Tree Branch Full of Gold

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.

 ― Jim Bishop

Linking Up with Weekly Top Shot

Bunny Here, Bunny There, Bunny Everywhere

-Do you see the bunny shape in the leaf? (top just to the right of the vein down the middle of the leaf)  and to the left of the bunny - an upside down Polar Bear - or it could be a Moose.

Really - It's true!  Do you see them? 

And a REAL Bunny from my front yard!

Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.

~ Albert Einstein

Eastern Towhee Series

Through the branches ~ I Spy ~ An Eastern Towhee

Able to catch him in mid-hop

Gotta love that Wing Flutter

I've got nothing to do today but smile.

~ Simon and Garfunkel

Want to hear how the Eastern Towhee Sounds?  Click HERE 

Linking Up with Camera Critters

Finding Peace of Mind

A Closer Look at the Monarch 

I believe that "yellow" on the underside of the Monarch is pollen

Wishing you a Day filled with a Peace!

Appreciate the Moments

Stop to appreciate the moments. Summed up, they are the bricks of our soul.

~ Gary Rudz

Linking up with Rural Thursday

Waiting to Be Discovered

Unknown bird seen 09-14-12

Trying to hide from me in the Goldenrod.

A better view!

The world is always open, 

 Waiting to be discovered. 

~ Dejan Stojanovic

Your help with ID on this bird is appreciated!

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday

A Country Scene

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World, 

With the wonderful water round you curled, 

And the wonderful grass upon your breast, 

World, you are beautifully drest!  

~ Kate Douglas Wiggin

Along Heritage Trail - Blacksburg, Virginia

Another iPhone image

Linking Up with Barn Charm 

Tiger Eyes

"Tiger" peeks over a wildflower 

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. 

~ Louisa May Alcott

Linking up with Macro Monday

Free October 2012 Calendar

  I said "Goodbye" to Summer - and I am saying "Hello" to Autumn 

I shot this 09-22-12 - some of the leaves are really starting to turn already.

I have a MUCH Larger version of this image available for download - just leave a comment with your email address and I would be happy to send it to you.  Or you can email me - 

I am - kerrik312000 at yahoo dot com  

Happy Autumn!

Goodbye Letter to Summer

Dear Summer,  

It was so nice of you to bring such lovely weather these past three months.  

I've had such a good time chasing the butterflies and finding some interesting bugs.

Thank you for the many hours of Joy you brought to me.  I'm really going to miss you.

Take care and come back soon!

With Warmest Regards,

Kerri

PS - please let Autumn know I am looking forward to seeing him.

PSS - Can you ask Winter to go easy on us this year?

Dusk and the Crescent Moon On Afton Mountain

Traveling along Interstate 64 in Virginia - dusk arrives on Afton Mountain

Still round the corner there may wait 

A new road or a secret gate 

And though I oft have passed them by 

A day will come at last when I 

Shall take the hidden paths that run 

West of the Moon, East of the Sun. 

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

All shots taken 09-20-12 with my iPhone from a moving car

Linking Up with Skywatch Friday

Baby Grasshopper

A single day is enough to make us a little larger or, another time, a little smaller. 

~  Paul Klee

Low Clouds

There is always light behind the clouds. 

~ Louisa May Alcott

Low clouds along I81 - near Roanoke, Virginia 09-18-12

Taken from our moving car, thru the raindrops on the windshield, with my iPhone 

Shades of Virginia

Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, ....  

~ John Ruskin

About the image:  Made as we travelled thru Virginia on our Labor Day Holiday.  Taken in Strasburg, Virginia with my iPhone.

One Step At A Time

Linking Up with Macro Monday

Oh What a Lady!

Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about. 

~ Marilyn Monroe

Another iPhone shot - this time of a Painted Lady Butterfly right outside my parent's home.  

A wonderful sight to learn about this butterfly and many others found - HERE 

Linking up with Your Sunday Best - And - My First Linkup with 

Thee Networking Bloghop

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Fritillary In Flight

Crop 1

Crop 2

Crop 3

Don't ever give up. 

Don't ever give in. 

 Don't ever stop trying. 

 Don't ever sell out. 

 And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off.  But never, ever, ever give up.

 ~ Richelle E. Goodrich

I have spent hours and hours and hours trying to capture butterflies in flight.  This is the result of one of my outings.  I was shooting into the sunlight - so it is not a great pic.  I haven't seen many Fritillary butterflies so it was Very Special to me to capture this.

All three images are the SAME image - just cropped 3 different ways.  I wanted to show you how lovely he is up close - and progress out to show you the entire scene as I saw it.

Image Made 09-11-12 - Heritage Park - Blacksburg, Virginia 

Linking up with Camera Critters

Free September Calendar

Sorry I'm late with getting this up.

