Quilter Bear's photostream

Quilter Bear's photostream on Flickr.

Here are some recent photos... Enjoy!

My Expotition (A. A. Milne's word)

This is what it looked like when I left home Friday. I was off for a ride alone, to explore and take photos. I had a long chat with a neighbor. Up until today, I didn't have a relationship with her, but we talked for a long time in her driveway (a fav spot of mine to sit... lots of pics of it will be here, I'm sure) and became better acquainted.  Although it was quite warm out it was not uncomfortable at all, so it was a good day for the expotition. (Pooh-speak for "expedition")
The first thing I saw as I went up the hill from home was this:
 Look on the lower of the two rocks, near the crook... he sat there for the longest time letting me take picture after picture! He is actually a baby, I realize, and not the mom/dad that normally sits on the rock, nearly taking up the whole space of it.

When I was talking to my new friend there was the Mama whistle pig out with her two babies on the hill behind the truck. I have been watching her for a few weeks, and this is the first time I've seen the babies out and away from their hole. They have often played a few inches away, but this is quite far. In whistle pig inches, I mean.
It's too bad that my camera is so poor, as these are adorable creatures with the cutest faces. Google "whistle pig" or "groundhog" and see them standing up!

After chatting with her, Bear joined us and I took a photo from her driveway looking down to our house. I love the mountains in the background. I love our mountains PERIOD!



I went down the neighbor's hill and decided to take a little ride on my own, so Bear went one direction and I went the other. Thirty seconds or so after I turned away from Bear, I looked up and saw this:



I hope you can see the three deer in the photo. I have enhanced the original photo a bit in order to try to make the deer a bit more visible. It was dusk or just before (twilight?), which is when the deer usually come out in our garden/yard. They stopped and stared straight at me for several minutes, motionless. If I'd had a better camera, this would have been stunning. It was breathtaking!  While I was watching them, barely even breathing, a bird flew down onto my foot!



  A few minutes later, they turned away from me (to their left) and soundlessly, gracefully, bounded across the road and into the little subdivision. I enjoy riding in that area, so I followed them (far less gracefully and much, much more slowly!).  I took a little video of their "escape" but it didn't really capture them well at all. I remember their white tails so vividly, though, so that's okay.

I was trying to adequately describe the way they moved when they crossed the road, and truly what came to mind was a very muscular male ballet dancer who virtually floats high above the floor, legs extended to the front and back as he goes from left to right on the stage. Hope you "see" what I am seeing in my mind's eye!

I went to the subdivision where they'd disappeared. I absolutely love being there at dusk or just after. The sky is always beautiful, and the birdsong is always rich and loud. The best part? The distinct lack of "people" noises.


Deep breath in.......

After a bit of de-stressing and letting the day's worries flow away, I moved on through the subdivision. It has an exit closer to home so I head that way.





Back home, I found Bear and our neighbor deep in discussion. I left them to it, but took some snaps.
I have adjusted the lighting on the photo so the people are more visible.



Night has come...

The last thing I see before I open the door and go back to my inside world...

Good Night, Moon

Green field a few days before St. Patrick's Day, 2012

I keep taking photos of this little building at the edge of this little field. It is on the next street over from our neighborhood, and I don't know what the appeal is to me, but it is definitely there!  

This was taken before the trees budded, back in March. I'm sure you'll see this a lot here :)

Here is the building close up, taken April 29th:

This is Mr. Bear with Bella on a leash (not in picture) in front of the field. Thought that might give you a bit of an idea of the area in which the field is located.  

Mother's Day gift from Bear, Beautiful strongly-scented double tulips!

Mother's Day gift from Bear, Beautiful strongly-scented double tulips!, a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

This is what the tulip looked like when it bloomed, and it was gorgeous!

There was an orange one and hot pink mixed with orange as well. Only one is still "good" today, but these photos have allowed me to enjoy them for a long time to come. Just wish I could capture the scent! :)

The Tulips are still blooming...

The Tulips are still blooming..., a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

These were a gift to me on Mother's Day by Bear. They are highly scented double tulips.

Goldfinch in flight, fighting with another male gold finch, and "Jack"in his favorite spot.

Goldfinch in flight, fighting with another male gold finch, and "Jack" in his favorite spot., a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

Goldfinch in flight, ready to fight the other male for pride of place.

We call all cardinals (red birds) "Jack" because we loved Fannie Flagg's A REDBIRD CHRISTMAS. We have starting all female Cardinals "Jill" though she wasn't featured in the book. :)

Hello, I'm so glad to meet you and to welcome you here!

I have become extremely interested in photography, so I would like to have a blog devoted to the photos that I take here in the Heart of the Appalachian mountains.  And in case we haven't yet met, My husband named me "Bear" and coincidentally, that is his name as well.

I travel a lot through this beautiful area in which I find myself. Bear and I moved to WV/VA/TN/KY mountains on July 2, 2003, sight unseen. He is an Englishman (well, for the first 50 yrs of his life) and I've been a Kansas Sunflower until Illinois and Texas wooed me away. We met in Kansas, and three years later we ended up here, in REDNECK HEAVEN ;) .

We love it here, despite the two of us being city folk, and feel as though we've lived here always.  We're both retired now (me, a psychotherapist specializing in grief and trauma resolution counseling for adults, adults hurt as children, and children. Bear was an algebra teacher and musician/teacher trained at the Royal College of Music in London).

I  hope to post at least one photo a day and I do love to hear from you!