Spring has sprung!

We've had some unseasonably warm weather here in New England, and you know what that means... Spring flowers are starting to blossom and bloom! I took some really nice shots of some magnolia tree blossoms, some hyacinths, and captured some early Spring adventures.

Magnolia blossoms seem almost magical to me. They start out a cone-shaped bud almost like a tulip or a crocus. And then explode into pinkish-white flowers the size of my hand. Slowly each petal will drop off leaving a carpet of pinkish petals to cushion your steps.

I love the blending of color from dark blush to the palest of pink white.

And I love unknowingly walking past a blooming hyacinth and smelling that sweet perfumed flower fill the air. I absolutely LOVE the scent of hyacinths. It's one of my favorite flowers to plant under a bedroom window. Can you imagine waking up to that glorious scent every morning?

How in the world flowers so tiny can produce such a rich, heady aroma is just beyond me.

I used to think that forsythia were my allergy enemy. But a friend shared with me that it's one of the least pollen producing plants around, so now I'm not afraid to get up close and personal with what I once thought of as "The yellow bush of death".

Let's take a closer look at one of the hyacinths in full bloom, shall we?

See the little droplets of water on the petals? The skies decided to give me a little Spring mist as I wandered around capturing the shades of pink and the varying stages of bloom.

How perfect can a tiny little bud be?? Popping out of it's fuzzy exterior to be kissed by the rays of the sun... The tiny little fuzzy buds look almost like pussy willows before they explode into colorful tulip shaped buds.

Even an overcast, grey day is a great day to be at the park when there's a warm breeze and blossoms about! I have so many more photos to share with you, I'll keep this post a bit short and prepare to show you some more of Spring in New England!

As a P.S. to this post, today's my son's 17th birthday. Hardly seems possible that someone who was once so tiny, has grown so quickly into a wonderful young man. Happy birthday, son. I love you more than words can express. And I look forward to capturing all the moments of your journey. Follow your own path, follow your heart, follow your dreams...

My covered bridge obsession

One of the things that I love the most about living in New England, is that I get to indulge my obsession with covered bridges. New England has more than her fair share of beautiful covered bridges, both new and centuries old. I love going for a nice long Sunday drive with my love and coming across one that I've never visited or photographed before. I was especially excited to find this one last Sunday on a random drive through the back roads and scenic byways of New Hampshire.

Built in 2011, it spans a small (now partially frozen) pond and waterfall. I can't wait to see what this lovely little gem looks like in the Fall with all of the bright foliage on display!

It looks like they're planting some grass on the small hillside, I'm looking forward to revisiting this bridge in the upcoming seasons. Maybe I'll do a side by side after I collect shots from all four seasons. Something to look forward to!

I can imagine children ice skating on the little pond, a light snow falling, a thermos full of hot chocolate to keep warm...

And just take a look at those gorgeous beams! I'm so glad we happened along this beautiful new covered bridge. I'll have to gather up some other covered bridges I've captured in seasons' past and put together a whole post of various bridges.

It was such a beautiful cloudless day. The kind of day that still has a chill to it, and the wind comes in gusts and gales. But the kind of day that reminds you that Spring is absolutely on it's way... Early flowers will soon be erupting from the ground. And the trees will start to grow their first pale green leaves...

I would love to do some portraits here... So many photographs pop into my head!! Time to recruit some friends to model for me!

This is going to be a perfect place to pic-nic with the kids once the weather warms up.

I hope you enjoyed seeing one of the many covered bridges that brighten the New Hampshire landscape. I'm glad I could bring it to you!

*Edit*

We had a late Winter snow storm the day after I posted this blog and I wish I had waited! I didn't want to wait for another blog entry to share these amazing snow covered views of the bridge! This will be a double post as far as photos are concerned, but I don't think you'll mind.

Picture perfect landscape, yes? My son and I had to trudge through over a foot of powdery, but COLD new snow to get from the parking lot to the actual bridge. The things I'll do for gorgeous photos.

The frozen pond and trees just look so dreamy and fairy tale like....

I couldn't get enough of this small little covered bridge. Doesn't it give you the feeling that you're going to come across a Wintery faery with blue and white feathery wings and icy sparkly blue make-up! I smell a photo shoot involving this location!

Who wouldn't want to put on their ear flap hat, grab a thermos of hot cocoa and just enjoy this beautiful spot for awhile?

I know this was a bit of a long post with the extra photos, but I knew these were worthy of addition!

Retro

So I've become somewhat obsessed with the editing process of layering my photos to make them look like old retro photographs. I just love the "feel" of them after editing them with this technique. The soul of them. I hope you enjoy them too! I have a BUNCH to show you, so I'll keep the stories to a minimum.

Pink Tulip

Old church

Tarot cards

Boarding the USS Friendship in Salem Harbor

A friend's terrier named Shelby

Train tracks

Seaside

Reflections

Kissing horses

Country life

Seagull

Mariner's widow

Old brick building

Chasing birds

Nuzzled up

Searles Castle

Wedding decorations

White and purple daisies

Loki Clan wolf dog refuge

Old church

Nature's boquet

Seaside

I like the idea that I can change the whole mood of a photograph just by layering some colors to make it appear older. How do they make you feel? Which ones drew you in and told you a little story?

Holidays and happy times

Hopefully you've all recovered from the holidays and are welcoming in the new year. May it bring you and yours bright blessings, full hearts and healthy homes. We haven't had any snow here in New Hampshire since the "Snowtober" storm we had on Halloween. So I haven't taken a TON of scenic photos this year. But I'd love to share with you some of my favorites this season...

A family of Santa hats hung by the door.

And stockings hung by the fireplace.. Waiting to be filled with goodies, toys and treats!

A beautifully decorated tree and presents waiting patiently to be ripped into.

A miniature town on a snowscaped windowpane just makes you want to peek into the windows.

 There's nothing better than a silly friend in a goofy hat to make your holidays complete. Unless...

It's a slighly perturbed kitty in a Santa hat giving you dirty looks.

And of course, I can't leave you without any scenic shots. And I did happen to capture some nice shots worthy of sharing with you. So we'll go for a ride, you ready to go?

It's almost sunset in Seabrook, New Hampshire. The marsh is starting to freeze up for the night. And as we leave, the rays of sun look like fire in the sky...

Too beautiful of an opportunity to stop and take some photos, no?

White birch trees. The few remaining leaves fluttered in the breeze like butterfly wings. I so wish I could have captured the movement for you...

Now that the sun has set on 2011, and we're ushering in our hopes and goals for 2012.. Let's toast to eachother, and be thankful for those who love and support us.

Do what makes your heart feel full...