As always - if you want a high res version just email me (my email is in my profile info)

 or leave comment with your email address and I'll send it to you.

Happy September!

Virginia Views

The touch of an infinite mystery passes over the trivial and the familiar, making it break out into ineffable music... The trees, the stars, and the blue hills ache with a meaning which can never be uttered in words.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Along Interstate 81 in Virginia.  Another shot from our moving car - with my iPhone.
Do you find that you are using your camera phone more for taking pics?  Are you shooting out the window of the car? (with someone else driving of course)

Linking Up with SkyWatch Friday

Mockingbird Tosses A Berry

Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.

~ Kahlil Gibran

About the image:  09-09-12 - Heritage Park, Blacksburg, VA

Delighted that I actually caught the mockingbird "tossing" the berry (99% luck)  

Nature AMAZES me every single day. 

The Greatest Treasures

Simplicity, patience, compassion. 

These three are your greatest treasures. 

Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.

~ Lao Tzu

About the image:  Leaf looking a bit autumnal - Heritage Park - Blacksburg, VA 9-11-12

The light played with this shot with the leaf revealing the shadows of other leaves on itself.

f8 - ISO 400 - Aperture Priority 

Butterfly Drinks from a Wildflower

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. 

~ Oscar Wilde

Great Blue Heron Lands In A Meadow

Life is so great that we only get a tiny moment to enjoy everything we see. And that moment is right now.  

~  Neil Pasricha

About the image:  Great Blue Heron at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge 

08-31-12

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday 

To Honor and Remember

It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.

~ Rose Kennedy 

Iphone Image shot from moving car last year on 09-11-11

Little Red Barn

The perfect journey is never finished, the goal is always just across the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.

~ Rosita Forbes

I snapped this Little Red Barn from our moving car as we travelled along I81 in Virginia.  My iPhone is a GREAT distraction from the traffic and I find myself "snapping away" at all of the sights.  This was the first trip in recent memory that I didn't get anxious about the traffic.   In fact - it made "getting there" so much more enjoyable!

Linking Up with Barn Charm

A Simple Change In Perspective

Perspective is the most powerful tool we have. A simple change in perspective can change a loss into a win, a failure into a success, and a disaster into an opportunity. Your perspective is what turns your life into a wonderful adventure!  

~ Edmond Danken Sailer

About the Image:  Made on 08/26/12 - Heritage Park, Blacksburg Virginia

I saw more painted ladies in 2012 than any year since I've been observing nature (2007)  And for a different perspective on this little lady - Click HERE 

Linking up with Macro Monday

Wide Open Spaces

Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! 

 Why do you stay in prison 

When the door is so wide open?

 — Rumi

Another iPhone pic from Ocean City from our Labor Day Holiday

Linking up with Your Sunday Best

Goldfinch Feeding

Love wins, love always wins.

~ Mitch Albom

Daddy Goldfinch feeding baby.  How wonderful it was to experience this sight first hand.  Observing nature is one of the greatest treasures found on this amazing planet.  

Seen on my lunchtime walk - Heritage Park Trail - Blacksburg, VA 09-07-12

Linking up with Camera Critters 

Casper In The Clouds

But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination. 

~ E.B. White

As we were traveling along in the car near Suffolk, Virgina - I looked up and saw Casper in the Clouds.  Do you remember Casper the Friendly Ghost?  Do you see Casper when you look at this cloud?

E.B. White is one of my FAVORITE authors!  His Charlotte's Web was the book that started my life-long LOVE of reading.   Did you know that the EB stands for Elwyn Brooks? I didn't - but I think that is a LOVELY name :) 

Linking up with Skywatch Friday 

Beauty in the Beholder's Eye

I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, -- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. 

~ John Constable

Turkey Vulture -  Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge - Cambridge MD 08-31-12

His face may not be a raving beauty but those feathers ......oh, those feathers.... are amazing!

And to be so close as to hear the "WHOOSH" as they flap their wings - truly an awesome experience.

Endless Possibility

Each new day greets us with no rules except for the rules we place on it. Greet this new day with open arms and endless possibility.  

~ Steve Maraboli

Image made with my iPhone and snapseed edit.  When I saw this pier in Ocean City, Maryland - my very first thought was that it looks ENDLESS.

Spend the Afternoon

Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you. 

~ Ann Dillard

About the Image:  Made with my iPhone and edited with Snapseed

Taken in Ocean City, Maryland - Assawoman Bay 

The grasses are called Phragmites - you can learn more about Phragmites on

Wikipedia - HERE 

Sunrise on 66

The sun coming up in the morning is enough.  

~ Ralph Ellison

Taken with my iPhone out of  a moving car .... I NEVER pass up a sunrise :)