Quotography | Spring

Spring brings beautiful pink blooms to the peach tree and sweet juicy fruit in the summer.

"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created spring".
~Bern Williams

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Inspired

Because of the recent stellar weather we've been having here in Southern PA (praise God), I have been incorporating my daily exercise by taking walks outside. During these walks, I like to reflect on my day and have private chats with the "big guy upstairs". After my walk, I was inspired to take this photograph. I had my daughter hold a bouquet of daffodils up towards the heavens. Did you know that the daffodil, the first flower of spring, represents rebirth and new beginnings? The sky was so blue yesterday and I thought the yellow against the blue would make a lovely contrast. I then added a texture to the photo and then added some of the many names of God found in His Word, the Bible. The idea of adding the many names of God was inspired by the Women's Conference I attended this past weekend with my close galfriends.  

How many names of God can you spot in the photo?

There are 63 listed in the photo. (Photo credit: Photography by Kelly).

Hunting Peepers With Sally

Spring time has arrived a week early here in Southern Pennsylvania!  And with every spring in Southern PA, the earth comes alive! If you happen to be out taking an early evening hike through the wooded wetlands, you will undoubtedly cross paths with thousands of amorous male peepers emitting a sleigh-bell like chorus that is so loud, you can hardly hear yourself think.   

My friend Sally and I decided to get up close and personal with these paperclip size amphibians tonight at the nearby state park. Our goal was to record the sound they make and possibly get some snapshots of them. They emerge just at dusk so they can eat and breed. Sally and I learned that the spring peepers are extremely hard to spot, because they are so small in size and their camouflaged skin blends with the earth tones.  

The kids at the park had no problem at all spotting these critters. Here, a brave little girl holds two in her hands.

Some people may take for granted the sound of the peepers. But not Sally and I. For us, it is a sure sign that spring has arrived and winter is finally over! Take a listen to my recording of the spring peepers, or the technical name: Pseudacris Crucifer and be sure to crank up your speakers to get the full effect. 

Quotography | Green

"Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

How do you like my photography experiment using a lime and seltzer water? It was not easy! But I'm pretty happy with the result. I didn't want to place the quote for this week's assignment directly on the photo because I felt it took away from it.

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Friday's Fences | Back Country Road

Photo taken during a peaceful drive down a back country road

Click on over to Janis's to see more Fences...

This One's For You

Every once in a while a song will enter my mind and never leave. It will pop into my head at any given moment, time or place and I find myself humming it and singing it over and over and over again. The song was first introduced to me by my youngest daughter, Nature Girl, several months ago. Usually, I am not a fan of her "playlists", but as soon as I heard this song, I immediately fell in love with it.

The lyrics are so beautiful and meaningful. It reminds me that relationships and marriages are never easy. It isn't always a "bed of roses" or "lollipops and sunshine". It takes work. And it takes both people to make it work.  So many marriages and relationships end because of giving up too easily and too soon.

Here's to not giving up and trying to make it work, even when the skies get rough. And thank you....thank you Jason Mraz for writing such a beautiful song.

 

Quotography | Spiritual

When I asked my daughter's boyfriend to pose for this photo, he replied, "I'll do it for you Ms. Kelly, as long as I don't have to pose gay".  I had to giggle as I had him stand in this position with his hands in the air for a good ten minutes while I snapped away from all different angles. He was very cooperative!

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In Like A Lamb

Usually March comes in like a lion with cold, unpleasant weather, but today we are having a beautiful balmy winter day here in South Western Pennsylvania and Kelly can't help but think about spring time. The sun is shining brightly and the days are getting longer. The robins are frantically chirping and the turkeys are gobblin' away....wait a minute...did I just mention turkeys?

During my special day out with the hubs last Friday, we came across a flock of wild turkeys hanging out on the roof top of an old house somewhere near Thurmont, MD. Each spring, the tom turkeys try to befriend as many females as possible by fluffing their tail feathers and puffing out their bodies. This fancy "turkey trot" helps attract the hens for mating.

Imagine my surprise when I gobbled at them and they gobbled back! Check it out here for yourself:

Seems these turkeys are feeling the spring time rush with the unusually mild winter weather we've been experiencing. We still need to get through this month and we all know March can be a fickle month here in PA.  I am counting down til' my Florida vacation....30 days to be exact and you can rest assure I will be wearing my flip flops and sporting my new shades. Until then, I pray this nice weather continues!

Wordless Wednesday - I Am A Sexy Bridge

My girls pointed out some graffiti on this old railroad bridge located less than a mile from my home. I didn't know bridges could be sexy, did you?

Quotography | Trees

This photo was taken on Friday in Gettysburg, PA. The infamous tree overlooks Devil's Den, a large area of granite boulders where one of the battles of Gettysburg took place in July of 1863. Confederate sharp shooters settled into the rocks of Devil's Den and picked off Union men across the valley. It is believed that since many of the fallen soldiers were not left in their final resting places, their souls have never found peace - making Devil's Den one of America's "most haunted". 

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