Spring Sneak Peek.

This isn't the time of year yet that I can post brilliantly colored flowers and blooming trees. It's that in-between time of seasons, like early winter where the leaves are gone but it hasn't snowed yet. But this time, we get to have summer to look forward to!
The last week in New England has been "driving with the top down" weather...not that I have a convertible, but, I would if I did. So I do the next best thing and open my sunroof.

Even with temps in the high 60's, the flowers are still not blooming this early in the season...just peeks of little daffodil leaves here and there, no yellow yet. So we're left with the simple beauty of sunlight and nature..and feet in the sand at the beach...

Aaaand the birds are out. I'm hearing the babies are already being hatched, too. There is a nest of sparrows right next to where I park my car but I can't get a photo without really disturbing the babies.

Robins...always easy to spot, cheerfully chirping, and seem to like posing for photos, too.

At dawn the sunlight hits the budding branches just perfectly. My house is four floors high so this is my view every morning. Well, presuming I wake up at dawn.

House sparrow, above, on the right. These are the birds that are nesting near my house and next to my car. They are very cute but their loud chirping does remind me that I am NOT a morning person.

Hope you are all enjoying the rising temps in the U.S.... and I do have some friends who are now enjoying the colors of Autumn, so it's always great to see those photos filling my reader and facebook, too.  :)
Mary

Winter Birdwatching!

January and February are months here in New England where there is nothing much happening other than occasional weather freakouts and bread and milk stock-ups. It's a time for me when I find it hard to leave the house sometimes, nevermind find photograph opportunities! So I headed to a place where I knew nature wasn't taking a break, Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, located in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

I love chubby little chickadees, but they are very hard to photograph! Hardly ever staying in place long enough to click the shutter, they fly and move so fast.

And here comes the sneaky little nuthatch. His feet and huge, perfect for climbing quietly down tree trunks and even hanging upside down.

A fuzzy little woodpecker was making a racket, and that's the only reason I even knew he was hiding here. That, and his bright red hat.

Above is the adorable little titmouse.

And here's another chickadee with a giant sunflower seed, perched on the edge of a birdfeeder near the station.

To get you in that Christmas mood....

Japanese Maple leaf floating in  a pool....Los Angeles, California

A red dory in the waters of Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Apple Tree outside the elementary school... Abbot, Maine, Moosehead Lake region

Make a wish....Chepachet, Rhode Island

The very last colors of the season.....Lee, in the breathtaking Berkshires of Massachusetts

That's it for now....lots of twinkling lights and bokeh and warm socks and fires to come. I'm determined to try to slow down and enjoy December as much as possible. Bought some wool socks, brought in the old java logs for the fireplace, strung some colored lights on the mantel.

Also I bought some awesome lowfat Eggnog from Trader Joe's that is to die for!  I can't even believe it's lowfat, I am very suspicious..hah. (if you go to their website, they actually have some great foodie gift ideas!) What's everyone else doing to savor the season? Please share... xo..M

8 FREE textures :)...and some birds

  I recently came across some old photos that I reworked with texture and thought I would share them here. I also created a few new free textures....see below...

Northern Cardinal, my mother's driveway, East Greenwich, RI

Starlings on a telephone wire. Chatham, MA

And here are some free textures I created, feel free to download and use them in your photography or digital artwork! You can download them by clicking on them and opening in a new window below, or visiting my Flickr "textures" page here.  Textures are free and for use in your commercial or personal work...(no derivatives of my work, and not for sale as is...thanks!!)

November Leaves texture

Aqua Bubbles texture

Aqua Bubbles II texture

Coastal Bokeh texture

Make a Wish texture

80's Pink texture

I starting creating textures in Photoshop when I began using them from Flickr in a group that shares beautiful textures for use in digital creations...I always make sure to credit the original artist and have had countless hours of fun using these! I figured I could share them as well, and give back to this community that is so generous. My favorite Flickr textures group is Textures for Layers. I have also used various textures from Shana Rae of the wonderful Florabella brand. Her textures and actions are not free, but worth every penny! She is helpful and very talented! Her portraiture provides a lot of inspiration, and her blog is amazing. I highly recommend her actions, too- particularly the "Vintage" ones. They are my "go-to" actions for amazing, subtle effects!

Hope you like these....enjoy....and thanks so much for all your encouraging words...they really mean a lot! I know it's not easy these days to be able to find the time to visit/ comment on all the blogs we follow and enjoy reading...so those of you guys who read and leave me messages really make my day!  I do READ all of your blogs...I'm just lazy about commenting! lol. I am trying to be a better bloggy friend! Just learning now how to use my smart phone, so maybe that will help! :)   <3.... Mary

My Mother's Birds, Attack Spider, and 80's Cardinal

My mother seems to have a way of attracting some interesting characters to her backyard. Last year, she sent me photos of the hateful woodpecker that was eating her roof and waking her up every day. She actually considered buying the "Birds-Away Attack Spider", a creepy and kind of hilarious stuffed  toy-looking black spider thingy that supposedly drops down to scare off the offending woodpecker when he starts to peck. 

Seriously, you have to click on that link, it makes me giggle. Especially when they state that even though the spiders are exposed to wind, rain and such, that "[there is] an Attack Spider death rate of about one out of eight a year, or a survival rate of 87.5% per year".  ahaha!! 

