Inspired by Jenn's Color Crush 73 (April ColorPlay) Boxes and Papers

Inspired by Jenn's Color Crush 73 (April ColorPlay) Papers, and ET's magnolias. we don't have them but I think maybe Alabama (where Jenn lives) probably has them.

You knew you'd have to wait while I took photos of the ice on the cherry blossoms that had just bloomed the afternoon before. I had a thing for ice crystals, no matter whether they were, on the river or on the flowers.

I knew that if a dictator took over our country, I'd be fairly high on the list of those to be punished. I had spoken out. And it wasn't until they passed a major aid bill for Ukraine and Israel, that we both started to relax. It was a sign that everything had shifted. We were going to be OK.

I support Ukraine, and leading up to this Earth Day I was distressed a bit about how things were going there as I worked on this piece. I started with the scorched earth feels. Then my mood and the words on my card changed as the earth shifted with new funding for Ukraine and Israel from the US.

We had buds on everything all at once and the flowering crab had just turned bright pink. And there were daffodils. I loved the spring snow that wasn't so bad but there were several gray snow days in a row. We were glad for a rest when everyone was coming down with colds.

With the last two solar eclipses, I was taken by the way leaves turned into little pinhole cameras and the sidewalk was so interesting. This one wasn't worth much bother, and it was hard for me to move. Inflammation beasts were awake in both my hips and shoulders from my new physical therapy.

Just a page from my daily journal. I try to use everything as soon as I get it, discovering what I'm drawn to in each kit can be relaxing and always a surprise. Equally interesting, is what I skip over (like flowers), often because I don't connect with them or don't know yet how to use them to...

I tossed some oats on the sidewalk. They disappeared day after day, and finally I saw a robin in the sunshine, but he was gone by the time I grabbed my camera. Then two at once. Still too slow, but I think I am waiting for the perfect moment and enjoying the ones until then.

I loved the tree outside our 3rd floor window. The birds would stage on the hotel's roof and swoop in for some catkins. I didn't know all the birds, but lots of chickadees that were too fast for me, and the sparrows that stayed much longer. There were four at a time just before sunset.

With all of the unexpected sandhill cranes, it was our best trip ever for cold weather photography. Our usual room wasn't ready and the one we got had a tree in front of the window. We told the desk we liked it and they said they'd add that to our profile.

Thursday was our last day to visit the refuge, and it was much easier to count the 25 sandhill cranes that remained. We had a clear sky without a single cloud. With fewer birds, I was able to study the way the would lean forward, take a running step and lift off. I took dozens of photos.

Thanks for the challenge. I thought of how I made Stone stop at the tiniest pond on the refuge because I liked the fog lifting off the water. :p

Thanks Esther for this challenge! ;)

I'm just happy we're seeing cranes again this month, they're supposed to be farther north by now, but we feel very lucky to enjoy them. And inspired by Jen's Seeds of Love paper.

Thank you for the challenge! It was fun.

There were no avocets, but we parked facing the avocet island. And right away we noticed two white Leucistic Canada geese on the west point. Then a dusky Canada goose also caught our eye. This was the first time we spotted these, and there is only one in 30,000 birds.

Thanks for the challenge. The words to the poem I picked, brought up a lot of feels, which of course had to come out in my page. ;)

On two very windy days, we saw very few birds. Then on Tuesday it was calm weather again, and there were at least a thousand red-winged blackbirds on the reeds. They flew off when we stopped too close, and we were back to finding just one here and there singing for a mate.