Mallard Ducks taking a rest
Until Miss Lady Duck decides its time to go….she seems to have very good balance
I wonder which one was the lucky duck?
Snow in Sepia
I awoke this morning to find snow falling – the weatherman says it will add up to just a few inches. My winter wonderland backyard and the view from the top of my garden window looked so pretty-even when I changed it to sepia. Enjoy your day whatever weather you have where you are!
The Harvest From Within
Loved this from stevenjcurtis.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law does not apply to our actions. If I plant an apple seed I will reap more than just one apple. This law applies to our actions. It is worthy of noting that the day of harvest is not the following day after seeding. Some plants germinate quicker than others. Some actions produce repercussion quicker than others.
This is why it is imperative for us to watch what we say and do. It is easy to grow weeds. Negativity is also easy to say and do. Discipline is our cultivation. The more cultivated a garden is, the bigger the harvest will be. We can be disciplined in possitive things as well as negative things. The choice is ours to make. 🙂
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things That Are Hot
Color Your World: Eggplant
The Common Grackle has a glossy-iridescent body- the color of Eggplant. They are a noisy bird and make themselves known once in a backyard, walking around with their long legs eating as they go.
Posing Pretty
Ok, this is my good side so I’ll let you get a shot of me
well I think you’re overstaying your welcome, aren’t you cold out here anyway?
well that’s enough, I’m done with my photo op for today
Color Your World: Desert Sand
Always Looking Up
I am not making reference to optimism here, but rather to keeping my eyes looking upward to the tops of the trees and the sky to see what is there.
Sometimes it will be rain clouds with the sun setting behind them over a bay.
Or giant puffs of clouds with the sun attempting to break through
Maybe a seagull will fly by at just the right moment to capture him with the lens
Or perhaps as it happened today, from the bank of the river where I was standing I looked across and up and saw this
Looking at the tree in the center of the photo I saw what looked liked something perched there, I zoomed in with my camera and much to my delight I saw this
Thinking it was some kind of Hawk I took a few more shots
Only to get home and Google “Hawks of NJ” to find out this was not a Hawk, but a Juvenile Bald Eagle! Not trusting Google, I emailed my friend who is the President of the Audubon Society for our County and asked him, and he concurred.
I intend to keep my eyes to the sky, you never know who may just be looking down at me too!
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Lines & Angles
What A Different Life It Was & Would Be
The Daily Prompt asks: Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
No computer? You can never go back, my friends. My computer does not just function as a computer with writing programs and photo editing programs- it connects me to the outside world by allowing me to access the Internet. No computer=no internet, and that would be a problem. No Google to get immediate answers to everything and anything you need to know? No Facebook to stay connected with the 600 childhood friends you thought you would never see again, let alone know almost every intimate detail of their life from the time you lost touch up until the present? Not knowing what everyone ate for dinner because they just had to post that perfect plate of mashed potatoes? No place to upload the thousands of photos I have taken?
I suppose life without a computer would mean more reading books and magazines, playing games, taking time to sit down and play the piano or guitar. More walks than I take already, a cleaner house as I wouldn’t have the distraction keeping me from the dust.
Life was simpler before we had technology at our fingertips. We played outside and used our imaginations, talked endlessly with our friends and had hobbies that kept us busy. A different time in a different world. There is no going back- just looking back and being happy for whatever the experience then was.
What’s a Little Snow in NYC?
New York City had a major snowstorm this past weekend, leaving 26 inches of snow behind. You would think this would present a challenge to getting things up and running, but within a day it was business as usual. I ventured in to find piles of blackened snow along the curbs and some slush but some snow in NYC can’t keep New Yorkers down!
Bryant Park which is located behind the New York Public Library becomes an Ice Skating Rink in the winter
My husband and I were content to stand and watch rather than lace up and get out on the ice. 
This couple were working on it together
This woman was having a wonderful time trying out different moves
Not much of a need for Citibikes it seemed. It’s a challenge to navigate the streets when there is no snow!
