My favourite flower has arrived!

Our Prairie Crocus is back! Our little miracle flower that grows out of semi-frozen ground, an (almost) impossible feat. I used to photograph them by trimming away all the old growth, making them look pretty & actually quite unnatural - when they grow on the Prairie, they push their way through all kinds of tangled undergrowth from the previous summer. Now I try to capture them in their own environment and show their relationship with their surroundings. It’s a little messy, but it’s definitely real. 04/22/19

Twins

The symmetry between these 2 trees caught my eye … could it be true that indeed they do communicate? Happy Easter everyone! Hope you are enjoying a beautiful, peaceful day. 04/21/19

The colours of spring

Spring has finally arrived. The snow is gone and yesterday we hit 20C (68F) so we all agree -this is it! I spent the morning crawling around on the Prairie looking for something green. It’s a little too early for that, but I did find some brown & already the trees are sending out their fluffy seeds…

This old guy lost his friend this winter, they’ve been together on this hobby farm for years & years. He seems to be managing on his own, he is well loved & cared for, but I wonder how long he will last without his buddy. (This was taken a couple of weeks ago, the snow is all gone now - soon there will be grass!) Thanks so much for your comments & views, I'm so grateful for the time you spend here. 04/19/19

Our tough little chickadees stay here all winter long… I don’t know how they do it! 04/18/19

Oak Hammock Marsh

We dropped by the local Marsh a few days ago, looking for signs of spring - pretty quiet there, some open water & still lots of ice. We did spot a few couples setting up house. I didn’t want to bother them, as they were obviously very busy, so I tried to take a badly composed landscape scene that did not make them the focal point. I feel I succeeded quite well…. :-)) 04/17/19 (thanks for all your thoughts on our last blast of winter - luckily it melted quickly & we are firmly back on track for warmer weather!)

Yesterday

The view from our deck yesterday morning - just when we were beginning to believe that spring was here! Clearly, Mother Nature is in her Trickster Mode :-) 04/16/19

More puddles

I had such fun paddling around this big puddle in my rubber boots, brought back so many chidlhood memories of wading in the water, going deeper & deeper until it finally went over the top & filled your boots with icy spring water. There was a rule - you couldn’t quit til you filled your boots! Our mothers would get SO mad.. LOL I did a little more processing on this one ... to bring out the colours of the fall leaves and grasses beneath the water and soften it a bit. Otherwise, this is just the way it was…. Thanks so much for all your views & comments, they are all greatly appreciated… :-)) April 15/19

Paddling through puddles makes pretty patterns…. :-) 04/13/19

Our brave robins will be wishing they had postponed their spring arrival … we can’t seem to kick winter here, still hovering around zero C with a wicked bone chilling north wind that blows night & day. Hard on the humans, but much much harder on the wildlife… 04/12/19

Mountain Ash berries

For the first time since we planted our Mountain Ash, no Cedar Waxwings arrived to feast on the berries. Usually they arrive in their chattering little flocks somewhere in the middle of winter, pick the tree clean & then disappear. I really missed them this year, hopefully someone else will now enjoy what’s left of the berries. 04/11/19

Raindrops

just hangin' around… :-) I’m so grateful for the time you spend with my photos & for all your comments - thank you! 04/10/19 ps - the reflection in the raindrops is our garage & back yard, just in case you are wondering... :-)

Cold rain

Our first rain… washes away the last of the snow. Not sorry to see it go, that’s for sure. 04/09/19

Welcome home!

The robins are back! Spring has finally arrived! Yesteday was a phenomenal day… the robins arrived and so did the geese! Hundreds & hundreds of geese flying over all day long from dawn til dusk, a never ending river of geese, calling and calling. It was fabulous! It’s my favourite day of the year when the birds come home… how do they know? How is it they all arrive together? I have to admit, it brings me to tears and I spend the day watching and listening and feeling such overwhelming gratitude. Silly I guess, but it’s always been that way for me…. I don’t have a good lens for birds & wildlife, so I didn’t get any half decent shots of the geese, but I was lucky enough to be standing under this tree when the robins landed. Don’t look too close, the clarity isn’t there… this is the best I could do with what I had on my camera - my 105 macro lens. Happy Spring everyone! I figure if it’s spring in Manitoba, it’s quite likely to be spring everywhere…. and the birds have said, it is so! 04/08/19

Hanging on..

Foggy mornings sometimes add a little frost here & there… 04/07/19