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.

Santa brought me snowshoes this year! A friend and I headed out last week to some local trails not too far from the city that I didn’t even know existed! It was a much needed nature break. I didn’t take very many pictures, I didn’t want to bother my friend, a non-photographer, with my constant stopping. She is very understanding, however, as her husband is also a photographer.

When we arrived and started getting our gear ready, the snow started to fall in big, fat, soft flakes. The best kind of snow!

After a while the snow slowed and mostly stopped. The trails were quite compacted, so snowshoeing was loud when we were in motion. We’d stop every now and then to rest, soak up the view and enjoy the silence out in the woods. We never saw another person out on the trails, though there were numerous vehicles in the parking lot. Some were cross country skiing, some were “fat biking” (bikes with very large tires that can be ridden on snow), some just walked their dog out there. There are different trails for different activities with tracks laid for cross country skiing on those trails.

I was astounded that I didn’t know about this trail system and I look forward to going back in other seasons to explore a bit. I could see that under the snow in some places were open meadows and wetlands. A day out in the trees and fresh air is just what I needed! Spending it with a friend was the icing on the cake. I look forward to exploring this new found area some more.

Next in the circle is Ohio photographer, Eileen Critchley .

Click the link to see what serenity looks like for her this month!

Thanks for being here.

May 2020 Serenity Blog Circle - Spring Serenity

January Serenity Blog Circle - New Year, New Activity

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All photographic images are copyrighted to Lori McLellan