Wordless Wednesday
Winter Around the Local Pond
I ventured down to my favorite pond after “snowmageddon” cast its wrath upon us here in the Northeastern United States. Someone had been there before me and carved out enough of a path for me to walk in their footsteps.
The pond was frozen over and some of the trees still held the snow from two days ago. 
A flock of Geese honked overhead and then landed in unison on the partly frozen river that lies on the other side of the pond
I then heard a cacophony of crowing looking up to see a flock-for lack of a better word, of crows crossing the sky and landing in the top of a tree
What a noisy bunch they were!
and just as quickly as they had all landed, they all took off again
as I was still looking overhead my neighborhood Eagle did a fly over- too fast for me to zoom in on in focus, but I could tell it was him by his white head. Maybe with more practice I will eventually be able to capture him in focus and zoomed in!
Daily Prompt: Key Takeaway
The Daily Prompt Says: Give your newer sisters and brothers-in-WordPress advice based on your experiences in blogging.
I started writing a blog simply because I had read an article that I felt I wanted to share my views about, and decided a blog would be the place to do it. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about where it would lead, or if anyone would read it, and had no idea if anyone would even find it. I just wanted to get what I was thinking onto “paper”.
I made the decision not to share my blog with friends, or link it to my Facebook page, or other social media. It was my private escape where I could voice how I was feeling about something, talk about the feelings I wouldn’t necessarily share out loud with anyone. I read about using tags so people with the same interests could find what I had written. I started following people and commenting on their blogs and suddenly this new world opened up of exchanging ideas, seeing amazing photography and learning about new places in the world.
Write what you feel, share what you are comfortable with, be true to yourself. In truth the amount of followers doesn’t matter, I have found I have a “core” group of blogging friends who always comment on my posts and share their thoughts, and I have started following other blogs as a result of reading the comments on their blogs.
Advice? Not too long and wordy, don’t rant and whine (well maybe only occasionally) proof read & spell check, and respond to those who comment on your posts. Enjoy it!
Winter Birds
I put food out for the birds after our monumental snow storm, and stood by with my camera. They must have been very hungry as I stood within 4 feet of them and they didn’t seem to mind at all. I loved hearing the soft flutter of their feathers as they flew past me.
Blue Jay
Northern Mocking Bird
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Junco
Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: Symmetry
I am a lover of symmetry. I like when things line up evenly on both sides. When a subject lies square center in a photo. I have come to learn that this does not always make for the most interesting photo though, that having the subject in a corner, or using the rule of thirds can make things more interesting- all new to me as I learn from Cee and other fellow bloggers.
I recently took a trip to Asbury Park, NJ, made famous as the “birthplace” of Bruce Springsteen’s music. I walked the boardwalk taking photos, finding symmetry presenting itself in many places, much to my delight!
The panels painted on this building were wonderful. I loved the sidewalk leading straight down the middle and how the painted strips all met in the center so neatly too.
I tried to capture the enormity of Convention Hall, with the ribbons of lights hanging from the ceiling connecting to the Christmas Tree, perfectly centered.
I wanted to capture a shot of The Wonder Bar, another Asbury icon, capturing it as the two sides went down two different blocks. I stood across the street to get better perspective. I am unhappy that I cut the letter R out on the right, but thought taking the building from this perspective was the way to go.
I soon came to one of the places mentioned in Springsteen’s song “Sandy” giving it a place in the permanent history of Asbury Park – Madame Marie’s.
As the lyrics go: “Well the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin’ fortunes better than they do”
Of course my walk would not have been complete without seagulls, and they too presented a symmetrical balance atop the light post
Birds of A Feather….
I spotted these sparrows in a bush and marveled at how many there were-blending in so well with the branches.
Can you find them?
Oh How It Snowed
Up until yesterday the region I live in has had a relatively mild winter. The temps haven’t been too bad and it has rained but not snowed. Until yesterday, when I suppose mother nature was making up for lost time. It started snowing Friday night and continued until Saturday night. The weather people even named this storm, and referred to it as a blizzard because the winds were so high. Our area got 24 inches of snow and major snowdrifts as a result of the wind. Our cars were submerged.
