February and January because I forgot to post it!

I have two pictures for this exercise this month. They are linked, both taken on the same day.

February

The landscape was taken in the morning at 11:20.
The morning started so dull with a very heavy mist. We were on Salisbury Plain, which is very beautiful when not shrouded in grey.
I decided to take a few landscape pictures with a kind of hopeful attitude, not being able to see much at all apart from a few dark shapes in the distance.

I used a texture on the sky to give it a bit of life.

The birds were taken in the afternoon, 16:00.
As we drove over to Longleat the mist began to lift and by the time we arrived we were looking at blue skies! I forgot about my hopeful pictures in an instant.
I was overjoyed, taking pictures of very photogenic and obliging giraffes; so close you could touch them.
Then I looked up and saw starlings swirling in the blue sky. I have always wanted to see the clouds of these birds IRL, you know the ones that you see in photographic magazines? I know this isn’t quite a cloud but the sight of them lifted my heart.

The landscape reminds me to stay optimistic and the birds remind me why.
From a murky misty morning to a beautiful blue, bird filled sky, all in one day. And it was my birthday.

January

My photo – heart connection for January is from the farm on a day the sheep were lambing.
My son was there with his girlfriend. He rang me and asked me to join them. “…and don’t forget your camera” he was calling…
I choose this, of a sheep and her lamb, just 30 minutes old when I made the picture.
Yes it is so very cute but when I saw the picture on my screen I also saw her looking at her lamb, ever watchful like every new mother.
The picture tells me it’s a new life, but it speaks to me of a new start, change and hope for the future as is happening in my life right now.

This picture speaks right to my heart, of hope and love and joy that he called me to share his morning.