Flirty Hawk

I was taking some pictures over at the Baskett Slough Wildlife Refuge near where I live. I noticed a little hawk sitting on the wire above. When I stopped my car and hopped out for a better view, he looked suspicious and chirruped down at me. I'm pretty good at imitating bird calls, so I whistled back.
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At first he seemed terribly confused--I think it might have been because, though I sounded like a bird, I sported no discernable feathers.
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But thinking it over, he began to preen... .

...Then to my great delight, he coyly turned to smile around his beak,

...and flipped his feathers into a gorgeous fan, which he then commenced to wave.

What a darling little hawk! I quite fell in love with him.

Happy Shroom

This plucky little fellow seems VERY happy with the world. He appears to be giggling over something. See that cheeky smile? Hmmmm....

Oh, I forgot to say--this photo is dedicated to my sweet sis Clytie, who takes the most amazing mushroom pictures I've ever seen.

To Capture a Rainbow

I have discovered Rainbows are incredibly illusive. I've photographed hundreds of them, and so far, I have not been able to entirely capture their gorgeous colors and sense of mystery.

Rainbows are very special to me. In fact, nearly every wonderful event in my live has been heralded by a rainbow. Whenever I see a rainbow hanging in the skies I am reminded that there is always hope. "Hope is a good thing--perhaps the best of things."

Bee on Bluebell

I love bluebells. Already they are begining to show themselves in my garden, along with the purple and pink crocus. I have always loved bluebells. I am sure the faeries in my garden play music on them when I'm not looking. I enjoy the honey bees humming along. Here I caught the honey bee--but not the fairy!

"That's Them Apples"

When a situation happened which could not be changed, or reversed, Grammie Jenny would say, "Well, that's them apples." Meaning, "that's that, can't change anything, now leave it alone."

There is an ancient apple tree growing in the neighbor's yard next to the fence. This wonderful old tree leans it's fruit-laden branches over that fence into our alley. Here is a photo of those lucious apples! Every year we gather them from tree and road, to make pies and other delicious recipes. Makes my mouth water to look at them! Ah, I can hardly wait for harvest-time.

These apples make the most delicious pies.

A Tangle of Horns

Along the lonesome road leading to Coos Bay on the Oregon Coast, there is an viewing area, which is part of an elk sanctuary. Any time of the year, one can find herds of these magnificant animals moving freely and fearlessly across the grassy meadows.

Here I managed to capture two elk in repose--their horns in a seeming tangle.

Splendid Pink

This photo was taken right outside my back door. I was astonished at the splendid, exquisite explosion of color in the darkening skies.