LIKE MY BLOG? Click below on "FOLLOW" and add yourself to the list of my followers!

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
All pictures (and blogposts) are copyrighted and may not be reproduced/used in any manner without my PRIOR approval. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

Friday, June 12, 2009

More of Lovely Spring

Today, I am just going to show you some photos around our yard during yesterday's lovely spring day in the U.P.:





My first Columbine in bloom this year!:




And, my first Bee Balm in bloom this year:






The Dandelion's seed puff. They look ugly in your lawn...but look at its beauty up close:





This is a picture of an interesting tree burl I saw in the woods:




This is the apple orchard at my Father's family farm in Keweenaw Bay, Michigan:





A hungry Woodpecker at our suet:






Look close, you will see a Cedar Waxwing bird on the apple blossom branch:







This is our house in the spring:





He was so cute, I had to take a picture of him posing!:


20 comments:

Bernie said...

I love all the nature that surrounds you Joan, it would be tempting to stay outside all day just to breathe in the beauty. I loved all the pics of course but especially your dad's apple orchard...beautiful!
Have a great weekend...:-) Hugs

Unknown said...

Those are awesome macro shots! Geesh! I'm jealous. Very pretty, get those printed!
Your log home is gorgeous!

Unknown said...

What lovely photos here, my beebalm is the scarlet red.

Lesley said...

Wow. I'm sure someone has asked you this before, but what kind of camera do you have??

I have some spring pictures to post on my blog, too. They are not nearly as pretty as yours. Spring in Texas is a bit frightening.

J.J. in L.A. said...

Nice pics! It's been overcast here since May 21st and I'm getting sick of it. Where's my heat??? lol!

grannyann said...

Gosh what wonderful pictures. That purple flower is magnificent and there is that house that I am so jealous about. Thanks for sharing

Sue said...

Wonderful pictures-I can't believe how pretty a dandelion puff is up close. :)

The Retired One said...

Bernie: Thanks so much. Like I mentioned before, our winters (like yours) are pretty harsh, so when we finally get spring and summer and see all the flowers and birds, we celebrate them. I do spend most of my day outside here whenever the days are warmer and sunny.

DVM's Wife: Thanks so much! I always enjoy your pictures too! I can't ever get enough bird or flowers to look at and photograph!

Darla: I used to have red, but for some reason it got "choked out" by other flowers....but the purple is a bit more hardy. The hummingbirds and butterflies really like the bee balm (and of course so do the bees!)

Lesley: I have a digital Panasonic Lumix. It has an 18X optical zoom and 10 megapixels. I LOVE LOVE this camera! It is responsible for a new addiction and hobby!

JJ: We finally got a wee bit warmer, maybe we stole some of your heat...but not to worry, we are barely breaking 70 here, so we didn't take too much of it. I love it though...it was sunny and beautiful here today. We finally got out on the lake to do some fishing...but didn't catch any!

Grannyann: Thanks so much. I am trying to capture the house in all 4 seasons...I have to take some better ones in the autumn and then I will have all 4 of the house....maybe I will put them in a frame in the house.

Sue: Isn't the puff amazing? I found out early when I got this camera and was able to take really good closeups that things that I never thought had much beauty--can be down right gorgeous!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It's beautiful there! I love the apple orchards. Your house is really pretty, it almost looks like a log cabin style. It fits in perfectly with your surroundings.

DJan said...

Wow. Just wow. Thanks for the wonderful pictures, which I have enjoyed so much. Although I don't comment on here every day, I read your posts daily. I am still contemplating getting a different camera, but then I come here and figure as long as you keep taking them...

Rick (Ratty) said...

I like all of these pictures a lot. The birds are always fun to see. What stands out most for me though is the bee balm.

Teresa said...

I love your log home, it is fabulous! You take the most amazing photo's too. I loved everyone, especially the little bird and the apple blossoms...Is that a cedar waxwing? I somehow thought they were black with red on their wings? But then, what do I know about birds? Not too much.

T

The Retired One said...

Gardener: Thanks! Yes, we live in a log home...with logs all around it and logs and wood all inside. We love it. We built it around 5 years ago, and haven't regretted it for a second. It sits on a 7 mile long lake with 97 miles of shoreline..which we like to explore every summer! :-D

DJan: Thanks so much...its okay if you don't comment...it is more important to me that I have readers and that I get more readers every day that enjoy it. Great compliment on my photos! I love my camera and only started with this new hobby around December. Now, I am addicted!

Ratty: Thanks! Bee Balm is a very interesting flower, isn't it? It comes in red too...which I need to also get for my garden. It attracts bees and butterflies too, which I hope to capture when I see them in there...not too many yet as the bush is just starting to bloom and it hasn't been very warm here...but it is moving into the 70's (YippeKiyay!) so hopefully they will come into the garden soon!

Teresa: The black ones with red on their wings are Redwinged Blackbirds...the other birds with a lot of black and white are RoseBreasted Grosbeaks. Although the females of species look so different, who knows? I couldn't get this one up close, so I couldn't see the details of its beak, colors and tail very well to positively identify it. I just knew it looked pretty darn cute up in the apple tree blossoms!

Maniacal Mommy said...

Bee balm! Cool! Wonderful pics as always...

Unknown said...

Great pics! I love them all. And I enjoy gardening too. Am following you.

The Retired One said...

Maniacal: Thanks! I love bee balm's shape, because it is so different than other flowers.

Keats: Thanks so much for stopping by and for being a Follower. I stopped by your blog and saw the one with all of your flowers...I have never seen tropical flowers like those...gorgeous! Take more photos of them, I am sure gardeners here would LOVE to see them!

Bernice the Housewife said...

Those are gorgeous photos! I really like your blog.

The Retired One said...

Sheila: You are new to my blog, no? Thanks so much for stopping by and for the nice compliment.
Please consider going up and becoming a "follower" of my blog!
Would love to have you aboard.
I will stop by your blogs soon and have a read too!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hey Great photos..sorry to be a party pooper..but the blue flower is Centaurea 'Montana Blue' a perennial bachelor's button. It is a great plant, the bees love it! :)

The Retired One said...

Far Side: Everyone in this part of the country call them Bee Balm..funny huh? The bees definitely do love them, whatever their official name!

REMINDER: All photographs on this blog are COPYRIGHTED.

REMINDER: All photographs on this blog are COPYRIGHTED.
Please do not copy any of my photographs (or narratives) without my permission! All pictures will be tracked for copyright violations.

Lijit Search

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

About Me

My photo
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!!

Blog Archive

ultimate translation selector

To get more traffic to your blog: