Focus on Life: Checking Out - The Beauty All Around Us!

Um, No, not really....

Yeah. Had a hard time with this week's prompt "Beauty All Around." If you have been following my Focus on Life posts for the past 14 or so months, you might have noticed that I usually have no trouble finding beauty. But for this week, I wanted to capture some natural beauty in my environment. 

But you know that time between full on winter, and balmy spring? We call it Mud Season. Some years it would be over by now. Not this year. I refuse to illustrate Mud Season. 

But I did get out there and searched for beauty. It was not easy. 

I got scratches. I had to look down. I had to walk in mud. And snow, and muddy snow. But near a small brook that drains off a natural spring, which sends up liquid water all winter...I found some rather fragile beauty.  

The very beginnings of pussywillows

Would you believe - skunk cabbage?

And some more skunk cabbage

Mossy rock in the water

Tiny ferns growing out of the moss

Let's see what beauty other people have found.

An InLinkz Link-up

Focus on Life: Reflect.

Reflections:snoitcelfeR

This week, we received the following from Sally Russick who has been coming up with interesting ideas for us to use as photography inspiration points for almost a year.

  REFLECT: The start of the Holiday Season is coming up quickly whether we are ready or not, so before jumping into all the hustle and bustle let's take a moment to slow down and reflect on all the joy, peace, happiness and love we already have in our life. 

I reflected on this theme, and decided that I would go for the literal photographic interpretation...I love photos of water reflecting light, foliage, and the sky. I also found an opportunity to show the moon reflecting sunlight, and the clouds reflecting the moonlight. And, as my husband pointed out, without reflection, we wouldn't see anything. Deep, no? 

But that thought is about as deep in thought as this blog goes.  I'm not sure how I would reflect my reflections on life in these pictures, but I hope they prove to be soothing and a suitable lead in to our busy holidays. 

Monday I went out in the morning to look for reflections. 

First I found a really cool effect of the sun reflecting off of power lines.

Then I found a small stream, you wouldn't notice it but for the reflections it showed.

Reflecting on this guy, he was so cooperative, letting me take tons of pictures.
He is a Muscovy duck, likely a pet, because these ducks aren't native here. 

A traditional "upsidedown trees" shot. 

But today, I tried something a bit different, I was looking for reflections at the other end of the day. 

If you look closely, you can see that there are geese in this picture,
 and they generate a little pool of reflection around them. 

Sunset on the water. Enough said. 

Moonlight reflecting on clouds, seen through the last of the leaves.

Goodnight Moon. 

See what the others are doing with reflection.