Male Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Mars, PA
So elegant in your tuxedo
with your bold and bright red tie.
You sing such sweet melodies
as you spread your wings and fly.
You grace us with your beauty
as you come to eat some seed.
We put it there to nourish you,
but it is our hearts that you feed.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The showers beat down,
the wind blows strong.
We drip and wilt –
all tousled about.
But afterwards…
we are refreshed
and renewed.
We are given new life.
We are nourished and vibrant and ready to grow.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
They are so romantic…
it is better than a rare love story film.
They each peck at the feed for a moment or two,
then meet up in the middle to peck each other.
You say one is feeding the other,
but I see them each feed themselves.
Some say why feed them in the summer
when they can find their own food.
But then I would miss this kissing…
Woodpeckers falling in love.
Cheers and Hugs and Woodpecker Kisses,
Jodi
This photo is being shared in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Off Season
PS On my daily morning call with my Dad yesterday morning, I was telling him about how cute these woodpeckers are eating and “kissing.” As we were talking, a woodpecker flew by him on his porch. We were watching the woodpeckers at the same time in our homes an hour apart. He asked, “Why haven’t we seen a picture of it yet?” You see, he reads my blog every day, and we often talk about it. So here it is Dad! I ❤ You!
You know that Dos Equis “guy” who is famous for saying, “Stay Thirsty My Friends?”
When I am water color painting, his voice runs through my head…
“Stay Loose My Friend.”
I know – you do not want inside my head – eh?
So when I picked these beautiful, vivid peonies from the “other side of the house” this past weekend to make a fresh centerpiece for the kitchen table, I had the urge to paint.
I know I don’t have the skill to recreate the actual image…
but that is what I LOVE about watercoloring!
To me – it is freedom.
Freedom to express creativity.
It is not about recreating the exact image.
It is being inspired by the image to create your “own thing.”
So after watching an inspiring tutorial by Janet Rodgers, I decided to “wing it.”
In 15 minutes, without even sketching first, I just took paint and water to paper and created my “idea” of the peony.
Janet talks about just throwing water on the paper and keeping it “loose” and just the idea of the actual image – not the exact color nor the exact representation.
Watercolor allows you to express your vision of the image.
Mine is so far from artistic perfection,
but oh what freedom it is to create!
Thanks for visiting.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the little grey squirrel that visited our deck
Hello little Squirrel…
are you a boy or are you a girl?
I love the way your fluffy tail
has such a happy curl.
We thought you were so cute
the first day you gave the bird feeders a whirl.
It was fun to watch you leap and jump
and prance and dance and twirl.
But you were a bit of a piggy…
eating more than your fair share.
So we had to give a shout
that gave you a little scare.
I sure hope that your feet – that are a little biggy
withstood that leap and kept you springy
from the tromps and claps and shouts
of that old meany Papa Bear McKinney.
Have fun climbing trees and running about,
but please watch out – – -don’t take the route
that causes us… to chew you out.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The circle of life goes on.
Monday was one of the saddest days I’ve had since I began blogging.
But at the same time we experienced a great loss in our family, we also have the joy of watching this sweet little family that built their nest right outside our bedroom window.
Don’t you love the teamwork?! (I hope you enlarge to watch this “riveting” video in full screen).
Baby cardinal was 8 days old here. When Momma didn’t have anything for her to eat….
Poppa to the rescue! What do you think that green thing is???
And did you see how quickly it went through Baby? LOL!
How many more days till Baby flies the coop?
As you might have noticed, Baby is an only child. There is still a lonely little egg in the nest that just doesn’t seem like it is going to hatch.
The circle of life.
It is a beautiful, sad, happy, joy-filled experience.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
One of the many benefits
of living in the country
and such a
sweet surprise
is when
hubby mows the lawn
but drives around
a patch of wildflowers
leaving them intact
to add a patch of purple
amidst the green
to take my breath away –
enveloped
not only in the beauty…
but also in the gesture.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Baby Cardinal – 3 days old
Dreaming of the places
her wings will take her
when she learns how to fly.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The wait is over!
Remember I shared with you that we had a Momma Cardinal building a nest and then laying eggs right outside of our bedroom window?
Well – right on time – on Mother’s Day afternoon – the first baby cardinal was born.
You can barely make the little bugger out above, and he/she isn’t quite what you might call “cute” yet, but oh what a thrill!
And I wasn’t home when it happened!
My Mother’s Day started out with a trip to the gym in the morning with my youngest son, Nick. When we got back home, I was surprised to find my oldest son, Jake and his wife, Colleen in the kitchen with hubby, Marty preparing a beautiful surprise Mother’s Day brunch. What a sweet way to start the day – eh? It began with a Mother’s day toast of orange pineapple mimosas, homemade chocolate-covered strawberries, pastries, bacon-wrapped filet Mignon, cheesy potatoes and luscious miniature spinach and brie quiches. And as if that wasn’t enough, there was fresh flowers, cards, and a bunch of fun watercolor art supplies. Am I the luckiest or what?!?
After stuffing ourselves and relaxing and visiting a bit, the kids asked if I wanted to go play tennis (which I haven’t done for years!), so off we went, leaving Marty and Mikey home to enjoy some much deserved and coveted quiet R&R time. After about two hours of sunshine and tiring, sweaty, but oh so joyous running around the court and hitting the ball to racket a few times, I got a text from Marty with this photo:
We had been watching diligently as this was Day 12 after Momma laid her eggs, so this little baby can’t be more than two hours old here, and likely less.
As the day grew dark, still only one baby and one egg remain, and Momma is keeping them both warm.
Is that the icing on the cake for my Mother’s Day or what?
Happy Monday friends.
Wishing you joy in cherished moments.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS – I thought this photo would be a perfect submission for this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Forces of Nature. What greater display of nature than this?! A brand new birth – the most extraordinary force of nature.
My favorite, dear Bleeding Heart,
are you happy or do you mourn?
Your bright color smiles,
but your tears look so forlorn.
You show us the beauty we oft overlook,
and elicit a pause when our own hearts are shook.
(My bleeding heart plant is my favorite of all in my yard. It has moved with me a couple times as it was a plant given to me by my Grandma. It is a symbol to me of her very special heart every year when it blooms. It reminds me of the joy and the sorrow of love. It demonstrates the intense and powerful artistry of Mother Nature. I could never create or imagine anything more beautiful.)
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS: I love the intricacy of this flower, and this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Intricate.
the creative life in between 