Twilight at Lake Gregory

These were taken on a winter's walk by Lake Gregory in January of 2015.  

It's so beautifully quiet in these mountains in the winter (unless you live next to a ski resort.  Happily, there are no ski resorts near Lake Gregory).

 

Just the sound of the wind moving gently through the trees and water murmuring against the shore.

Linking with: Through My Lens

Forest Scenes

There are pretty clouds around today, but, so far, no rain.  Things are managing to bloom though, despite such a dry winter and spring.

Some wild Chamomile...

And some Baby Blue Eyes.

Little Pink Sierra Currant blooms will turn into tiny berries that the birds and raccoons can eat in the autumn.

I  love the dappled light of the forest and the shifting shadows that days like this bring.

Linking with:  Through My Lens
                     Skywatch Friday

I See You

A young Red Tailed Hawk at the top of a pine tree.

She (or he) was staring intently at something down in the valley.  It was pretty windy, as you can tell by her feathers on her chest.  She kept a wary eye on me, though, which is good.  I always hope they can tell in a nano-second whether it's a camera or a gun pointed at them.  They're protected by Federal Law, but there are always idiots...

I took a lot of photos, but these are the only three that aren't too blurry.  She was about 500 feet away from me.  I've given up on using a tripod for photographing birds; by the time I get the darn thing set up, they're gone!  So, it's hand-held, zoom, and hope for the best...

Linking with  Skywatch Friday
                    Saturday's Critters

Happy Mother's Day

No matter what species your child belongs to, if you feed them, love them, keep them safe...Happy Mother's Day!

Shy

This Black Headed Grosbeak was keeping a wary eye on me... 

as I photographed him eating. 

He seemed uncomfortable, though, and eventually he retreated 

into a tangle of branches...and that made me feel so sorry for him that I took my camera and myself back into the house to give him a chance to fill up his tummy. 

Linking with:  Saturday's Critters

A Quote for Monday

Logic will get you from A to Z, but imagination will get you everywhere.  Albert Einstein

A Quote

To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat. ~ Beverly Nichols 

Wordless Wednesday - Camouflage

Linking with: Wordless Wednesday

Springing Back to Winter

I'm glad I was able to get these photos a few days ago, because the weather abruptly switched from spring to winter last night.  (To enlarge photos, just click on them). 

Last night we had a cold, hard rain with plummeting temperatures and today we had a hail storm.

These daffodils, and the ones below, were planted by a community group in Twin Peaks several years ago. 

Quite a few of the daffodils were already past their peak of bloom when I took these photos, but, luckily for me, there were still enough of them blooming to make a cheery show!

Linking with:  
Through My Lens 
Monday Mellow Yellows
Macro Monday
Our World Tuesday

Windy Weather

It was supposed to rain up here today, but the part of the storm with the rain in it stayed about 400 miles to the north...all we got were the horrible winds.

But, windy weather makes lovely blue skies. 

The baby oak leaves are losing their red and starting to get a bit of green around their edges. 

The wind doesn't seem to bother the birds, thank goodness.  This robin seemed to like the bobbing up and down the branch was doing in the wind...maybe it's like a carnival ride to them, as long as it isn't too strong. 

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Lilac Love

I picked some lilacs for my studio...

Their scent is so wonderful.  I wish someone would make an air freshener spray that really smelled like lilacs. 

They looked so pretty in their little jugs and vases, I took their photos.  

I'm linking with these blogs:  Through My Lens
                                           Life Thru the Lens
                                           Our World Tuesday

Turn Around

In these mountains, spring is always changeable...if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.  Or...

Drive for a minute or two.   

The above photos were all taken in Valley of Enchantment, a pretty area west of the Lake Gregory valley. 

However, to get a change of weather in some places up here, all you have to do is...

Turn around!

Linking with:    Skywatch Friday

Spring Greens

The dogwoods are in the first stages of their bloom.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida), above, has four bracts, while the Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttalli), below, has six.  In both species the actual flowers are in the center of the bracts, and haven't opened yet.

When the bracts are just beginning to open their shape reminds me of tulips. 

Soon the spring green will fade, and the bracts will become a beautiful cream color and will be much larger.

Linking with   Through My Lens    and    Our World Tuesday     and     Life Thru the Lens

Lovely Rain

Early this morning the clouds started rolling in.  These storms (there are supposed to be two, with rain lasting through Monday) are coming up from Mexico, so the snow level will be waaaay above where I live...yay!

The rain is so welcome here...we didn't get enough during this El Nino to end the drought here in the Southern California mountains.

The tulips will like it...

And, so will the lilacs.  They're blooming a month ahead of their usual time.  But, maybe that's good...if the weather decides to snow in May, like it did last year, the lilacs' blooms won't be harmed. It's raining lightly now, and I'm really looking forward to several days of rain!

Linking with Skywatch Friday  and   Pink Saturday