Apple Blossoms

I love this time of year when everything starts to bloom.

“Underneath an apple-tree Sat a maiden and her lover;
And the thoughts within her he Yearned, in silence, to discover.
Round them danced the sunbeams bright,
Green the grass-lawn stretched before them
While the apple blossoms white Hung in rich profusion o'er them.”
Will Carlton  

More Swans...

I was taking a drive when I came across these guys in a field.  It was so much fun to watch them and see their personalities come out as they were watching me.  The color difference between what they looked like in March and April fascinated me.  Even the color differences between Swans.  Some of them had to move further away, some grouped closer together, some had to check me out but not to close to me. 

This one has a battle wound 



It was windy enough to ruffle their feathers

Time to move

 

Decisions

In March I made a decision to focus more on my photography.  It is a passion that I have found is bringing me some peace and serenity.  Something that I had forgotten about because I had not been escaping with my camera. 

At that same time I applied for a fellowship which I did not receive. It would have been nice to have the financial backing to pursue an idea but in the long run I think I won big time.  Getting behind my camera again has given me further insight in a part of me that was missing, something I had forgotten about, my passion for photography.

When I made this decision I started going through my images. Literally thousands of them .  What a job that was.  By doing that I was inspired and also found some favorites that I will share here with some stories along with them

(The two images here were photographed a few years ago when the Mississippi was low enough that I could sit on a chair in the middle of the river with my camera on a tripod.)    

Ducks

The last couple of weeks I have been watching the ducks on a friends pond.  On my first visit I saw this Wood Duck.  I only got a couple of shots of him before he took off.  I have to work on being more stealth like.  I would love to get closer to them but they are a little nrevous. 

On my second visit I saw a male Mallard, scared him off after I headed towards the pond but not for long. He came back with his lady friend. 

Why?

So... Why a back yard adventure?

Years ago a group of friends were traveling to other countries and I will admit to being a little envious.  I just couldn't swing those trips but one day I realized that there is a lot of beauty in my own back yard.  I didn't have to travel thousands of miles to see interesting things I could travel the back roads in the area and have my own adventures.

I decided that this was the year that I am going to take my trip, my back yard adventure. I am going to focus on my photography and spend time doing the things I love to do. 

There is something so relaxing about spending time with my camera.