Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: thanks

(+5 insets!) (please view large!) :) I've just returned from a chilly but bright and sunny morning walk and my body is ticking with energy coursing through my veins. How vitalizing it is to get some invigorating exercise at the beginning of the day. It really makes me feel motivated and ambitious. After all, I've done something so good for my health and well-being at the very start. What better way to set yourself up for a series of wins, progress, achievements and successes?! Besides all of that, getting outside when the world is waking up around you is a wondrous experience with the twittering of birds and their songs and calls heard from near and far. It is a joy I missed out on for so many years. How lovely to get up early enough to be immersed in this daily marvel. Sitting down at my computer, I hop onto ipernity and check out the Explore section. Who is showcasing today?! Gazing at the selection of 27 pictures on the front page, I sit in wonder. So much talent. Such a vast variety of photography. The creativity boggles the mind. Pictures from literally all over the world, in all types of formats, from a dizzying variety of cameras. Exquisite images from seasoned professionals and from budding talent as well. Some have such a wonderful, recognizable style that you can tell who took the picture without glancing at the name. Others are unique and exciting and beg for a click so you can see what other pictures they've taken. Inspiration drips from the page. How grand to be part of it all. The community at ipernity is incredible. Wonderful, warm, intelligent folk who, like the pictures on Explore, cover a vast range of personalities and interests. Photographers can be very quirky and plenty of us spurn society for a gamut of reasons. But here on ipernity we can reach out and make friends. Isn't that wonderful. In my "real" life, the "in-person" friends I have fit onto one hand, perhaps two if I include family. But online, my friends and acquaintances number much closer to 100 or more! What a difference! In "real life" I am shy and very wary of people, but online I am extremely friendly and gregarious. Isn't it all so very interesting? I am extremely grateful to have the chance to be friends with people from all over the world, all walks of life, and who allow me the chance to know them. It is an honor and a true gift and I thank you all for allowing me to be part of this fine platform! *BIG HUGS TO ALL OF YOU!* Today happens to be St. Patrick's Day so I'm posting a picture that's very green! This fern was photographed in San Francisco a couple of years ago. Steve and I walked through part of Golden Gate Park to get to the Conservatory of Flowers' dahlia exhibit and on the way we stopped to take pictures of some of the fabulous plants found there. Ferns of many kinds grow everywhere and this one did not miss my gaze. (I'm also including some other green images for you to enjoy!) Pam, isn't it wonderful to be a part of this amazing group of people?! We are so lucky. And because of ipernity, we got the chance to meet…how cool is that?! :) Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to find a nice green picture on your stream and decided on a wonderful picture of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird sitting in a vibrant green oak tree. What a beautiful bird with her iridescent green feathers! It really is fun doing searches in your photo stream--it shows me how few I've actually seen and then I get the prize of appreciating them! Thank you for your lovely comment about my flower pictures! I'm so happy to read that you have been able to see a few of the flowers that are blooming for you now. I hope you can find great joy in these pretty spring sightings…one day at a time my dear! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 3/18/19, highest placement, #6.

2 more pictures in notes above! I've been doing a lot of thinking about gratitude lately. I have so much to be thankful for, and today I want to say THANK YOU , delivered with a warm hug to each and every one of you. I want you all to know how much it means to me that you visit and leave comments and favorites. But most of all, I want you to know how thankful I am for your friendship, and for the camaraderie we share here at ipernity. You have all made me feel welcome here in my new home. I have made so many new and wonderful friends. I am so grateful for those of you who have joined me here from Flickr, and for those of you who have made a special effort to give ipernity another try, and have found that you just needed to put in a bit more effort to discover how special ipernity really is. Thank you all for making me feel that I have some talent as a photographer and writer, and thank you for sharing your feelings with me. I am grateful for the opportunity to see the world through your eyes, and for the virtual adventures I go on around the world through your wonderful photography. Because of every one of you, I am a better photographer, and a better person too. I learn so much from what I read about your pictures and from the stories and articles that you write. The time I spend visiting your photo streams and reading the comments that you leave for me fill me with so many emotions--joy, happiness, laughter (and often howling cackles of mirth), fascination, wonder, and sometimes sorrow and regret. It's all important though, and I am very thankful that I am allowed to know you a little bit more every day. So...thank you everyone!! I am so happy here and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such a fabulous community and ever-growing group of friends. You mean the world to me. *big hugs to all of you* Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. Wikipedia: Henry Ward Beecher Explored on August 24, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.