@Marion: Thanks very much Marion, YEP I'm 49 years old today, time does fly...lol oops just realise that this could be misconstrued as 49 post, which it isn't LOL

Daroru from Amagasaki, Japan

Happy birthday! Looks like the weather improved then?

21 Apr 2008 6:43am

@Daroru: Did it ever, just for my birthday, thanks a lot Daroru :)

Martin Gervereau from Paris, France

Bon anniversaire ...
J'aime beaucoup le coté paisible de cette photo que seul cet oiseau vient troubler ...

21 Apr 2008 7:41am

@Martin Gervereau: Merci bien Martin, c'est gentil :)

Craig from Vacaville, California, United States

Ahhh! Looks like heaven on Earth for your birthday! Love it!

21 Apr 2008 7:41am

@Craig: Me too lol thanks a lot Craig :)

Scotfot from Kabul, Afghanistan

Happy birthday Lorraine! Great picture, the intense greens jump out!

21 Apr 2008 8:11am

@Scotfot: Thanks very much Bob, I appreciate it :)

Alun Lambert from Cheshire, United Kingdom

very nice image, happy birthday

21 Apr 2008 9:19am

@Alun Lambert: Thanks very much Alun :)

[terrorkitten] from Bath, United Kingdom

Lovely sunny photo Lorraine to celebrate a lovely sunny day for you!

21 Apr 2008 9:36am

@[terrorkitten]: ahh how sweet, merci beaucoup mon cher :)

martie from Okinawa, Japan

49? Congratulations Lady! Great photo to celebrate life with too - and your caption I hope is your moto. Have a great birthday and I wish you many, many more you young thing!

21 Apr 2008 9:46am

@martie: Now, that just made me feel so darned young lol Thanks very much Martie, I appreciate it :)

Ina from Krugersdorp, South Africa

Excellent shot! The colors are out of this world!

Now I understand where your creativity comes from... and also your love for nature! It is in your numbers! (The science of numbers or Numerology). I also think it is one way of expressing yourself, it through your photography! The quality of your work is so high because you are very critical of yourself... and most of the time "no matter how good - it's nood good enough!" Don't be so hard on yourself!

21 Apr 2008 10:03am

@Ina: Wow, almost 100% correct...well 99.999886589236152 lol I'm mellowing in my need for self-perfection ...and that's very intriguing, thanks for your good wishes ;) I've had a need to hold a camera in my hand for as long as I can humanely remember ;)

shahab from Qazvin, Iran

Nice colors!Specially the color of water.Like that bird too!

21 Apr 2008 10:04am

@shahab: Thanks a lot Shahab, yep the bird made my day :)

Ina from Krugersdorp, South Africa

Ohhh! Got so excited about your numbers that I forgot to say Happy Birthday!!!

"May you always have love to share
Health to spare
and friends that care!"

21 Apr 2008 10:05am

@Ina: Sounded like a good birthday wish to me Ina ;) that's a lovely saying!

Betty from New Jersey, United States

Excellent shot, Lorraine. Beautiful color, beautifully sharp! Happy Birthday! Today is also my son's 30th.

21 Apr 2008 10:11am

@Betty: Thanks so much Betty, and very, very happy birthday to your son ;)

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

Happy birthday! :)

21 Apr 2008 10:53am

@Ana Lúcia: Muchas graçias Ana ;)

Janice Thomson from Canada

Oh yeah - love the title to this. A beautiful shot. Bonne fête ma chère amie!

21 Apr 2008 11:56am

@Janice Thomson: Yes indeed, thanks so much ma chère Janice :)

MJ from Delaware, United States

Happy Birthday... beautiful shot... lovely scene an great colors

21 Apr 2008 12:02pm

@MJ: Thanks very much MJ :)

Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States

Happy birthday, young lady! I guess I was 10 when you were born. Hope you have a great day and a wonderful year ahead.

