The prompt this week for One Single Impression is warm. Just this week, our maples have leafed out, due to the warmth of the spring sun. I love watching this timeless process happen each year.  Please click OSI for more of this week’s haiku.

I always hear orioles before I see them. This guy was in the yard yesterday morning, so I quickly sliced a tangerine and put it out on the garden stand. In about two minutes he was there. He spent day making trips back and forth to the garden stand from the apple tree. I spent a lot of the day trying to get a good shot of him from behind a large pine tree just this side of the garden.

The photo below was taken this morning, he was back and brought a friend this time. I thought it was a female until I checked my Audubon bird book. You can’t tell so much from this shot, but another photo I took at the same time showed the one on the right holding down the tangerine  with one foot.

The ground is covered with bluets, or quaker ladies this mothers day weekend. A perfect tribute  to all moms!

This eastern pine elfin came out of the woods to feast on the mass of dandelions in our backyard this year. The grass is quite tall, and full of bees, butterflies, and tiny Savannah Sparrows.

I have never been sure if these are really wild, or if they escaped a garden that used to be here. However they got here, I love them and look forward to the first blossoms each year.

One of the many bees working the flowers this week. A few bumblebees were so large that the dandelions bent to the ground when they landed. More photos coming  later.

Check out  this pretty pink geranium I picked up last Saturday at the grocery store. Being partial to pinks, I have several different varieties, and this one will go with with my collection. The tag in the pot said Maiden Iced Wine. I know that is wrong after looking at some photos on the internet. Iced Wine  is very dark with pink edges, nothing like this. Could this be Maiden Raspberry Swirl? If anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

The prompt this with for the One Single Impression haiku group this week is desert or deserted. Since I am especially interested in the high desert, I chose to use that meaning of the word.

I am still trying to get a good shot of a red winged blackbird. So, late Sunday afternoon I took a walk down to the marsh at the far edge of the woods. The red wings were there, but too far away to get a good photo. While I was standing there just enjoying the sound of the blackbirds, a couple of tiny chickadees flew in and began to do acrobatics in the reeds in front of me. A little further away, this eastern phoebe hunted.

In a tree high above the marsh some sort of hawk watched over the water. Thank goodness, it did not catch anything while I was watching. It finally moved to the other side of the water away from a flock of crows, making their usual noise in the trees near me. I don’t usually see this much activity in the morning when I go. Guess I need to change my walking schedule. Spring turkey season is going on now, so I will be staying out of the woods for the next couple of weeks.

I saw a moose in the field behind the house this week, too. Sure don’t want to run into it in the woods, no matter how good the photos might be.

I snapped this photo out the van window last week, while we were driving along the back road between the Freeport dock, and the town of Freeport, Maine. The scenery was wonderful, and the day was beautiful and bright. It was a great day to be out with a camera. Sometimes I get good shots shooting  this way, and sometimes, not. But what the heck, may as  well try.
Although this shot was blurry, I loved the colors and the reflection in the water, so I decided to see if I could do something with it. Using GIMP, I was able to salvage a good enough photo to use for a greeting card. First, I tried the oil painting filter, but lost a lot of tree detail, and the direction of the grass with that. After trying a fw more filters, I  settled with cartoon  which gave this look, one that I am happy with.

The prompt this week for the One Single Impression haiku group is flowering. This photo is a shot I took last year standing under a wild pear tree in my neighbor’s yard. I know that many farmers and gardeners have been worried about a lack of bees, but there was no problem here. This tree was buzzing. To read more haiku on this subject check on OSI above.

The photos from my Nikon d200 are so large that I have to keep the number stored in my iPhoto under 300 or it runs really slow. While I was getting ready to save 150 of this month’s shots on a CD, I decided to gather some of the bird photos and make them into one post. The individual photos do not click open.

April is a great for photographing birds since the trees are still bare of leaves up here in Maine. Lots of spring birds have arrived, and even more are passing through. All of these shots were taken in the yard.

Sisah, here are the names: top row, American Robin, Northern Flicker, European Starling, second row, White  Throated Sparrow, Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow, third row, Northern Mockingbird, Mourning Dove, and another shot of a mockingbird.

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Thanks to Karen at An Artist’s Garden for awarding me the Arte Pico Award. Please check out her site to read more about the award, and look at the other blogs she chose.  

Do you know coltsfoot? I hadn’t seen in until recently. The plant grows oddly, without leaves, and low to the ground, kind of like a mushroom. It is one that has been used medicinally in the past, but I will let you read about that here, since I don’t want to suggest that anyone use it for that reason.

With the warm weather and sun this week, the buds on the trailing arbutus, or mayflowers, have quickly turned to blossoms. I can tell I am getting older, this is the first year I did not bend down to smell them when I took photographs.

