Happy Canada Day!!

Yellow Cap

ON A HONEY BEE

Thou born to sip the lake or spring.

Or quaff the waters of the stream.

With hither come on vagrant wing?

Does Bacchus tempting seem

Did he, for you, the glass prepare?

Will I admit you to a share?

Did storms harass or foes perplex.

Did wasps or king-birds bring dismay

Did wars distress, or labours vex,

or did you miss your way?

A better seat you could not take

Than on the margin on this lake

Welcome! I hail you to my glass

All welcome, here, you find

Here let the cloud of trouble pass,

Here, be all care resigned.

This fluid never fails to please,

And drown the griefs of men or bees.

What forced you here we cannot know,

And you will scarcely tell

But cheery we would have you go

And bid a glad farewell

On lighter wings we bid you fly,

Your dart will now all foes defy.

Yet take not oh! too deep a drink,

And in the ocean die

Here bigger bees than you might sink,

Even bees full six feet high.

Like Pharaoh, then, you would be said

To perish in a sea of red.

Do as you please, your will is mine

Enjoy it without fear

And your grave will be this glass of wine,

your epitaph a tear.

Go, take you seat in Charon's boat,

We'll tell the hive, you died afloat.

~Philip Freneau

Mom & The Brood

This is an Image I may have posted before..

but I have given it new life and entered it in

The Photographic Platform Edited

Contest...its an open theme

If your interested here is a link..

http://www.facebook.com/Photographic.Platform.Edited

                                                                 

View from Below

On my back, with grass between my toes....

Old Paper with New Images

A few spring flower images

 given a vintage look.

                                                         
                                           Nature does not hurry,
                                                 yet everything is accomplished.
                                                        ~ Lao Tzu

Up close..and Personal again!

Petunia up close and personal

Has Porky seen this?

Grim Reaper in the Sky ?

                            
                                      In the greyness
                                     and drizzle of one despondent
                                     dawn unstirred by harbingers
                                     of sun break a vulture
                                     perching high on broken
                                     bones of a dead tree
                                     nestled close to his  
                                     mate his smooth
                                     bashed-in head, a pebble
                                     on a stem rooted in
                                     a dump of gross
                                     feathers, inclined affectionately
                                     to hers. Yesterday they picked
                                     the eyes of a swollen
                                     corpse in a water logged
                                     trench and ate the
                                    things in its bowel. Full
                                    gorged they chose their roost
                                    keeping the hollowed remnant
                                    in easy range of cold
                                    telescopic eyes...

                                    Strange
                                    indeed how love in other
                                    ways so particular   
                                    will pick a corner
                                    in that charnel-house
                                    tidy it and coil up there, perhaps
                                    even fall asleep -  her face
                                    turned to the wall!

                                    ...Thus the Commandant at Belsen
                                    camp going home for
                                    the day with fumes of
                                    human roast clinging
                                    rebelliously to his hairy
                                    nostrils will stop
                                    at the wayside sweet-shop
                                    and pick up a chocolate
                                    for his tender offspring
                                    waiting at home for Daddy's
                                    return...

                                    Praise bounteous
                                    providence if you will
                                    that grants even an ogre
                                    a tiny glow-worm
                                    tenderness encapsulated
                                    in icy caverns of a cruel
                                    heart or else despair
                                    for in the very germ
                                    of that kindred love is
                                    lodged the perpetuity
                                    of evil.    

                                      ~ Chinua Achebe

Should we rejoice with the good in the least likely places, or despair at the fact that it is the presence of this good that allows for evil?..................................................................

Bursting with life...

Spring is...

Garden Images from Early June

Flowers are a proud assertion

that a ray of beauty outshines

all the utilities of the world

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Robin's Haven

This is a Robin nest at my sister inlaw's house

perfectly decorated to raise young birds.

My hope is to follow the happenings and share with you.

Stay tuned!

After the Rain

A simple image of water on a screen in my front window

after a rain...no enhancement, it just caught my eye!

Click the Image for a better view...click a second time for the best!

After The Rain

The rain has ceased, and in my room

The sunshine pours an airy flood;

And on the church's dizzy vane

The ancient cross is bathed in blood.

From out the dripping ivy leaves,

Antiquely carven, gray and high,

A dormer, facing westward, looks

Upon the village like an eye.

And now it glimmers in the sun,

A globe of gold, a disk, a speck;

And in the belfry sits a dove

With purple ripples on her neck.

~ Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Polyphemus

A Polyphemus Moth

The eyes are to scare off predators?

Artist Impression the 3rd

This is an Image of the Moon River I took last year

and following is my friends interpretation in paint.

I f you wish to see more of her amazing work, let me know!

~ Donna Spears Lauzon

Eulogy for a Water Beetle

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few interruptions. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and never be seen again. They knew when this happened that their friend was  dead , gone forever.

Then one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends that he had found the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired and the sun felt so warm, that he decided to take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, Fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed. Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back and tell them and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended. But his new body would no go down into the water. he could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he know knew. So he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

~ anonymous

P.S. Then he met the grill of a semi tractor trailer and the last thing that went through his mind was his ass!

Sorry...but funny!

~ JE Ted T-bone Gardner

Fern Shadow

This is an image from the last post that I spent a Little

time on in photoshop

I think it produced a rather interesting image!

A Black and White Weekend

I recently spent a weekend at a friends cottage in Bala Ontario

or Muskoka, cottage country for those who are curious!

Had a blast and these images are a few from that weekend.

These are the landscapes and abstractions.

For some reason they all screamed black and white?

I have a few nature shots and some amazing people shots to share later!

Five points of Light

The Romans named the five points of light that the Greeks called planets

Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus and Saturn.

These are not them!

Just some interesting light caught in my backyard!

Mr. Ruby

Mr Ruby Throated Hummingbird in late afternoon dappled light.

This is not a great specimen shot.

But it is I think a very interesting artistic shot,

My favorite part is the shallow depth of field.

it gives us the dappled light on maple trees.

I try to work with colour and composition as much as possible..

there is a learning curve!

The only adjustments here are light and contrast with photoshop elements 6

Remember to click on Image for a proper view!