Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Friday, April 24, 2015

Sure Signs of Spring~


The image from above ;)
My husby saw it on the screensaver of the desktop computer, and said.
What is this, it is really neat, but I can't figure it out? 
Well...it is a little something that I created.
I took 2 images of the same tree, down the lane.  I turned one image upside down, superimposed them and then did an invert of colour and there you have it.
It was just something to do, on a very rainy Spring day.  We have had so much rain, too much rain, and yet it is bringing out the colours of Spring, and so we do not complain, too much.  Yet sadly our front yard, it is a changing.  The Winter was cruel and one of my beloved Holly trees, along with a few evergreen bushes that adorn the frontage of our home, are now missing in action.  I planted the Holly tree some 30 years ago and that has left a large empty spot, but I shall find something to fill in the void, one day very soon.  
I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying your day and that you are doing well.  Have a very Happy Week, filled with love and blessings, oh and get a little creative if you get bored~


Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slide show presentation after you have read the narratives~

I will be linking up with Judith for:

www.lavendercottagegardening.com

&

Stewart for:
   http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/


Tulips, so cheerful, for such a brief time they show their faces, yet I am thrilled to see them once again~


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker...one of my favorites.  Well, even though they were the start of what happened to my beautiful Holly tree.  They make little tiny holes, all in neat little rows on the trunk of tree and then sip the sweetness.  There may be many rows like this all around the tree trunk.  Then you have open wounds and disease can get in and then a harsh Winter zaps the tree and it is over, before you realized it ever even happened~






I have a single Quince, and I need to find a few more, as they are quite lovely~


~Smile~
Husby and I were out driving with our dogs last week and came upon this old home and I had to take a quick snap ;)




They may be pink, but they are called Red Dogwoods, above.
Our home, taken from across the lane with wild Redbud trees in bloom, yep they are called red, but they are pink~


Bleeding Hearts, an old favorite, that takes me back to memories of visiting my great Aunt Bunna, who was the closest person to a grandmother, that I ever had.  She had these as well as white ones in her  garden~


Some of our many Spring Beauties and Wild Phlox~


Poppy, for you too ;)  
A pair Blue Jays have decided to build a nest in the ivy that caresses our Oak tree.  This is right outside our front door and we are very excited.  They are one species that you cannot tell the female from the male, unless this time of year, if you happen to see on a female a few feathers plucked from her chest area...then you will know~


Double bloom Daffodils~



Horse country, a few miles from home, the male turkeys were strutting their stuff for the hens, just as the sun was rising high above~






A Red-tailed Hawk perched high, watching over it's nest.  I am going to find that nest soon too~



I drove to the north side of our county and another Red-tailed Hawk soared over Hermitage Farms shown below.  I have shared this farm before.  Queen Elizabeth has visited it a couple of times in the past~



I took these 2 images approximately 20 some years ago.
The lead cars had high ranking officials, as well as people taking photographs of we 16 people fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.
And then there she was. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll, and she waved at us.  Can you see her?


Soaked  blossoms have been more of the norm here in the past couple of weeks, but oh when the sun does come out, it is sublime~


Down in my creek, we have hundreds of little egg sacks, filled with little creatures, possibly frogs, or salamanders, just not sure yet. 
If you know what these might be, please do let me know~



Double bloom Hyacinth~


Known for its world-class equine operations, Hermitage is a legendary farm located in

 Goshen, Kentucky.


The enormous ten below is set up for a gala event they will host pre-Kentucky Derby~


23 comments:

  1. love the blooms and pretty horse country! the sapsuckers are always neat to see. :)

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  2. Hello Mary, what a wonderful post.. I love all the pretty blossoms and flowers.. And the shot of the Sapsucker, Turkeys and the Jays are awesome.. Have a happy weekend!

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  3. Hi Mary - I'm so behind in my blogging: What a great post. I always enjoy your beautiful photography and all your Mosaics, so artfully done!!

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  4. Ha ha, the Turkeys strutting their stuff, I love that.

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  5. Great pictures depicting the coming of spring.

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  6. Such lovely shots....the turkeys are amazing ; love the light in those photos ! :) Off to see the owls now : )

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  7. Good Morning Mary.

    Well I never, those naughty old sapsuckers taking down the holly trees. I never imagined that they might cause such damage.

    Those turkey pictures are a bit comical almost. Strutting their stuff without a care in the world, tails up high for all the world to see and all the time there's you snapping away. Love it.

