Is It the Holy Spirit???

No, it's another hawk. I've been been lucky to photograph a few hawks this year. I didn't have to travel far to photograph this one as Mr. and Mrs. Hawk appear to be constructing a new home at the church that I attend. Here is where out new parishioners have chosen to construct their nest  . . . nestled between the speakers. 

 If you click on this image, you can get a closer look.

These photos were taken two weeks ago. According to information that I found online, Red-tailed Hawks lay one to four eggs in late March or April.  I can't tell you how often I have pulled into the parking lot in hopes of seeing them. I haven't seen them lately and there doesn't seem to be any increased work on the nest, but you know I'll be keeping a hawk eye out for them.

Basket of Flowers

Yesterday my friend Laurel came for a day of quilting. I spent the morning working on this piece for the Row by Row quilt that I have been working on and off on. The basket  and the leaves and stems were soon done, but I was unsure of which colors to select for the flowers. I should say that the pattern given out by the quilt shop called for four different background fabrics which I felt was a bit too busy and for all five flowers to be a very, very dark purple. This would never do in my quilt. I was auditioning color choices when we decided to break and go to lunch at our favorite breakfast/lunch spot Nikos in Lower Jackson Square. On the counter they had small vases with various flowers in each. One grouping in particular caught my eye, and those are the colors I chose for this piece.

This row is raw edge fused appliqué, and it has not been stitched yet. Today is a grey, dull day with rain on the way so I thought this cheerful piece would brighten things up. Another bright spot . . .I'm meeting friends for lunch. Life is Good!!!

A Porcupine Masterpiece

I attended a quilt guild meeting this morning at our local library. This masterpiece was hanging on a bulletin board at the back of the meeting room. Isn't it wonderful! There was no name or age or other information to indicate who the artist was. In case you can't make them out, the quills are toothpicks. It made me smile and I hope it makes you smile as well.

Speaking of sharp critters, here's a tightly cropped, close up look at the red tail hawk photo that I posted earlier this week. Look at those talons!!! Yikes!!! Hawks have three claws facing forward and one claw facing backward on each leg. Fortunately for its prey, the talons' punctures usually cause instantaneous  death.  Not a cheerful topic, but nevertheless interesting . . .  [Be sure to click on the hawk photo to see the incredible detail.]

Colorful Birdhouses in a Row

Yesterday morning I looked out the porch window and saw this beautiful cardinal in the pine tree in my backyard. I have a 70-300 lens which works very well with large birds like hawks but no so well with small songbirds. Still I gave it a shot and cropped the image in my computer.

Coincidentally, I finished this paper pieced row of birdhouses yesterday afternoon. It was one of the patterns from the Row by Row Experience  from last summer. That makes three rows done so far. :-) I'm working on the rows which are spring/summer patterns. I really should make an effort to finish the rows before the next Row by Row Experience which begins at the end of June. 

This year's theme will be water. For those who do not know, from late June to early September participating quilt shops each come up with a pattern which they give to visitors to their shops. You are also able to purchase a fabric kit to accompany the pattern if you wish. I only purchased two or three kits as I am trying to use up some of the fabric which I already have. The whole thing is quite fun as it means lots of field trips with friends to collect as many patterns as possible.

Spring 2015

This photo was taken last night at 9:30 as snow was gently falling, three hours after spring officially began. Perhaps Mother Nature didn't receive the memo.

Serendipity Hawk Sighting

Isn't he magnificent!!! This was the photo that in my last post I promised to share. Let me tell you how it happened. As I mentioned in my last post, I was driving around Monday morning looking for something interesting to photograph. I was in Scituate driving along the driftway when bins began sliding out of the back of a pickup truck ahead of me and bouncing onto the roadway.  I honked my horn to alert the driver, but he kept going and I was able to swerve around them.  I followed the truck until the driver eventually pulled into a spot at the pier. I hopped out and told him what had happened about two miles back. He thanked me and went back to retrieve his bins. I continued on to the lighthouse in hopes that a puddle in the parking lot might might provide an interesting reflection. No such luck . . . 

I continued on the road from Scituate to Cohasset and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this red tailed hawk.  There was no traffic, so I backed up and shot the two photos while leaning across the seat and shooting out the passenger side window. 

After a few minutes I slipped out of the driver's seat and keeping the car between us, I shot the photo at the top of the page and the one below.

Be sure to click on the very top photo to get a larger, detailed view. I was beyond thrilled to have captured that image.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring!!!

Monday Morning with My Camera

My plans for yesterday morning had been changed, and I was feeling the need to go out and take some photos.  Since we had had a few inches of snow the night before, I reasoned that the waves might be up and that I might be able to catch some surfers down in Hull, so off I went. Well, the waves were there, but alas there were no surfers.

I continued on to Hull Village to capture this scene. 

I love the architecture of St. Nicholas United Methodist Church.

Next it was on to Scituate, but I'm saving those photos.  Suffice it to say, I was beyond thrilled with the photo that I will feature in tomorrow's post.

After Scituate, I stopped at the beach in Cohasset where I captured this seagull surveying his domain.

Just how high is that frozen mountain of snow, gravel and grit? Perhaps this photo will give you some idea.

The mountain stretched across half of the parking lot. Do you think it will melt in time for swim season?

Finally, as you travel along the "Rocky Road to Dublin" on this St. Patrick's Day . . .

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light

May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

                                                                       Anonymous

In case you were wondering, Boston born Blanche Ring was a singer, actress, and comedienne on Broadway for four decades. She introduced this song in 1915. I slipped this sheet music in with my flute pieces and in the middle of my lesson began playing it which gave my long-suffering flute teacher a laugh. :-)