21 Apr 2008 12:09pm

@Viewfinder: Thanks so much Vf, next year will be fun for both of us, give or take a decade lol ;)...it's a lovely day, I've had several coffees, played with my 3 cats, chatted with a squirrel, had another coffee, took more photos, worked on the lawn, happily received e-mails from all over the world wishing me a happy birthday....can't get better than that
ok maybe except for the sushi I wanted but the sushi chef wasn't there, so I'll have a poutine instead Yay!!!

António Pires from Lisbon, Portugal

49? You are still a youngster! Happy birthday.
BTW the sense of freedom comes from that unlimited landscape.

21 Apr 2008 12:28pm

@António Pires: You are soooo right, about the freedom that is lol thanks very much Antonio, Older IS better :)

yiannis krikis from thessaloniki, Greece

excellent landscape - at least a sunny image

21 Apr 2008 1:25pm

@yiannis krikis: Yes alleluia, thanks very Much Yiannis :)

yiannis krikis from thessaloniki, Greece

happy birthday - keep shooting and posting

21 Apr 2008 1:25pm

@yiannis krikis: Oh that I will Yiannis in fact for this year I've promised myself to get in better shape so that when I'm in my seventies I'm still out taking photos ;) thanks very much!

laughingwolf from Canada

yappy barfday, lor... and have another 49! ;) lol

great pic!

21 Apr 2008 1:30pm

@laughingwolf: Barfday? mmm maybe the poutine, I don't really drink, although I like to, I just don't think of it, mmmm maybe a little wine spritzer would go down well with a poutine, thanks so much...now go visit the kittens!

GJC from Kyoto, Japan

Yea! Happy birthday! And what an image to show off that you "still got it" than with this remarkable post. The framing even without the bird would be extra fine, but that bird in there is very dramatic.

21 Apr 2008 1:33pm

@GJC: Oh what I lovely compliment, thanks very much GJC, I still got it (well most of the time) ;)

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

"Happy Birthday" Lorraine, have a fantabulous day :)
This is wonderful hun, the colours the landscape, everything!

21 Apr 2008 2:41pm

@MaryB: ah that's so sweet Mary, I'm having a fantabulous day, drinking Tim Horton's coffee, talking to my cats, birds and squirrels, working on the lawn, taking photos, taking photos, drinking coffee, Love my day ;)

Observing from Chester, United Kingdom

'Happy Birthday'... 49 you're still a spring chicken. The photo is a picture of Summer, beautiful, and expertly framed. :)

21 Apr 2008 3:10pm

@Observing: Thanks so much Mike, I appreciate that very much, I like that to many of my visitors I'm a spring chicken...;)lol

Michael Rawluk from Prince George, Canada

The leaves make a good frame. It is snowing here. I want to fly freely.

21 Apr 2008 3:17pm

@Michael Rawluk: I heard how you guys are being hit by major storms, I SO SO sympathise, I swear I couldn't bear it anymore...I just found my picnic table, would you believe the bottom (at least 4inches) is dug deeply into the ground, nasty winter...It'll probably do what it did to us and within a week you'll have 25 celcius weather (that's what's it's like today) anyway I hope it :)

e. from New York, NY, United States

Ahhh!!! Happy Birthday! I hope it is absolutely wonderful! This is such a beautiful photo. :)

21 Apr 2008 3:21pm

@e.: Thanks a lot e., I appreciate it :)

amy from Rocky Mountain House, Canada

Happy Birthday to yooouuuu! Happy Birthday to yoooouuuuu! Happpppyy Birrrthday dearest Lorraaaaiiinne! Happy Birthday to you!! You share your birthday with my best friend... she too is 49 today. And a most beauticious image for your special day!!

21 Apr 2008 3:51pm

@amy: LOL music to ears thanks so much Amy, and a very happpppy Birthday to your friend too ;)

isabel from Portugal

Happy birthday Lorraine! You "caught me" !

Great landscape. Spring, at last :)

21 Apr 2008 7:11pm

@isabel: Finally!!! lol thanks so much Isabel :)

rem_la from Villiers, France

farcie avec des champignons, ca doit pas etre mauvais ........

ps: kalz a vloavezhioù all !