Fortunately we decided after having shoveled ourselves out for the past 23 years, this year we would hire someone. So I sat cozily inside my house not sweating it, knowing the men with the blowers and shovels would come to our rescue. As they did first thing this morning
It is very cold today, but the sun is shining so I went out for a walk around the neighborhood to take in the sights. Come along and join me!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Optimistic
The signs of spring always hold optimism for me
A Bride with her new life ahead of her
A sunrise over the ocean
Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Anything That Starts With The Letter S
Seagulls in the Snow
The Bald Eagle- A Symbol of Strength
When I was growing up Bald Eagles, America’s National Symbol, were in danger of extinction. Habitat destruction and degradation, illegal shooting, and the contamination of their food source, largely as a consequence of DDT, decimated the eagle population. In 1940, noting that the species was “threatened with extinction,” Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act, which prohibited killing, selling, or possessing the species. By 1995 Bald Eagles had recovered to the point where they were no longer in danger of extinction, but instead “threatened”, and as of 2007 they were removed from the threatened list too. They live near rivers and marshes where they can find fish, their main staple of food.
I took a walk today to the pond I often go to, a mile from my home. I am always looking up into the trees to spot the birds that may be nearby. Today I had the thrill of a lifetime when I looked up to see a large brown bird way up high in a tree.
I quickly zoomed in and much to my delight was correct in thinking it was a Bald Eagle!
What a beautiful and majestic bird. It amazed me to think about how when I was a child I always learned about how our National Symbol was almost extinct and I would never have the opportunity to see one. Such a thrill to spot one, almost in my backyard.
The Weekly Smile
Trent’s World hosts The Weekly Smile, a shared blogging event anyone can join. Here’s what he says:
What made you smile in the last week? A photo? A kind word from a friend or stranger? A random act of kindness witnessed in life or on the news? Seeing a small baby or talking to an elderly parent or grandparent? A joke? A song? Taking a walk? Going skiing? There had to be something. It could be small or Earth shattering. It might be a private word or a very public action. Say in a few words what made you smile. Or post a photo or a video or a link. The whole idea, the one and only reason reason for this weekly event, is to counterbalance, even if to some small degree, all of the hate and negativity in the world today. With that in mind, there are a few rules I’d like you to follow if you want to put your post up on the link-up. To read more about the guidelines click here
What made me smile this week?
This afternoon I started my 10 day winter vacation off from school, which led to much smiling as I crossed the parking lot on the way to my car. Then my husband came home and unexpectedly greeted me with flowers. Major smiling ensued.
Wordless Wednesday
The Voice
This is a repeat Daily Prompt, so I will repeat what I said (literally said) two years ago when it was first posted:
Here’s the answer to today’s Daily Prompt – What do you find more unbearable: watching a video of yourself, or listening to a recording of your voice? Why?
So there you have it….a touch of a whine, a bit nasal, and kind of hoarse. I remember the first time I heard my own voice on tape was when I was in second grade. We had a big reel to reel tape recorder in the classroom and for some reason we were recording our voices. When my voice was played back someone said “You sound like a boy.” Obviously it left an impression if now at age 58 I can still remember the incident. I am always a little appalled when hearing my own voice on my answering machine, thinking how can I possibly sound like that? I can’t do much to change it though, I suppose I could take elocution lessons to rid myself of my New York t’s and d’s and r’s- but I fear it is too late. A friend used to say I sounded like Fran Drescher on the show The Nanny.
Color Your World: Burnt Orange
Burnt Orange 
Jennifer Nichole Wells tells us that Burnt Orange has been used as a color name for this medium dark shade of orange since 1915. It was popular in interior design in the 1970s. Quite right, as my mother painted our dining room Burnt Orange, only to repaint it about six months later, with the painter telling her ” I told you so” You can see a slice of it in the background of this photo
In fall foliage it is a welcome sight
A Day In The Life 
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