Heading home

Note to self:

 

1. When you leave your camera at home you insure that there will be a deer sighting; maybe even a doe and a fawn.

2. Always have a Plan B.

This morning I took a walk in the woods around Island Lake to soak up the clear blue sky and the trees just starting to turn, some already bright yellow and red. Hoping to catch a glimpse of the deer I know live in one area, I remembered I'd forgotten my camera. That's when I saw a doe watching me just a few yards away. Along came her fawn and I blessed them both as they just stood watching me. Above is from another summer, same lake and woods with lens.

Still working on Plan B.

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home. 
― Gary Snyder

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keep looking up

Given my inimitable skill in reporting the obvious, it has to be said:  Spring has sprung in Minnesota! Windy, brisk and sunny it still feels like late winter but trees and grass have greened nicely. The lakes have thawed, boats are out and Canada Geese continue to squabble over property rights. Best of all the weeping willows along with Goldfinches have been changing into their golden attire. Skies are clear blue, when they're not grey, and the clouds seem more to move with more abandon now.

Comparison is the thief of joy.  Theodore Roosevelt

Visit Skywatch Friday for more sky views.

that 'determined dawn'

Looking back to the end of autumn, 2011, I remember this sky. The rays of that rising sun were shining through the clouds and reflected on Island Lake. Stunning light and shadows.

Linking to Skywatch Friday where the sky is the star of the week.

Already determined dawn began to lay

In place across a cloud the slender ray

For prying across a cloud the slender ray

For prying beneath and forcing the lids of sight,

And loosing the pent-up music of over-night.

from The Valley's singing Day by Robert Frost

We still have flowers in bloom in spite of the cool evenings. Morning rains have kept them well hydrated. I found this Datura on a walk this morning.

Goldenrod is now in full bloom in Minnesota. Though I pay a price later for tromping through the woods full of their pollen, last week I hit the jackpot--can you see who is hiding lounging in the tall grass? 

Labor Day links for Today's Flowers and Camera Critters. Thanks to all the workers, those of us relaxing and those who will be working on Monday!

beauty and the beast

You thought maybe I was kidding?

These are all photos I took on walks last week, gathering bits of August to remember...then I ran into this guy guarding his house and bird feeders. Scary. Sometimes life is just too funny, eh?
Have more red fun @ Ruby Tuesday.

gathering of days

stones in a pile:

the light coming through the birch trees
standing like soldiers

rain, rain, and more rain leaving a heart-shaped bit of fungus growing on my deck

lacy light patterns on the shady walkway

put your small stones one on top of the other and see what they say to you

its a surprise, no peeking!

Lots 'o' sun for Minnesota this week and at this posting, most trees have leafed out. Its been a week full of blue skies and puffy clouds. Above is my favorite tree in the area where I walk--not yet dressed for summer it seems. Below is another part of my walk where I usually see wood ducks and turtles and hear golfers. Peaceful and busy, full of life.

See more idyllic skies from all over our lovely here.

Poor, dear, silly Spring, preparing her annual surprise!
Wallace Stevens

daisy chains

Sometimes life can be just a field of wild daisies. We're in high summer now with an early spring and lots of rain since June. Flowers and foliage are lush and green. Both of these photos were taken in the same lake park where I walk--the field this summer and the closeup in the same spot two years ago. Like life, too, some things never change.
Spot more beauty at Today's Flowers, a virtual flower shop for all your beauty needs.

silent yet knowing

I captured the lake in repose on one of the few days we've had with sunshine and without wind. What you can't see is the little muskrat that ferries himself across from shore to shore, usually with a big mouthful of dandelions, roots and all.

Enjoy more beauty from around our dear planet at Skywatch Friday.

In silence and movement you can show the reflection of people.

Marcel Marceau

you're it!

Behold the illusive Great Blue Heron reluctant to give up his prime fishing spot along the lake.[I'm especially fond of the long feather that sweeps off his crown.] Visit Camera Critters for more beauty.

Today's Flowers: a new year!

This little wild impatiens [(Impatiens capensis] grows in the shady areas around Island Lake where I walk in the summer [oh Summer, how I miss thee!]. A little research uncovered its folk medicinal properties: the 'juice' from the leaf stems can be effective to relieve the itch from poison ivy. But here's the irony: they can be found growing near poison ivy plants. Mother Nature is so thrifty. . .

See more lovely flowers, medicinal or whimsical, at Today's Flowers. Here's to another great year of beauty from Luiz Santilli's Monday meme!

walk with me

The sky couldn't have been bluer today when I took a walk. I'm glad I decided to go back into the woods a bit because the trees were spectacular. Its those cold nights we have now--with snow predicted this weekend.

I have posted the bench from this spot in the spring and summer but have to say autumn has outdone herself this year.

See more spectacular sky views at SkyWatch Friday.

E is for feathered friends

E is the letter du jour for ABC Wednesday, Round 5. My E offerings are birds of a feather: eagles from the National Eagle Center in Wabasha and Snowy Egrets on the lakes near my home.

Visit more ABC Wednesday friends to see what E's they have up their sleeve.

Happy Wednesday!

sitters unite

A bright new round of ABC Wednesday has begun and is graced by a new logo. Today the letter B is star. From a local park near my home in Minnesota I bring you the lowly bench. Benches usually reside out-of-doors yet never complain about weather, graffiti artists, heavy weights or being lovingly etched. Some are tucked away so far into the woods that they never become quite as sun bleached as others. [Fellow blogger Rune has been so taken by benches in his Norway that he is posting a new photo each Friday or thereabouts. Fellow bench-lovers visit him here.] Benches have history and some have great stories to tell. But I'm anthropomorphising digressing.

Visit Mrs Nesbitt the friendly host of ABC Wednesday here.

Y

Location, location, location!

A proud day arrives for this family--the trip across the pond at the golf course. See more delightful critters at Camera Critters hosted by the also delightful, Misty Dawn.