21 Apr 2008 7:40pm

@rem_la: ah oui? lol merci beaucoup pour le bon souhait :)

ManuelaR from Hainburg, Germany

Wish you all the best on your birthday... I am right behind you ;)
The framing and composition is fabulous on this take. Is that a goose or duck flying by?

21 Apr 2008 8:01pm

@ManuelaR: Hmmmm it's big, I know that much lol thanks so much Manuela, when's your birthday?

standley from brou-sur-chantereine, France

Joyeux anniversaire Lorraine. Tu t'es fait un beau cadeau avec cette somptueuse photo! Bravo.

21 Apr 2008 8:28pm

@standley: C'est un beau compliment, merci beaucoupd Richard :)

Ron from Saint Louis, United States

A beautiful image, Lorraine ... may it be a foretelling of the blessings that lie ahead of you on your journey yet to come ... Joyeux anniversaire!

21 Apr 2008 8:43pm

@Ron: What a lovely message, thanks a lot Ron :)

Mandy Provan from Johannesburg, South Africa

A very happy birthday to you Lorraine. I hope your day was a happy one! May you have many more. Beautiful image for your birthday...it looks familiar have you posted it before? I seem to remember the bird flying through the picture..... :)

21 Apr 2008 9:22pm

@Mandy Provan: Thanks very much Mandy, good eye, but not quite, this was part and parcel of the same day the other photo was taken, except the other one didn't have a bird to the right, it had the trunk of a tree, I think...;)

bronzebilly u.k. from Barry,Vale of Glamorgan, United Kingdom

Look out Lorraine,I can feel a Billypoem coming on...oh oh here it is :-
"Out the Door".
She calls her site.
She's Lorraine,who likes to write.
On this Birthday(sh'e one off fifty).
She mowed the lawn,so she's still nifty.
Camera in hand,she took this Vista.
What a lovely shot soul sista.
....
Best Wishes Lorraine..
Billy...

21 Apr 2008 10:05pm

@bronzebilly u.k.: Oh BBilly, you're wonderful, how neat is this....Thanks so much ;)

Gary from Cochise County, United States

Happy Birthday Lorraine!!!!!! I hope your day was special. This is a great image. For some reason I am fascinated with rolls of hay. This is beautiful.

21 Apr 2008 10:13pm

@Gary: Thanks a lot Gary, there will be more photos of rolls of hay, I kid you not lol :)

Ras from Plano, United States

Happy birthday. the rolls of hay did catch my eye too.

22 Apr 2008 1:58am

@Ras: Thanks a lot Ras, i appreciate it :)

Barbara from Florida, United States

49 could be the temperature that melted all of that snow. Just think you are old enough and if you were a temperature hot enough to melt it all away.
I am late but wish you and HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, at this age it is never too late. I was 4 when you were born.
I have added a little twist to a quote from Abraham Sutzkever (whoever that is) "If you carry your camera and childhood with you, you never become older".
Abraham Sutzkever
Someday we may all look back on this digital age and how more advanced than this we have become.

22 Apr 2008 2:02am

@Barbara: LOL You are sooo smart Barbara, thanks very much, I love the quote ;)

Stunner from Kingston, Jamaica

Such a beautiful and serene scene! Lovely shot. Another person that shares my month yay!!!

22 Apr 2008 4:42am

@Stunner: Thanks a lot Stunner, when's yours? :)

Illuci from Hurdegaryp, Netherlands

Un souvenir du paradis, j'admire surtout l'oie, c'est bien qu'elle n'est pas au milieu de límage, comme ça elle est encadrée par les feuilles. Les fougères ont un effet un peux mystérieux et exotique qui fait penser au paradis. Merveilleux!

22 Apr 2008 12:38pm

@Illuci: Quel beau compliment, merci beaucoup Erik :)

laughingwolf from Canada

ok i'll visit asap...

22 Apr 2008 5:10pm

@laughingwolf: Thanks Wolf, a bit too late I'm afraid :)

laughingwolf from Canada

i just tried, and they are not there! :'(

22 Apr 2008 5:14pm

@laughingwolf: You know, spring comes around, suddenly you're often out...it'll be back one day, it always done...who knows maybe by that time, you'll have your photo UP lol