This beautiful world

I just really love this time of the year. Spring has got to be the best season of all. As I've gotten older and have taken the time to stop and "smell the roses" so to speak, I've come to really appreciate this beautiful world that we live in.

I took some time last week and walked my neighborhood with my camera in hand to try and find some signs of Spring. This tree makes me want to sing "Popcorn Popping". These blossoms really do look like popcorn. Wouldn't that be yummy? A real popcorn tree. There I go again...relating everything to food. Anyways, I wanted to do this post mainly because I wanted to share with you how I felt about this beautiful time of year and to share with you some of the photos I have taken.I will admit that some of the flower pics are from last year, but if I didn't share them then I'd be wasting some perfectly good photos now, wouldn't I?

I love daisies. They're one of my most favorite flowers. We're lucky enough to have one of those 300mm lenses where we can zoom into objects from a distance. I took this of a bird that just decided to rest on our back porch one day. Even though I was still fairly close to him it didn't seem to bother him. And Kaylee took this picture of the roses.

Spring reminds me of new baby animals too. We live near some horse corrals and I think this is the first year we haven't seen new colts jumping around in their stalls. So these pics are from last year. I ended up giving these pics to the owners. They were so happy to get them. I just think when you're a farmer you don't think to take pictures of your animals.These two were born a week apart. The owners loved that I caught them nuzzling.We've had over the years so many experiences with animals from being in this house. We love the jack rabbits that nibble in our yard. Or the squirrels that showed up one Summer after I harvested the blooms from our row of 8 foot sunflowers. They would load their cheeks wih the seeds and run off across the street somewhere and I would literally see them run back and reload again and again and again. It was so amusing! I haven't always looked on these experiences as positives, but in my older, sentimental years I appreciate them so much more. It has helped me realize how much work God has put into the creation of this world. The land, water, animals, flowers, trees & bushes, insects and even human life was so thought out and how each has a purpose. I take time now to really look at things. I look at things with more of a curious eye and wanting to know more. I hope that I can help my kids realize the beauty that surrounds them. And have a better appreciation of it. I took a trip with some friends last Fall to the Grand Canyon. I realized how tiny we are in comparison to the size of this world. Looking at these mountains made me think I was going to fall into it. You almost get dizzy just looking at its size and beauty.

Kaylee learned about the solar system shortly after school started last year and she had to take some time every night to look at the moon and it's many stages. We saw a lunar eclipse one night and I think she gained a better knowledge of the moon and that it doesn't just sit there every night. I tried to zoom in as close as possible with my camera one night to capture this gorgeous full moon. Yes, this is a real picture. I thought it turned out pretty good considering my flash doesn't reach that far (I knew it wouldn't) but it was worth a shot.

In the early part of the morning when I go out to exercise, my friend Brooke and I always take the time to notice the sky. We also notice if it's cold or not...ha! But that's beside the point...anyways. We love to see the stars and moon. We love to see the mountains of So. Utah and how they look as the sun comes up. We go just at the perfect time where we can see the dark of night and light of the day. There's just something about being out in the world just as a new day is beginning. Try to get me to exercise a year ago at 5:30 in the morning would have been a joke! But since then I've come to realize that I need to be more open to trying new things and receiving a better knowledge of those things. I can TOTALLy see why people get up so early to do what they do. Believe me it was hard at first, but I'm so adjusted to it that I can't see it done any other way.

Before I close, I'm reminded of a primary song verse that goes something like this... "I'm so glad that I live in this beautiful world that Heavenly Father has created for me". I am truly grateful for the beautiful surroundings I live in. So remember... when your outside next, stop and ponder his creation. It will give you the warm fuzzies. Smiles!