 Not the pesky woodpecker, just a friendly (quiet) one I spotted one day. They're striking and easy to spot!

Anyway, I guess he left town since then but now my dad has begun complaining that the giant male Northern Cardinal that's been living in their yard for years has now started the bizarre behavior of"head banging" against his car mirror. Which I think is funny because the cardinal has hair/ bangs like he is from the 80's which goes along with the headbanging theme. The other day I visited and snapped some quick pics so my mother could see the birds up close (sometimes, my 300mm lens is like having fun binoculars that take photos!) 

Above, the 80's hairdo I was talking about..

Above a beautiful Blue Jay I caught hiding behind a branch..

A pleasingly plump American Robin. He was sharing a tree with Mr. Cardinal.

I can't wait to use my new lens more this Spring, although when the trees fill out it will be harder to spot the birds in them. Sometimes I just listen for their songs and then aim my camera in that general direction at its longest focal length and poof! They appear through the lens. Also somewhat unrelated but I would looove to visit Machias Seal Island in Maine/ New Brunswick (it is part of both the US and Canada) sometime in June or July to see the Puffin colony there.  Maybe I can convince my sister to make the 8 hour one way trip with me...:)

Around my house....my owl collection...part one!

I really don't know when my obsession with all things owly began, but slowly these little creatures have taken over my house. I actually don't even have room for many of them, so I have started rotating them around. My collection consists of figurines, huge 70's pendants, wade statues, suncatchers, stuffed animals, puppets, teeshirts, placemats, needlepoint, wallhangings, photographs, artwork, wood blocks, soapstone carvings, banks, plates, a wallet, a picnic basket, and more. I thought they would be cute to share on my blog so here are some of the little guys (and gals.)

Porcelain owl peeking into my camera.

Above, a copper owl bank with marbled eyes, and a chubby little barn owl made of hand painted stone.

 Above, I don't know what this is made of, but isn't he cute? I love his eyes sticking out over his head.

Above, this beautiful and funky suncatcher was only $5 at a local thrift shop. It's about 8 inches across. 

The owl on the right, above, is marked "Mexico" and I almost overlooked it at a flea market, not recognizing it as an owl! It's a very abstract and folky piece of art, about 6 inches tall..for only $3. Yes!

Above, the little guy on the left reminds me of a gremlin. The cute one. What was his name?

My owl wallet, which features 70's-style owl prints with little heart cutouts. Made by Bungalow 360.

Three little owls. The one in front is flat on the back and I thought of maybe turning it into a funky pendant by adding a bail, but I'm still debating. He's only about 2 inches tall.

Above: the basket in the back is an old picnic basket with a double opening top and cute little owl hand painted on the front. I found this in the Putnam, CT antiques district for $15 last summer. 

This mini needlepoint was only $0.50 and has its own frame and hanger! It's about 3 inches square. In back is an owl figurine that has a body like a whale and giant painted eyes. 

I really adore this guy, above, because his eyes are like twice the size of his body. Made of some type of glazed ceramic, I purchased him in Florida at a thrift shop for $3. 

So, that's part of my collection. I hope to share more of it soon. It's just hard to take all of these out of their little nooks and photograph them! I'm in the process of organizing my jewelry (the stuff I sell, mostly) so while I am at it, I'll put my owl stuff aside for a future post. I also have a lot of owls in my photo print shop. If you're into owls, too, take a look at my owl photos!  Enjoy...~Mary

New prints! Happy Weekend....:)

 

 "A Magical Time"  

 

"I know a place" 

 "Soft Landing"

 "Birds in Silhouette"

The Raptor Project!

I've been meaning to write about this for a few weeks now and I am so excited....when we went to the Barnstable County Fair on Cape Cod, one of the main draws (for me, anyway) was the Bird of Prey exhibit advertised online. What I saw there was probably the best selection of birds I've ever seen (is that the right word, selection? I wasn't shopping...) It was so amazing, because when you see these birds up close and personal you are in awe of their grace and power.

Above:  This beautiful Bald Eagle has an injured wing from being hit by a car while he was trying to feed on some roadkill. He is so calm and tender, he even lets a little girl feed him some meat!

It's always great to see them in the wild of course, especially when you're photographing, but it's not often you'll look into a golden eagle's eyes or get to hold a barn owl (during the day!).  The birds were all calm, beautiful, and really well cared for, despite their injuries all sustained prior to being taken in by the project. Many of the birds are rescues and/or cannot fly or live in the wild.

 Above: a Kestrel chirps during the show.

 Above: this girl's family runs the Raptor Project, and she helps raise the birds. This cute little baby Barn Owl will soon be old enough to be on his own.

Above:  This 12 yr old Eagle Owl gets a nice cool drink of water.

The master falconer, Jonathon Wood, his wife and beautiful daughter are all part of the show and travel nationwide educating and showing their birds of prey. They book fairs, festivals, schools, and more. Read more about their project here and spread the word- this is truly a magnificent show and something you will not soon forget!

  

Above: baby Hawks have not yet grown in all their feathers. They snuggle in this little bin and wait for lunchtime.

Above: this tiny Burrowing Owl shows off to the audience his small but impressive wingspan!

Above: this is what it's like to be kissed by an owl...:)