The Colors of Spring!

The beautiful goldfinches, resplendent in their spring colors are frequent visitors to my neighbor's many bird feeders. Here are two males and a slightly duller female.

Here is a closeup of the many Jack-in-the-Pulpits that are in the woods in back of our house.

Here is the beginning of another fern, also numerous in our backyard woods -- a fiddlehead.

Colors and textures are what most attract me in the wild. For some reason, I rarely see form where line and form are what seems to attract most people. Learning to capture line and form, important components to a good composition, has been a constant challenge for me. My camera and Photoshop have provided the best learning tools because of the immediate feedback. I took note of this squirrel because he and another one both had bushy brown tales which I hadn't seen before in our everpresent grey squirrels. They must be siblings.

Here are a goldfinch and a New York finch feeding at the bird feeder.

Here is one of the fragile cranberry colored trillium in the back. They are smaller and have more delicate petals than the white ones which look more hardy.

This is the white trillium, one of many in the yard this spring. The front yard is now almost covered with forget-me-nots in blue and white and now violets as well. The grass has just about given up everywhere except in the direct sun. The pear trees and cherry tree are also in full bloom now -- we may even get a cherry pie this year!

Our magnolia in front is in full bloom now and I always love the juxtaposition of the pink and brown against the bright blue sky.

One lone goldfinch partaking of a drink at my neighbor's fountain.

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This is Cheney's nemesis. This chipmunk insists upon teasing Cheney by sitting outside the door to the family room. I wonder if he wants Cheney to come out and play .