Setting sun

There were clouds with interesting texture and color the other night, before we got more SNOW!!  

(You might want to enlarge this one if you have the time.)

See if there are sunnier skies over at Sky Watch Friday.

My great-grandmother

This is Catherine Little Turney.  I think we would have enjoyed each other's company.  She kept a photo journal and did genealogy on the family clear back to the 1400's in France.  When my grandfather was born, my great-grandfather, Merrell Turney, gave her a beautiful diamond ring set in platinum.  I am wearing it now.  My mother gave it to me when I got my masters degree in Counseling, it's 110 years old. Somehow this gives me a feeling of continuity.

Post 402

Billy Goat Gruff wants to know:

Are YOU lookin' at ME?

You never saw a goat on a crate before?

What's up with that?

Give a kid a break!

Chaos ensues over on Stony River.

Old MacDonald had a farm

With a meow, meow here

And a hum, hum there

Everywhere a gobble, gobble

There are all sorts of other critters over at Misty Dawn's!

 Ee-Ii-Ee-Ii-Oh!

Sawtooth Mountain

Sawtooth Mountain from our yard

Sawtooth Mountain from our mailbox

Well, we are having a spring storms.  It poured rain last night - right in through our leaky window.  This morning it is hailing and snowing!  Ah, springtime in the Rockies.  I was thrilled to see little green leaves on trees in town yesterday.  As they say around here, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.

Prayers flags

May you be at peace.

Three Graces

The three graces, charm, beauty and creativity, inspire us to appreciate our worlds through pictures, blogging and making friends!

Thank you, Susan.

Spring is in the air

The chokecherry bush is budding.

It's a cloudy spring day.

Maybe it will rain.

Anyway you look at it, it's Scenic!   

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young got it right

Our house is a very, very, very fine house

With two cats in the yard

Life used to be so hard

But now everything is easy 

"Cause of you

I'll light the fire

While you place the flowers in the vase 

That you bought today

Learning

awarewriter said...

Very nice shot. It would be even better with a tight crop.

So I tried it and I have to agree.  Initially I liked the first shot because of the fuzzy llama in the background, but really the tighter crop is better.  I appreciate comments that help me learn!  So feel free to make constructive suggestions or comments.  I want to improve as a photographer.

Original crop of macro shot

A tighter crop

Brogan got a bath

Soggy doggy

gets all excited after his bath.

Runs like crazy then

stop to catch his breath.

Then takes off again.

Anyone else want a bath?

That was part of My World yesterday.  Today Brogan is soft and fluffy and shedding like crazy.

Lilac buds

It's been awhile since I posted to Lisa's for Macro Monday, but getting outside with the camera is so much more pleasant now that the weather is warming up!

Swan Dive

There's got to be a fish down there somewhere.  

If only I had paid attention to my mother, maybe she wasn't so dumb after all.

It's that time again.  It seems to happen quicker every week.

Go visit Susan at Stony River and follow the links to other swan songs.

Shadows means there are sunny skies!

"Where there is much light, the shadow is deep."

Goethe

"When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."

Buddha

It's so nice to get outside with my camera.  

Harriet has some more shadow shots here.

Brogan

Brogan needs a bath after a long winter.  It's almost warm enough.  He's quite the Critter!

Spring Morning

It's early morning, just above freezing, but the sky is blue and beautiful!

There are hazy mountains to the east and morning shadows cast by the rising sun.

Sky Watch Friday is full of amazing sky pictures, go see!

Windhorse Farm

Reality is what you think it is.
        Curt's Bumpersticker

My friend Curt and his wife Jean raise quarterhorses on 

Windhorse Farm.  Curt is also a practicing Buddhist who allows me to come and meditate with him in his yurt on Wednesday mornings.
We talk and meditate and talk some more.  He is my "uncle"
who helps me learn, a warm and gentle person.  Brenda comes to meditate too, we have a small class.

On Wednesday morning we had blissfully blue sky.  Last week there were three mares ready to foal  in the barn.   On the way out to the yurt I couldn't help but sneak a peak.  It was so exciting to see the new colt, born the night before.

After our session I got out my camera and started snapping shots of the place.

It's a local sign of spring when cows and sheep and horses have babies!

Farms usually include interesting old buildings and odd pieces of equipment.

The mare was protective of her colt and didn't really appreciate the by-standers admiring her baby so it was a bit challenging to get decent shots of them moving around.  At least the light was good.

She is beautiful!

The little guy was wobbly but managed pretty well for being so new and having such long legs.  He will grow up to be quite handsome.

Maybe next week there will be another new birth in the neighborhood.

Wednesday Morning

"The sound of birds stop the noise in my mind."

Carly Simon

I was inspired by Betsy's bird pictures to go outside this morning and take a few shots of my own, even though it was only 30 degrees.  At least the sun is shining and the sky is blue!

Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair
and let us huddle together as darkness takes over
We are at home amidst the birds and the trees, 
for we are children of nature. 
-  Susan Polis Shutz

The end of an era

Sometimes a seemingly innocent event can cause an emotional reaction.  For years we have had a trampoline set up in our yard.  Our youngest daughter paid for half and we paid for half.  Lots of kids enjoyed jumping on it.  The birds liked the net as a landing post.  The cats liked it too.  But now that our youngest is away at college we agreed to give the tramp away to someone who could appreciate it.

I work with Charles and Jordan.  Charles, on the right, has four young children.  In case you aren't aware of it, therapists and social workers don't make a lot of money.  He and his family were very excited to get a FREE tramp, even if it was used.  Jordan said his kids were waiting at Charles' house every bit as excited to jump on it too.

On a very cold and windy Friday they came to take it away.

Lulu had to check out what was happening.

Now there is a blank spot in our yard and it actually looks much nicer, but it made me realize again that my children are growing up into young adults.  They are trying to find their way in the world and figure out what to do with their expanding future.

We can't slow the process down and it's what we want as parents, to raise independent people who can take care of themselves.  It's a challenge to let them go even when it's the right time.  It's another part of the cycle in the spiral of life.  I still can't help feeling a little sad that it's the end of another era, even if it's the beginning of another one.

That's My World today, go see what else is happening on the planet here.