Wilderness Wednesday: Hummingbird

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birds, nature, nature photography, photography, Wilderness Wednesday

Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

Vivian Greene

Wilderness Wednesday: Woody

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birds, nature, nature photography, photography, Wilderness Wednesday

Many critics are like woodpeckers, who, instead of enjoying the fruit and shadow of a tree, hop incessantly around the trunk, pecking holes in the bark to discover some little worm or other.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wilderness Wednesday: Gold Finches

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birds, garden, nature, nature photography, Wilderness Wednesday

Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop
From low hung branches; little space they stop;
But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek;
Then off at once, as in a wanton freak:
Or perhaps, to show their black and golden wings,
Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.

John Keats

Happy Wednesday!

Wilderness Wednesday: A Star is Born

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birds, close up, macro photography, nature, photography, red, Wilderness Wednesday

He knows he’s beautiful!

He knows that I know he’s beautiful.

So, in a rare moment of vanity, Mr. C posed for me. A star is born…

She said that that was what star quality was – that little something extra. Well, you’ve got it!

Norma Maine, A Star is Born (1954)

Wilderness Wednesday: Stouthearted

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birds, nature, photography, snow, Wilderness Wednesday, winter

Stouthearted / stoutˈhärdəd/ (adjective): stoutˈhärdəd/
Possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
Synonyms: doughty, stalwart, brave, courageous, determined, obstinate

Merriam-Webster

Have you ever noticed that on some of the snowiest, blowiest days, the smallest creatures are the most visible?

I think, too often, we pay attention to the strongest, the loudest, the most confident around us, and we underestimate the smallest. Someone’s size or appearance should never be used to measure their worth because I believe those with a tender heart or a stoutheart come in many sizes.

And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; winter passed, and the sun shone upon her.

J.R.R.Tolkien

Far better it is to have a stout heart always and suffer one’s share of evils, than to be forever fearing what may happen.

Herodotus

It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the spirit.

J.R.R.Tolkien

Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.

Winnie-the-Pooh

Happy Wednesday!

Wilderness Wednesday: Christmas Cardinals

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birds, cardinals, Christmas, nature, photography, snow, Wilderness Wednesday, winter

Love the Giver more than the gift.

Brigham Young

I received an early Christmas gift on a blizzard-y day. The house smelled of yeast and spices, and as I was kneading rum-soaked fruit into my Christmas stollen, I had 2 visitors…

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.

W.T. Ellis

Happy Wednesday!

Bird Life @ Home

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birds, home, humour, nature, photography

When I was a kid, I liked to read and many of those stories were about animals. I loved Beatrice Potter’s Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. I spent many happy hours in the Green Forest with Sammy Jay, Reddy Fox, and Tommy Titmouse, rounded out by John Calvin Reid’s congregants in “Bird Life in Wington”.

I think of them still, as I watch them from my windows. And just like many of those characters, my feathered friends have personalities too. They’re city birds, after all. I think they know I’m watching, so sometimes they pose nicely, and other times, they let their “true colours shine”.

“I am woman, I am fearless, I am sexy, I’m divine, I’m unbeatable, I’m creative. Honey, you can get in line!” Emmy Meli

“I fart in your general direction” – Sir Galahad, Monty Python & the Holy Grail

“Go ahead! Make my day!” – Dirty Harry, Sudden Impact

“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos…” – The Joker, The Dark Knight

“I don’t want to play, I just want to bang on the drum all day (I’m gonna bang now)” – Todd Rudgren

“Is that you, Max?” – Nora Desmond (Carol Burnett)

“Yippie kayak, other buckets!” – Det. Boyle, Brooklyn 99

Some people aren’t just missing the odd screw, they’re missing the whole freakin’ toolbox!

Unknown

Happy Wednesday from all of us!

CMMC: Blue

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birds, cmmc, nature, nature photography, Photo Challenge, photography, River scenes, tea, Wilderness Wednesday

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Mid-Week Madness Challenge: Blue

CFFC: It’s a Small World

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bees, birds, CFFC, chipmunks, frogs, nature, Photo Challenge, photography, squirrel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Wilderness Wednesday

It’s a small world and we share it with small creatures. Take great care!

“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: It’s a Small World.

Happy Wednesday!

For the Feathered Friends

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birds, humour, nature, tea, tea addict, tea cups, tea lover, tea photography, tea time, teacup

I have a Love/Hate relationship with Pinterest.

I love all the amazing crafty ideas (and I confess, the pet shaming memes). Like watching baking shows, it stirs my desire to create while instilling the misbegotten belief that I can do this…and do it easily. My misplaced confidence is shattered when my final product fails to impress.

A recent tea/ garden project was no exception. It looked so simple.

First, I went to the dollar store and purchased 2 tea cup shaped mugs and a set of spoons. I would be making the cutest bird feeders in the neighbourhood!

Next, I coerced asked my patient Dad to glue those spoons inside the mugs. The shape of the cups made this a time-consuming task (for him), but the glue made me feel very relaxed.

Dad carefully boxed my mugs for the car trip home.

They made it in one piece.

The final step, before adding bird seed and admiring my feathered friends, was to hang these mugs in a tree using string or a ribbon.

Excitedly, I grabbed the pink mug first (because it was the prettiest) and a roll of string from my garden tool box. I wound the string around the handle before reaching (shakily with my frozen shoulder) to tie the mug to a branch. Instead, I watched it fall in slow motion and smash on the ground.

Dad should be pleased. The spoon was still firmly glued in place.

I forgot to test the string. A mosquito landing on it could shred it. I went in the house, convinced nothing I did worked and vowing to never look at Pinterest again.

A few days later, with my ego still bruised and a new roll of string, mug #2 made it in the tree (one with grass under it, not cement, just in case).

My creative Auntie M made this for me for my birthday using a tea cup and saucer that was my grandma’s. Maybe I should start sending her my find Pinterest finds…when I break my vow. It’s only a matter of time.

If everything I pinned ended up in my house, I’d be on an episode of hoarders.

Unknown

Happy Monday!