Here is a picture of the moor Ash and I got to visit. A beautiful, watery landscape. Serene, filled with birdsong and the gentle gurgling of the water everywhere.

Travels with Grandma

Here's Sage's beautiful big sister, Ashlee, peering through the "walls" of a willow thicket while travelling with me last year in Germany. We had a wonderful time. Discovering so much together. It will be a trip the both of us will remember forever ,I am sure.

This picture was taken at a wonderful moor in central Germany. Endless wooden boardwalks traversing the verdant, damp enviroment. It was a magical place. We wandered for hours it seems, discovering new treassures along the way. All around us the damp, watery peat enviroment alive with trees, flowers and mosses.

Fishing

My Grandson Sage has gone camping with his Mom and Dad this weekend. He'll be helping Dad fish. :) So in the spirit of fishing, here's a nice pic of him, hard at work. His Dad took it a while back ,when on another little fishing trip. I love the serene, patient feel of the image. The little guy, sitting there so seriously focused on his line.

They as a rule catch and release. However if a nice rainbow trout, just the right size comes along, he might just get to taste his first freshly caught and grilled trout, right on the spot.

Butterflies

Butterflies, such wonderful visitors to the garden. The way they just lazily float through, with little effort. On a breeze it seems, gliding along. Captured this one while feasting on my white lilacs. They visited for days until the flowers were finally spend.

Lake Time

Here's Mother Duck, instructing her brood on proper begging technique. Last year while on our favorite lake, spending lazy days hanging in hammocks on a little island, this little family would visit everytime we came. The little ones would come right up to the boat. And though no one is supposed to feed them, of course everyone does. So they, as well as a group of Candian Geese are pretty shameless beggars. They are a joy to watch, paddling away in those crystal clear waters.

I took this picture while on a serene cruise around an area near Berlin, Germany called the Spreewald. It's a magical area of beautiful little homes, some surrounded on several sides by water. A large network of canals, in most cases travelled by canoe- type boats which are moved along with a long punting stick. As my little blog grows day by day, I once again have the chance to revisit these wonderful places. So rather then my pictorial journey pining away in My Pictures folder, they now once again see the light of day. And delight me all over again, allowing me to re-visit that wonderful day. Doesn't get much better then that. The first picture is of a quiet section of the Spreewald, but often just around the corner, as your Punting Pilot enters a different canal all of the sudden the vista will open to a fairytale cottage and surrounding garden, such as the one in the second picture.

Germany 2009

As I am getting ready to join my Mom for her 80's Birthday in Germany this coming month, looked through the pictures I took last year, while visiting her with my granddaughter, Ashlee. We had a wonderful time. And took 100's of pictures. This remains one of my favorites. A pair of Swans with their cygnets on the River Lahn.

Bees

Though bees seem to be in real trouble these days, thankfully our garden is visited by them in huge numbers. The moment a blossom opens, there they are, carefully slipping into the often barely open flowers, ready to wiggle around, gathering pollen on their legs and food for the hive.

Every morning this time of year, as the rising sun makes it's way up into the sky, the early rays find their way through the oak branches to illuminate my Tropicana Canna. Whether it's in bloom, making the flowers glow, or just the young, freshly unfurled leaves, it's always a beautiful sight.It makes me stop in my tracks ,as I am wandering the property first thing in the morning to see who needs water to see them through our hot, hot summer days.

I am sure glad I captured this lovely, flowering Hen and Chicks before a deer and her little fawn snacked on it. This little plant had been quietly sitting in it's pot for years. Then all of the sudden a stem started rising above the others and one morning the beautiful blooms started opening, one by one. What a surprise!! As Mom only ate the flower stalks, I am hopeful that we'll get more flowers as time goes by. If not, so be it.

This year one of our little fishtanks, this one populated with Mosquito fish after the racoons "visited" the Koi and Goldfish, bloomed and is still blooming endlessly. And while there are often multiple flowers open at the same time, I just loved this single perfect bloom and had to capture it.

As each day reveals beauty to be found, if we only look close enough, thought the time had come to start a little blog for myself and anyone else that might enjoy exploring alongside. This will be a journal of sorts. But also a journey. Finding beauty in everyday living in a world that often leaves us feeling like there is no hope. But there is, all we need to do is look around us. Find and savor the little things that remind us of all the beauty nature gifts us with day in and day out.