No, I have Not Passed Over to the "Other Side"....

I am sure my wonderful, beautiful and gracious regular readers

have thought I am fighting some outrageous, rare disease..

or,

worse yet, thought I just don't care to blog anymore....

Oh, Contraire!

Somehow, my life has gotten even more full than ever and I just haven't had time

to physically sit in front of my computer.

The good news is, that I still have found time (not as much as I'd like!)

to sit in front of my camera lens and still shoot photography.

So, today, a hodgepodge of nature photos for you...

I won't even tell you the month or dates these were taken (let's just say a "few" months ago and leave it at that, shall we?)

It is the closest thing I can share with you as to what "the other side" will be like for all of us...

after all,

how could Heaven be any more beautiful than Mother Nature gives us glimpses of every now and then?

Marsh Marigolds...



Trout Lilies:

Peeking Deer!:

Marsh Marigolds, up close and personal:

Two meganser ducks, enjoying the spring sunshine:

Marsh Marigolds, even closer:

 A hanging Trout Lily:

I will be posting some more Nature photos again next time and hope you will continue to read my blog, even though I haven't been posting every other day, like before.

Sometimes, real life just HAS to take precedent....but I love you all and please know that I treasure and appreciate you reading my blog whenever you can.


I am very excited today because a fellow Blogger is coming to town to have dinner with me
and my husband and her sister, who just happens to live in a town about an hour from us...
Can't wait Vicki and Ann!!
See you tonight!

********************************************************

Just a few more days to enter my FREE PHOTO CONTEST!
Remember..the theme this month is
RED, WHITE and BLUE!!!
(Or the USA Flag!)

Send in your photo no later than midnight, July 31st..

If you don't know the rules, just scroll to the last blogpost (underneath this one)
and click on the link!!!

Birds and Bloodroot!

The things that I love about Spring and Summer

the most

is the birds and the blooms....

In Spring here, Trout Lilies and Bloodroot are some of the first spring wildflowers we see.

Of course, robins and sparrows are some of the earliest birds to arrive back up north too.

Bloodroot:

Bloodroot peeking up through last fall's leaves after the snow melt:

A catbird!

Have you ever heard one?

Some say, of course, that it sounds like a cat meowing.

To me, they sound like an old rocker chair creaking....

I hope you have had the chance this past spring and summer to sit outside

and enjoy the melodious sounds of the neighborhood birds

and have taken the time to smell the flowers.

After all, it is two of the most important things to do in life!

******************************************************

We are almost half way through July!

Don't forget to enter your winning photo for

July 2012's

FREE PHOTO CONTEST!!!

This month's theme

is

RED, WHITE and BLUE

(or any picture with the American flag in it)

You don't have to live in the USA to enter...just go find

something red, white and blue!  Let your imagination go wild!

You don't have to be a blogger to enter....

just follow these rules!!

***********************************************************************************

On a side note, I am still looking for someone computer saavy to design my winning widgets for 2012 for the photo contest winners. If anyone knows of someone who will design 13 small widgets for me to give out to our monthly winners (and one for the 2012 winner of the year) please email me with their info. I need someone reasonable in price to do this for me....help?????

REPOST: Here they ARE!...The FREE PHOTO CONTEST photo entries for June: Theme: TREES!!!

This is a REPOST..turns out I DID neglect to post one of the entries to the contest...so if you looked at this already, please take one more look at ALL the wonderful entries!

I will be sending them in to the Judges tomorrow!
My apologies to Cathy, and thanks for letting me know I forgot to list yours!!

This month's (June, 2012) FREE PHOTO CONTEST's

THEME

was

TREES!!!

As you will see, we got some great contenders for the winner!

(that's ok..the Judges already don't like me, so what is ONE more challenge for them, right?)

So, take your flip flops off, rest your feet up high and sip your lemonade

and take a few moments to savor these wonderful entries!:

This one is from Cathy C. Her blog is called: "Yooper Yarns".

This one is from Larry B. He has two blogs. One is called: "Larry's Creative Zone" and the other one is called: "Larry's Photo a Day".

This one is from Pat H.  Her blog is called: "A View from the Edge".

This one is from DJan. She has two blogs. One is called: "D-Janity".  The other one is called: "Eye on the Edge".

This one is from LindyLouMac. Her blog is called: "News from Italy".

This is from Arti S. Her blog is called: "My Yatra Diary".

This is from Nat. Her blog is called: "Just Nat".

This is from Muffy. Her blog is called: "Muffy's Marks".

This one is from Sharon R. Her blog is called: "Sharon's Paws Create".

This is from Fun60. Her blog is called: "After 60--the Next 10".

*********************************************************************

See???

I TOLD you they were fabulous!

I can't choose, and I bet the Judges can't either!!!

If you sent me a photo for this contest and I neglected to include it in this blogpost by mistake, PLEASE let me know no later than Monday, as I will be sending these to the Judges then and want to make sure I didn't forget anyone! I will repost this blogpost to include any forgotten entries if that has occurred.

*****************************************

And now???

What is the FREE PHOTO CONTEST

photo theme for JULY????

Well!

Any photo that contains the AMERICAN FLAG in it, of course!!!

OR

anything with red, white AND blue in it!!!

So, get going!

Get your entry in before July 31st, 2012

following

THESE RULES!!

You don't have to be a blogger to enter!!!