For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Good morning to all of you on this beautiful Wednesday! The sun is shining and the sky is a wonderful blue this morning. It has been a long time since we had such a sunny, cloud free sky in the morning. It is definitely a delightful sight. I will admit, I do enjoy a nice sunny, clear blue sky day. It always seems to give me a fresh boost of energy and just makes me feel great.
We do need clouds too, they are necessary. But I still believe we need those sunny days too. And I thoroughly enjoy every sunny day we get, which this year have not been very many. Plus, sunny days are just so nice for photography, especially for certain things.

Male Evening Grosbeak.
Colors really burst out when the sun shines and that makes subjects stand out more beautifully and with more energy. I am glad I decided to try photography back in 2018, it is a wonderful hobby which can be enjoyed by all. I am certainly not a professional photographer, I am a hobby photographer, still in the learning stages really.
But it is a hobby that I really enjoy. Unfortunately, since moving here, I have not really been able to enjoy this hobby nearly as much as I used to when I lived at my last apartment. But I still get some opportunities to enjoy taking photos. Every day that I go out for a walk, I take my camera, just in case I get to see something of interest.

Female Evening Grosbeak.
I am hoping to walk down to the river a few times this winter. It is much too far to walk from here, but I can perhaps take a taxi to the place where the trail begins and get picked up a couple hours later. I do miss not feeding the birds though. That always gave such great opportunities to get photos of different species of birds, like the evening grosbeaks shown in todays photos.
And birds that come to feeders also attract birds that do not normally come to feeders. Birds really do attract birds. That was especially true in spring during the spring migration and so many different species would show up, including some that are hard to find. I have not noticed anyone in the immediate area feeding birds which is too bad.

Female Pine Grosbeak with male Evening Grosbeak behind her, stretching to look at me and see what I am doing.
On a slightly different note, my African violets are still blooming nicely, it is now 3 months that they have bloomed without stopping. They are a great easy care plant for growing indoors. Well, that is all for today. Thank you for stopping by, have a wonderful Wednesday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
Β©2023 Steve McLeod.
Steve, thank you for sharing some of photography. Keep your camera handy when the weather allows you to take a walk. Mild and sunny day here, and some farmers are still harvesting corn.
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It’s 38 and sunny here right now, not bad for us this time of year, should hit 41 later today, yesterday it was 46. Yes, I will take my camera when I go for a walk this afternoon. Most of our snow has melted, but some remains. Thanks for stopping by Richard!ππΊπ·ββ
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Such lovely photos of birds, Steve, and thank you for your descriptions. I’m glad you are experiencing sunny days and that your African violets are blooming nicely. πΊπββ
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It is so nice to have this sunshine and milder temps again. But we still have some snow left, the sun is just too low in the sky to do much melting. Thanks Eugenia, have a great day!ππ»πββ
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You’re welcome, Steve.πΈ
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Lovely photos of your feathered friends
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