“Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more.”

“Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more.”

Vincent van Gogh quotes (Dutch Painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, 1853-1890)

  The area where I live lies below the Onondaga Escarpment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onondaga_(geological_formation)

In the early spring,  I call  it " muddy season" because the water pools and puddles in the park behind my house.  Frequently a pair of ducks leisurely paddle back in forth in a large puddle near my backyard.





 Now it is summer. The rains is more scarce so I went out for a bike ride in search of the ducks. I've been following the many small streams that meander through my neighborhood in Clarence Center, New York. 

Here we are ;~)  The momma with her baby ducklings. 

Understandably, she has been rather protective of her young. It actually took me several days of bike riding to get close enough for a few images of this happy family.

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_closer_look_at_wildlife/wild_ducks_of_north_america.html

Sometimes it is nice to enjoy the beauty of your own backyard.

Here butterflies and bees enjoy the nectar of a purple Buddleia bush in my garden.

 http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/bgq/buddleia.htm  

Tomorrow I am riding over to the Escarpment Sanctuary – A small nature preserve located on Greiner Road that is losing land to the upscale Spalding Lake development.

I'll be searching for frogs and turtles...