Yellow - The Color of Spring

by Deanna

Touches of Spring was my choice for this month's theme. OK I know the image above doesn't resemble Spring at all, but if I was at home right now this is probably what I would see out of my window. If you have seen any pictures of mine on Instagram or Facebook in the last week you would know that I am in Arizona soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the warmth. Except 90+ is just a wee bit warm for my body, but it sure hasn't stopped me from enjoying my moments in the sun. Rub on that sun screen and off I go.

Today I'm all about the color yellow. Yellow is the color of egg yolk, ripe lemons, some animals, many flowers, a few birds, butterflies, clothing, furniture, etc. It;s the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wave length between 570 and 590 nm (nano meter, not "never mind").

Since I have been in Arizona I have seen yellow thru my lens wherever I went. So this post is more about images of yellow than words.

I discovered animals in yellow....

Butterflies and bees in yellow....

I know the flower isn't yellow but that bee buzzing inside is sure yellow.

Lots of flowers in yellow...

I have been visiting friends in Arizona (specifically, Phoenix) for several years. It's my getaway when winter has been around too long at home. When everything is still very brown at home, I fly to the land of the sun to envelop myself in the vivid colors that heal the remnants of winter in my bones.

I'll admit when I first visited Arizona 20+ years ago I did not appreciate the desert with it's beauty. My mindset was "how can anybody like living around rocks, desert, and cactus."  Well, needless to say, my mindset has certainly changed over the years. I now find those cactus, those rocks, and those deserts beautiful. 

Even birds are yellow out here....

And then of course, there are the stunning sunsets...

Even tho I am missing the massive blooming of the cactus by about 2-3 weeks, I sure haven't been cheated out of any beauty.

Not My Favorite

by Deanna

As a reader of our blog, and thank you for that, you may well have surmised that the month of January’s theme is Winter’s  Bare Branches.  Living in the Midwest I am surrounded by branches from the many varieties of Maples, the Sycamores, the River Birch, Pin Oaks and Red Oaks, Magnolias, and Weeping Willows, the Black Walnut and the Sweet Gum, varieties of trees too numerous to list. Drive down any neighborhood street and you will probably see a Honey Locust, a Maple, even a large Bur Oak gracing the parkways.  During the summer months these varieties are clothed in their various colors, shapes and sizes of leaves, seeds or flowers, but in the winter, unless you are an arborist (tree expert) they all appear to look almost the same, except perhaps in size. Their branches stripped clean, standing bare before us.   I can see the shape, the size, the broken, the scars, the length of the branches, all appearing lifeless.  And I wonder, will the Spring bring life back into those broken and scarred limbs.

I know that winter pretty much strips me of the joy that I find during those warmer months of the year.  Sunshine and warmth are my go-to words, but sunshine has been very sparse this year. Since January 1^st we have had only 1 full day of sunshine, the rest have been partly cloudy or totally dreary. With rain, not snow.  We had 2 beautiful snows in December followed by January rains. Am I complaining, yes.  Do I feel stripped and bare, yes. But like the trees I will flourish again in the spring.  Having this cold dreary weather does give me an excuse to hunker down and read until my eyes grow weary, then I nap.

Eventho Winter is not my favorite time of year, I do find life among those bare trunks and limbs. Wildlife remains steadfast throughout the cold months here in the Midwest. Those bare branches provide a safe place for birds and our furry friends to perch in their search for food, thus giving me the opportunity to capture their winter coats and plumage.  

And I must admit there is an occasional drop-dead gorgeous sunset. And with the trees bare I can enjoy those blazing colors.  

So there you have it....my so-called love/hate relationship with our Midwest winters. Love them for draping our world in purest white, for the gorgeous unimpeded views of sunsets, and the birds and critters that give life to the barest of branches.  The not so loved side are the short days,the pile of coats, gloves and boots to weather the cold, the dreariness, and the longing for those bare limbs to spring forth with life again.  

My Happy Place

by Deanna

Everyone has a happy place. Some maybe a cozy chair by the fireplace, another's may be their summer cottage at the lake,  Mine happens to be my back porch.  You have probably heard me say this more than once, but it bears repeating year after year, summer after summer.  It was my idea to have someone construct our screened porch about 25 years ago, my sweetie was perfectly content with the concrete slab we called a patio, but my dreams went further. Since it was my idea/dream and at the time I was working full-time, which meant there was money in the pocket book, I boldly said, "I'll pay for it." Well, 25 years later and thousands of mornings, noons, afternoons and nights spent there, I never ever regretted that bold statement.  The peace, the quiet, the views I see from the back porch is where my happy place resides.

When I went to Texas in April with my friend, Jeanne from "Butterfly Metamorphosis" she had just purchased a Tamron 150-600mm lens. The sights she could capture with that lens made my jealous little heart pitter patter.  I held off buying that lens almost 2 months, yes I said months, not years (at my age you don't wait years for anything!) and finally after a 2 month deliberation I sallied (ie: an outburst or flight of passion) up and ordered it from Amazon. Now, at this point you must be wondering what does this paragraph have to do with the one above - my happy place?

Exclamation forth-coming.  My happy place, which also includes the land surrounding said porch, is filled with birds, bees, blooms, and small animals all of which I can now capture with this lovely 150-600 mm lens. Which increases the happiness 10 fold or I should say 600 mm fold.

I walked out into the back yard this morning and found this....

A Robin just finishing his morning shower,

A hummingbird ready for more nectar,

 
A Yellow Finch perched on the feeder,

A bee nosing it's way inside a Penstemon, 

A rose blooming,

And what would my backyard be without Cinder and Toby. They enjoy the porch and the backyard as much as I do. Grey hairs are coming in abundance on Cinder's face, but she is still as spry as ever.

And Toby stopped to smell the flowers.... PS they both need a good grooming.

I am sure you have that special place that makes you happy. We would love to hear where your's is.