Magnolia skies

Good Sunday morning all! It's set to be a beautiful day here in the Northeast and I am so looking forward to it!

Yesterday I was out and about trying to find some pretty pictures to shoot for you. Right now that's not to difficult considering so many trees are in full bloom. Flowers are everywhere and I love it!

Magnolia's are so mag-nificent.

I find it odd that as soon as they bloom the petals start turning brown. Is that a New England thing because we have cold nights? Not to mention they have the oddest smell. A bit repulsive and yet rather intoxicating at the same time. 

Yesterday afternoon was such a delightful surprise to see that the Bluebird eggs have hatched! There's a bunch of little black, fuzzy, brand new babies in the nest. Although I'd love to take a picture I don't think its possible. She built the nest so tall in the bird box that it's hard to even see the babies! 

Last week when I checked there were 6 perfect little blue eggs all lined up in two rows. Counting down the days I knew they were due to hatch by this past Friday or Saturday. Mom and dad seem quite busy now foraging for bugs. I've provided mealworms but their interest in them has suddenly dropped off. As the babies get larger I imagine it will pick back up again.

I wanted to let you know how I processed these images. Just for fun I used PicMonkey on all of them! 

In order, here is what I did:

Sepia, faded to somewhere around 50% (I washed it off the pink flowers on my bottom image)

Tranquil, faded to around 50% (or so)

Added a little Focal Soften where I thought it was needed, and adjusted to my taste

Under Exposure I upped the highlights to brighten the photos

Burned the Magnolia flower a bit to make it stand out

And finally added Rounded Corners

Usually I use PSE10 on my photos but I really wanted to try out PicMonkey and I have to say I'm very pleased with the results. It's such a fun program to play around with for everyday photos. After Picnik went under, people were scrambling to find something else. PicMonkey is developed by the same people who made Picnik, only I think it's better. More modern, organized, and with better options. Once its up and running 100% I'm sure it will be amazing. It's also a very easy program for my teenage daughter to use. She of course loves the Touch Up/Make Up options.

Isn't this the prettiest archway

Time to get started on my day. Much to do like make the bed, pick up the morning dishes, take a shower, and finish hanging the valances in the kitchen. Hopefully work in the garden a bit too. Oh I just love saying I'm going to work in the garden : )

Have a great day!

*Thank you all for the kind and helpful words, and personal emails concerning my back. It's hard to believe so many people have bulging discs!

 Two days before I had my MRI I started wearing a back brace. Every day, all day I wear it and I will tell you nothing has helped the pain like the brace has. My back is not 100% but the difference is dramatic! Tomorrow morning I go for the results of my MRI and fortunately I don't feel the dread I felt a week ago when I went in for the tests. Phew!