The Birds...

I am jogged, my memory is jogged with my Timehop App. I am grateful for it because time is so abstract. Yesterday morning I was reminded that 3 years ago I saw and photographed my very first Eagle. I was stunned that 3 years and 3 cameras later, I was still chasing Eagles, but add to that list, Hawks, Woodpeckers, Blackbilled Magpie, and in the dead of winter, Blue Herons as well. The Eagles made their presence known around mid-October. Since then, I have taken quite a few pics which to me are simply jaw-dropping, well, because..Eagles!!! I keep on striving to do better thru the lens and the Eagles, Hawks and the rest of the wildlife, which at times is right outside my window, (like this morning, 3 coyotes, very bold and loud) challenge me daily. I am grateful for this as well. So, these are just a few from the past couple of months. I want to do better. I want to capture an Eagle in full fight, full wing span. The same with the Hawks. Once they spread their majestic wings, things move quickly. I need a tripod now. As long as I see forward motion, I'm good, it's a good thing...thank you nature many times over, every single day...I added a Mule deer and a Bunny at the end because they are both just so so so precious..no captions necessary today..

  

                            

‘Listen closely,

even the trees exhale their own sweet love songs that roll off their boughs and echo out to all of creation. Love is always in the air.’ Christen Rogers. I posted this poem on February 14th as it is true, every single day, love is always in the air. 

Pay attention....

So, Here We Are...

Sunset over Pikes Peak

The same morning view on a crisp clear day...today!!!

The same morning view, yesterday w/ low clouds...so beautiful!!

Instagram pic of above...detailed...

So, here we are at the beginning of 2014. Our birthdays, Christmas and New Year were lovely, low key, uncomplicated. We were grateful. I know that I have said it before. I was grateful that the year had passed, that my birthday 'felt better' than the year before, as it was the first one w/out Mom. So w/ a much lighter spirit, as a Family, we cruised through all of it, quietly. On the 18th of this month it will be 2 years since we left our sweet Dutch Colonial in Rhode Island and made the big move to Colorado Springs. I have literally seen my vision expand w/ the breathtaking skies, the majesty of Pikes Peak, which I wake up to every morning. The sun is brighter (and hotter 6000 feet closer to it's warmth), the sky is bluer. And, now, w/ my new camera (w/ WIFI!!!!) in tow, I can capture more detail from far away, and the close-up/macro shots, well, more 'macro-y'. I am still very much playing w/ the camera and have barely scratched the surface. But, these shots are telling. So, w/ hope in my heart for this new year of 2014, I continue to step forward...

Girl Whirl, sunning...

'But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.'

Deuteronomy 11:11-12

The Sunsets...

Looking up and West from out back...

A few seconds later, looking up and West from out back..

Looking West from upstairs...

Looking East from Edward's room..

Looking North from my office...

I am not a 'professional' photographer (as in, I do not have a big fancy camera), but I am holding my own, in my own way. I have been taking alot of pics w/ my iPhone 4S using Instagram. I enjoy all the different filters and the other editing features. It is a wonder. However, with some things, like our drop dead gorgeous Colorado sunsets, I am finding that a 'real' camera is much much better for capturing the true colors, details, depth and shadows. Instagram seems to have a limited depth of color. For example, pink always comes out orange and it just does not work for me...well, sometimes, but not all the time. Tonight, the sky was begging to be 'shot'. I was outside, I was inside, shooting from 3 different windows. It looked like earth had been turned upside down at first and then once the sun started going behind the mountain, the colors kicked in. I took a couple of shots w/ Instagram, but then grabbed my camera w/ much better results.