    Her Majesty certainly gets around the world in pursuit of her love for horses doesn't she. I hope you gave her a suitably regal wave on that memorable day?

    There are lots of wonderful tulips out here at the moment. Sadly none in our garden which as "keep tidy" rather than a "gardener's garden" if you know what I mean. Someone spends too much time birding I think!

    Have a great week Mary. We're off to Menorca Friday.

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    1. Thank you Phil. I hope that you and Sue enjoy your journey and take lots of photos. BTW, never found the one of you that you said slid through. So not fair ;)

      I never thought, when I watched those lovely Sapsuckers, that they would cause such damage either...pitiful and I basically gave them permission...huge sigh!

      Awe and yes, gave Her Majesty quite the royal wave, the best I could give. How exciting that few moments was, talk about being in the right place at the right time...


      Oh and I am more of the "keep tidy", than the gardener's garden" , and most time fail at the tidy part.

      Have a great time and take care~

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  8. Whenever I visit your blog I always feel like I've been on holiday - your photos are amazing! I love the little red capped birds that have been tapping holes in your trees - naughty but very cute - you'd have to forgive them! And I love the sunlight shining through the turkey's tail feathers, and the double bloom daffodils (I've never seem them before - very unusual), and finally the Queen to round it all off! I'ts just been a total delight! Thank you so much for sharing.

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  9. Oh, my sweet and talented friend, what ever can I say, for you have outdone yourself, if that is even possible!! Firstly, thank you so very much for the lovely gift of the blue jay pair in the ivy - so precious! I know you will keep an eye on them, visiting their little home, so close to yours.

    There is such sparkling sunlight that saturates every image in this post; spring has arrived in all its glory in your very pretty neck of the woods! I've admired your beautiful home in all the seasons, but this shot today of it, draped in the wild red bud trees and grapevine green greenery, is absolutely dreamy! The array of blossoms, in so many shapes and colours, that cover your surroundings, make the landscape appear almost animated. I would have stopped, too, to snap that home, for there is a certain mystery to it. And lastly, the first photo of Hermitage Farms is strikingly spirited, yet serene, and it is no wonder that it was visited by a queen!

    Thank you, dear Mary, for bringing such joy to my spirit, today.

    Love to you, my friend.

    xoxoxo
    Poppy

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  10. Mary these flowers are stunning and I love the turkeys. My husband actually met the Queen and her husband....he won a crew/rowing trophy and accepted the trophy from her...

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  11. Hi Mary
    I savoured every photo of the birds (liked seeing the sapsucker but too bad about the tree) and flowers you shared. I hope we get to see pictures of the blue jay babies.
    When you mentioned the Queen had visited a farm, I knew it had to have horses involved somehow, and imagine you getting the royal wave!
    Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.

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  12. Beautiful photos! So many amazing flowers! Lovely country

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  13. Beautiful tulips, Mary! I'm sure the woodpecker was making quite a racket looking for his meal. Loved the turkey photos--they made me smile!

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  14. Gorgeous photos! As much as I enjoy birds and animals it's always the flowers that are the most welcome spring sign for me.

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  15. Lovely spring time images. The flowers are so beautiful and colorful.

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  16. Hi Mary. Thank you for sharing your fabulous Spring scenes, so many colourful Tulips and blossoms plus of course the wildlife.

    Sorry to hear the Sapsuckers plus the winter caused the failure of your long standing Holly.

    For many years Her Majesty used to pass the end of uor road on her way to the Derby but I don't ever recall getting a wave!!

    What fun to have a pair of Blue Jays breeding so close.

    Take care .... FAB.

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  17. Overwhelming beauty of blooms and birds. We too had a sapsucker in the only native tree in our back yard, a Mahogany, two winters ago. It really concentrated on one major limb and we enjoyed watching and photographing it until the leaves in that entire quadrant of the tree started turning yellow and then brown. Those leaves fell off about a month before the rest of the tree shed them. Happily, the new growth the next spring was uniformly normal it must have been just a shock. Now we shoo the sapsucker and she did not even show up this winter.

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  18. Whst a fabulous array of beuaitufl blooms aind fantastic bird species I especially loved seeing the bird on its nest and the Sapsuckers.

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  19. That Sapsucker looks like a cool bird.

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  20. Cracking set of pictures - really like the YBS - I have just got a book on the woodpeckers of the world, I'll go an look up what is says just after I click publish!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  21. Your images are just incredible! They are all stunning, but I adore the single orange tulip and the "red" dogwood blooms. sigh. And, Queen Elizabeth? Really? That's cool.

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