A red wing and grackle from the flocks in the yard this week.

Don’t laugh, there isn’t much blooming yet. For more haiku about color visit One Single Impression.

I saw the moon coming up last evening while I was cooking supper. Of course, I had to dash out in my apron to take a couple of shots. To read more about the moon names look here.

I have posted this before, but since I have joined this group of folks who are really interested in the sky, I am doing it again! This was the first rainbow cloud I had ever seen, but since have seen minor color in a few other clouds. When I took this shot, early morning snow had just ended, and the clouds were just clearing out. I had just taken a break from shoveling snow when I spotted this cloud.

For more sky watch shots, visit Tom at Wiggers World.

I am just back from a walk in the woods. The temperature today is around 60, but we still have snow banks in the shadowed places under the trees. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this butterfly fluttering along the path. Last year, in the same area, I saw quite a few mourning cloaks, but that was on May 9th. Hope this one makes it–I think it came out of hibernation way too early.

A pair of mockingbirds showed up last week, and have already started nest building in this cedar bush. They were unusually quiet today while I was working outdoors. No songs, no trilling, or funny noises. I am sure the quiet won’t last.

This shot looks better larger, so click on it to see it full size, please.

The prompt this week for One Single Impression is glory. Being a northern gardener, I find the first warm days of spring very special.

This morning was very windy, and even windier high up in the clouds. The clouds were twisted and twirled into beautiful shapes.

Late this afternoon, the wind had calmed and we had a sky full of these small clouds. I took this shot straight up, and captured the moon by chance.

check out skywatch friday here

This little guy just couldn’t be bothered yesterday. After two shots, I left him to his dinner. Guess I am used to the friendly little chickadees!

These are my last two photos from the winter season.

The bushes along the fence overlooking Casco Bay at Portland’s east end are full of birds. Sparrows darted in and out of the rose bushes as I walked along the shore on Saturday. They are almost invisible against the bramble until you see them move. Do you notice that the grass here is finally beginning to turn green?

so mighty at sea,

the gigantic tanker needs

tugged out of port

a gray afternoon,

red tugboats push orange tanker

past small white sailboats

The prompt this week for One Single Impression is stranded. My husband and I just happen to watch this tanker leave the harbor yesterday afternoon,while we were having pizza in the park overlooking Casco Bay. In the foreground you can see a sailing class in progress. It is still quite cool here, but Maine folks are hearty. In the bottom shot, the tug is on the way back in. That ferry is headed out to the islands.

Looking east in the early morning from my back yard. This was taken earlier in the week, as  last month’s moon was getting done, and the sun was coming up. The lights on the ground run along a country road.more photos at sky watch friday

Trees and bushes don’t have to be green or in bloom to be lovely. These shots were taken on the Eastern Promenade in Portland, Maine last Sunday, as I walked toward the bushes. I wonder how long until they bloom?

A pair of cardinals have been in my backyard all morning. I have tried several times to sneak out and get a closer shot, but they fly away when the door opens. This shot was taken standing in my bathtub. We don’t have that many cardinals in this area, so I still get excited when I get a chance to take a photo of them. The sky is getting dark, we are supposed to have rain this afternoon, so it looks like I won’t get any more bright photos today. A good thing really, I am trying to cut out a quilt, but have spent more time at the window than the cutting table.

The prompt this week for One Single Impression is laughter.

This path runs along the cliffs at the Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It is a wonderful place to walk, and usually quite busy. In the off season though, because of all the nooks and crannies along the trail, it can be a little spooky. The sound of people about is very reassuring, especially the sound of laughter.

This shot was taken a couple of days just after a rain. The sun was out, but dark clouds were still moving across the sky.
More sky watch photos here.

We have pair of titmice at the feeder quite often. I watch them from the window while I work in kitchen. Usually, they fly off as soon as I take my camera outdoors. While I was fixing Easter dinner this past Sunday, I could see this one bird perched just above the feeder. So, I had to leave the sweet potatoes and ham on their own for bit and grab my camera. Since I have often missed a shot completely, by waiting to get as close as I could, I snapped photos while I was walking toward the tree. You can see that I was much closer for the second shot. The bird finally noticed me and took off. The mate did not seem to be anywhere around, but I have seen them together since.

This week’s prompt at One Single Impression is spring.

This is an idea from Sandy at in a garden. She made a magazine cover some time last year on her Izel Cottage blog. Hers came out nice, and I have been wanting to try it since then. Here is what I came up with! I used my Corel program for the lettering, and a photo from last summer’s garden. Who else wants to give it a try?

We still have lots of snow, but I saw a mockingbird and a flock of robins this week–spring may not be quite here yet, weather wise, but it is near, and that is something to celebrate. Happy first day of spring to everyone.