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Friday, June 4, 2010

This and That: U.P. Spring pictures continue!

I am behind in posting pictures that I took weeks ago
when spring arrived
in the glorious U.P. (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan.

So, between still showing you some of the April/May Florida photos
I will still post some photos
of the spring ones I took at home here in the U.P.

Enjoy!

Primrose from my garden:






A yellow finch sitting in the sun, with a little bit of a sassy attitude!:





A rose-breasted grosbeak.
We had four, but they only visited us for about three weeks.
We haven't seen them at all since the beginning of May:





One of my favorite birds! A Flicker!:



We visited some of our favorite rivers this spring...but I loved the foamy swirls
in the water, so I did a black and white of the foam:





Budding trees...I always love when they break out in buds and fresh leaves!:





A duck taking off from the water:




A hooded merganser and mate taking off from the water:

I love spring and the beginning of summer for the flowers blooming, trees coming out with bright green leaves and all the animals we see.
I will be posting more again soon!

34 comments:

Brian Miller said...

very cool pics of the ducks in flight...the primrose is most beautiful to my eyes this morning though...

DJan said...

That finch picture is wonderful! As is the final one of the fancy merganser and his less fancy mate. It's beautiful in the U.P.! Thanks for sharing.

CiCi said...

I was unaware primroses were so lovely. You get to look at these in your garden all the time? Amazing.
The rose breasted grosbeak looks like birds that visit here but we have not seen any yellow finches. Would like to though. I will have to check out the flicker on google. I don't think I have seen one. Lovely pictures, all of them. Thanks for putting them here for us all to admire.

rainfield61 said...

Those critters in the water are so beautiful. Cool!!

Anonymous said...

I love the last one! The reflection in the water is wonderful!

Bossy Betty said...

My goal is to be just like that finch!

You know I am a sucker for bird pictures. So cool. Oh, also love the B and W of the water!

Tamara Dawn said...

Love all these photos!! I just got my first DSLR camera and I'm eager to get more acquainted with it so I can go on some photo taking adventures like yours! =)

Two Greyhound Town said...

Beautiful!!!!!

The Retired One said...

Brian: So glad you liked them...they are perennials so they come up every year. I just put them in my garden last year and I am getting more in different colors because they are so easy to raise.

DJan: Thanks so much. Yes it is beautiful here in almost every season.

Technobabe: You would LOVE the flickers..they are big birds and although you don't see it in this picture, they have a long tail with yellow on it and they have a polka dotted breast, with a red patch on their heads..gorgeous, gorgeous birds!

Rainfield: Thanks! I was lucky that my shutter caught them in flight.

Cathy: Thanks! I had a faster shutter speed so it caught them good. ha

Bossy: Thanks so much. I love playing with black and white when I see stuff like that.

Tamara: I just got my first DSLR too...had a Panasonic Lumix before which I love and still use along with my DSLR. ha

Sara said...

Your pictures were so beautiful, my favorite was the yellow finch. I think they are such a pretty bird!

Shelley said...

You did such a wonderful job with these photos! Loved that swirling water! I only had a couple grosbeaks last weekend, hope I get more in the upcoming weeks.

L. D. said...

Your spring is coming along nicely. Beautiful spring flowers and the wildlife is stunning.

Stella Jones said...

Lovely pictures of wildlife as always. I'm so glad your Spring has arrived at last.
I invite you to visit my newest Blog, http://stitching-stars.blogspot.com where I am having a giveaway this weekend.
Blessings, Star

The Retired One said...

Sara: Thanks so much...they are delightful to see eating at my thistle feeder.

Shelley: All our grosbeaks that hung around all winter have all disappeared over the last few weeks...we hope they are nesting and will return soon.

LD: thanks so much.

Star: I will have to see your newest blog! I'll try and stop by in a little while.

Insanitykim said...

These pix come from your even newer camera right? So awesome...

So, when are you sending me that other piece of crap? Um, ya know...that other camera I covet, but call crap...to discourage others from asking for it...

faye said...

WOW ... such great photos.
wonderful capture of the birds.
That finch looks like he/she
does have an attitude.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Joan, Love your spring pictures... It seems as if Spring came and went much too quickly this year... I never tire of seeing spring pictures...

That duck taking off from the water looks like he is walking ON water... ha

Love your birdie pictures. We only saw our Grosbeaks for a couple of days this year --since we left soon after they came, and went to the beach.

Your Primrose is pretty... Love those colors.

Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy

SquirrelQueen said...

Great photos Joan, you live in a beautiful part of the country.

I love that shot of the yellow finch, I wish some of the birds in our backyard would give me a close-up sometimes.

Alan Burnett said...

There are some fabulous shots here : the black and white shot of the river, the vibrant yellow of the finch. It is so satisfying to look at good photographs.

Wanda..... said...

Your Primrose looks like little bursts of fireworks! The ruffled feathers of the Flicker went well with the roughness of the branches he perched on and I loved the clear reflection in the last photo was!
...Wanda

The Retired One said...

Two Greyhound: thanks so much!

Insanity: Nice try, friend! ha I took some with my Panasonic and some with my new Canon. I have to order a macro lens yet for my Canon to take closeups of the flowers that have more detail...so I must keep my precious Canon. Plus when I travel, I like to take my trusted Pan with me because I don't want to haul a million different lens with me. So, save up your returnable soda cans and buy one already!! You won't be disappointed. I have experimented taking the SAME shot with both cameras and sometimes my Pan takes a BETTER shot. Amazing!

Faye: I love closeups of birds..when you start doing them you realize that birds' faces actually do show expressions. LOL

Betsy: How funny...because when I saw the duck taking off picture, I thought I should caption it saying something about walking on water. Great minds think alike, right? ha

SquirrelQueen: In my mind, NO bird photo will ever be as pretty as that duck picture you took to win the contest..that was amazing.

Alan: Ah, Alan...you flatter so nicely! (And I love it!)

Wanda: What descriptive explanations of my photos...will you be my agent?? :0}

Unknown said...

Wow! Those are some amazing, gorgeous photos!

Rick (Ratty) said...

So many great pictures! Those flowers are really good. And I love watching ducks take off while they're on the water.

ruma said...

I become the feeling blown off with birds by your photography.

Thank you.
ruma

The Retired One said...

Eva: Thanks so much!

Ratty: Me too, but usually I have my camera in hand and I am saying: "No, no, don't fly away YET!" ha

Ruma: Thanks so much, and I am so glad you became a Follower of my blog!

Pat Tillett said...

Talk about a variety of photos!
very nice Joan. Love the birds.

The Retired One said...

Pat: Thanks so much. I love taking bird and duck photos...and especially eagles and tropical birds.

Jientje said...

So sad Spring is over already. It's my favorite season! The picture of that yellow finch is stunning, I love the detail!

The Retired One said...

Jientje: our spring is over here too now and we have moved into early summer...we are usually behind others' weather by about 6 weeks here. I love those little yellow finches!

Beth said...

I love birds! And I love the reflection of the ducks on the water! Awesome shots!

Ann said...

How do you get all those birds to sit still while you photograph them. Mine fly away before I get the camera open.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I love your pretty little primrose..she is beautiful:)

The Retired One said...

Beth:Thanks...they were so much fun getting, too!

Ann: the right place at the right time and a fast trigger finger. ha I literally bring my camera EVERYWHERE I go in the car.

FarSide: thanks, they are new to my garden and I am getting more...they are carefree and bloom between the daffodils and tulips and bloom a few weeks after the tulips which is great!

melissa said...

your photos always blow me away!! i love them!!

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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