Spring always brings such hope after the long winter - trees leafing, plants poking out of the ground, longer days, warmer temperatures, the beautiful song of migrating birds.

This hopeful season has never been more needed with the past few months of crazy, scary circumstances around the world brought on by the virus COVID-19.

For 2 months now, the mantra has been “stay home”, which I have, other than for the essentials like food. I’ve wanted to go for some drives on back country roads with my camera, and even though it really didn’t break any rules, it didn’t feel right so I have busied myself with photography on my own property.

Last Friday though, I hit the road with my gear and headed to the foothills south of the city to see how Spring looked down there. The weather was perfect for a little road trip. Bright blue, sunny skies with warm air and the definite feeling that Spring had arrived!

Rocky Mountains looming above the rolling hills

Trees are just starting to leaf out and are that special colour of green that you only get in spring.

While I was shooting these trees, a couple drove by about 3 times. They finally stopped and asked what was “up there”. He surely thought I was odd when I told him I was just “shooting the trees”.

Last Year’s flowers - still waiting for spring blooms here.

While stopped beside a pond at the beginning of my drive, I noticed this bird, which I’ve never seen before. He was such a good poser and allowed me to get several frames of him. He had the sweetest little “cheep cheep” sound and I could hear several of the same bird answering across the road. When I did my research back home, I learned it was a Snipe.

I was thrilled to see several Mountain Bluebirds and lucky enough to spend some time observing a pair for a while.

The males are the most brilliant and beautiful colour of blue! He was very patient and obliging with me.

I need to do some research on the nest boxes and who keeps them up and labels them etc.

There were a pair of tree swallows hanging around the nest box as well and for a long time I was unsure who was actually claiming the box as it’s home. I’m pretty sure it was the bluebirds.

The tree swallows were so comical with their expressions - in my imagination, I saw them arguing or gossiping as they sat on the fence line.

It was a great way to end the week and regain what felt like a little bit of normalcy after 2 months of isolating.

Stay safe my friends.

The Serenity Project is a collaborative photography project featuring images that bring a sense of peace and calm. Please continue our circle to to see what has brought my friends serenity this month.

Follow the link to see what brought Nancy Armstrong, Kansas City Fine Art Photographer serenity this month.

Enjoy this month’s circle with my talented friends.

The world needs serenity and peace and calm more now than maybe it ever has in recent decades. The images I chose for this blog post are from about 10 days ago, which seems like a lifetime ago. So much has evolved so quickly in the past week in our world due to the COVID - 19.

I have so few words to share, my brain is tired from what has been happening. I hope you get some sense of peace from my images and those of my friends in this blog circle. I am grateful that the beautiful outdoors and nature cannot be closed. Even if it’s just a walk down your street, in a park or in your own backyard, try to enjoy a few moments of fresh air and nature.

My two friends and I went out for a snowshoe in the mountains about 10 days ago - we laughed and talked, enjoyed the snowfall and fresh air, stopped for pictures and ended our afternoon with a well deserved meal. I will look forward to more days like that when all this craziness has disappeared.