I'll be one of those photographers who are calculating the clouds and sunshine. :D

Hugs, JJ

Bubba Poses for a Photo

When my new Canon Rebel XTi arrived I wasn't the only one excited. Bubba, my handsome cat, followed me outdoors and rubbed against my legs, mewing for attention with every step. Finally, I framed him for my first close up photo with the camera and snapped the shot, holding my breath it would turn out. As you can see, Bubba was a good test subject with that sweet face. :D He wanted to wish me good luck from the beginning and this was his way of doing that.

Thank you Bubba for giving me the confidence to take charge of my new camera. It was scary at first, switching from a tiny point and shoot to a higher quality, bigger camera. There are so many menu options and choices that at first confusion set in. But a great manual came with it, and I found online tutorials to guide me through the newbie stage. I've owned the camera a handful of days and we're already great friends. Once I stopped being afraid of the technology, I started discovering what this camera can do. It's AWESOME!!!

From now on, you'll see photos from the Canon Rebel XTi and watch my progress from day one. I'm excited to own the camera and thank my dear blogging friends for suggesting it. When I asked around, this one came up the most.

Now outside holds more excitement than ever. I can't wait to buy different lenses and watch the world unfold in a creative way in front of the camera eye.

What camera do you have? What do you love best and least about it?

I'm going to buy a remote control because my small index finger strains for the snap button on the Canon Rebel XTi. I also need to use a tripod or monopod because of the shakes from my carpal tunnel, but these steadying forces work and this expands my horizons. :D

Hugs, JJ...Smooches to Bubba, who believes in me. :D

Ring-Billed Gull

Hello, Mr. Ring-billed Gull. I was hoping to catch a bird photo and today was the day...well, okay, we were having a picnic and attracted the seagulls. We celebrated Mother's Day for Jeff's mom today and took his parents on a picnic alongside Lake Huron by a light house and the Mackinaw Bridge. It was a beautiful day with Lake Huron having deep blue and turquoise hues and the wind behaving itself. When you live along Lake Huron, spring stays chilly because of the winds blowing off of the lake. Our leaves are just coming out on the trees now.

After our picnic, which was great from the Glen's Deli, we stopped at Old Mill Creek Discovery Park and watched the old-time water powered sawmill in action. This mill is a restoration of what it was like in the 1790s. It was a great day. :D I'll blog about the mill next.

To all you moms out there, have a SUPER Mother's day. I hope you have a day full of treats and special attention. God Bless You and may your well-earned dreams come true.

Merging Point wrote this:

"Beautiful shot! The real bird is pure in white and the shadow is totally dark. What a contrast to reflect on the truth!"

How lovely!

Hugs, JJ

Crazy Bear Was Here

Crazy Bear showed up a couple of nights ago after Jeff and I had gone to bed. He lumbered up the ridge on a deer trail in the dark shadows of the night and found our galvanized steel garbage can that was waiting for garbage pick up in our driveway. The lid was tight - it's been bent a few times - so the bear clamped his jaws around it, piercing a canine tooth all the way through, leaving a hole in the lid. There also are teeth marks on the can. After prying the lid off with his powerful jaws, Crazy Bear hauled out a garbage bag and scattered its contents in a straight line for forty feet on an imagined trail that led through tons of dead lower balsam fir branches down the ridge to the creek.

It poured rain that night but it didn't stop Crazy Bear from passing up the hot dog, the yogurt and the cucumber and instead, gouging holes in the paint can so he could lick up all the faraway blue paint he could manage. After that, crazy bear chewed through my hair dye bottle, then finished up with Crest Cinnamon toothpaste. What a diet! I told my mother-in-law about this and she said, "There's something wrong with that bear." LOL

Now I wait to see if I can capture a blue muzzled bear with my digital camera. :D It's fun finding out new facts about nature. I had no idea bears would think those products mentioned are part of the food chain.

I am still patiently waiting for my new camera.

Spirit has tagged me with the RANDOM THINGS MEME. I don't have time to tag people but will participate with answering the questions.

1. I wish I could read more than I do, but when I do, it's fiction and non-fiction.

2. I love going to church.

3. Am having a hard time adjusting to a gluten-free diet. The flours don't have the taste I like and I've tried different ones for pancakes and such.

4. I don't have cable TV and have to switch to that digital box soon.

5. I love living simply.

6. My husband and I do a waltz trying to manuever around each other in the kitchen. This is hard because I need him to help me. :D The waltz works but we have a territorial thing going on. LOL

Hugs, JJ

Spring Color Arrives!!!

Joy of joys, spring color has arrived to Northern Michigan. My daffodils were nodding in the wind a few moments ago, but they let me snap this photo of them. Their sunny dispostions and variety make me smile. Daffodils light up my life. Now I can't wait for a full moon to see them glowing back at the stars at night, as sure of their presence on Earth as the Milky Way in the heavens above.

I'm DELIGHTED to have more photo opportunities now that the bright colors are arriving. That long winter was hard to endure with the blank whiteness and stark forest that met my eyes day after day.

Daffodils are my heroines because they are steady survivors in the woods. The bunnies eat my tulips, the deer love amaryllis's, the wild turkeys and rabbits love Jeff's garden sprouts, but the daffodils, they are ours to enjoy and they last a long time. WOOT!!!

Hello, beautiful, bright flowers! You make me want to dance circles on the lawn just for the beauty of your presence. :D

Hugs, JJ

The Beauty of Cedar

Along our creek tall cedar trees grow and Jeff has dreams of using wood from one of these trees for building the keel of his dream sailboat that will become reality one day. I popped outside between rain showers and snapped this photo of an exposed cedar root, seeing why Jeff is enchanted with this durable wood. Notice how beautiful the root is with its deep red and wine stained hues.

I was delighted to see a cedar sapling has appeared in the folds of this hundred year old tree, a symbol of renewal. As I age, I pray I can be of value to society so that I am vibrant like these strong roots. :D I have wrinkles now but I don't mind them like when one or two first appeared. Thank heavens they don't appear all at once! I hope to grow old gracefully and delight in the journey, even with the increased doctor visits. I have noticed my spiritual side gaining strength and have noticed more understanding with every passing year and that means more to me than youth. :D

Have a super Saturday. :D

Note: An update of Jeff's kayak building will be posted soon.

Hugs, JJ