First Good Planets of 2007

Welcome to this first 2007 edition of Good Planets celebrating the majesty of our natural world. We'll start with the sunrise over SW Ontario submitted by Ruth of Body, Soul, and Spirit. A beautiful new day is dawning.

Susan's cousin Cathy at Left Curve sent in some tulips photographed last spring at the Boston Public Garden.
Robin from Dharma Bums caught this Red-Tailed Hawk soaring over the Larry Scott Memorial Trail along Port Townsend Bay on the winter solstice.
Susannah of Wanderin' Weeta sent this view (reflected in a plate-glass window) of stern-wheelers and the "Sky Train" on the Fraser River, New Westminster, BC. Old and new, both in operation.
Evan aka *whisker* sent along this beauty. He writes, "I just got back from Saba in the Netherlands Antilles." He sent many beautiful photos; I chose this one to post simply because it looks the least like any view I've ever seen!
Bunny blog that this is, there's the requisite beautiful bunny pic shared by Sharon. This is their story, written by Sharon: "Not sure if this is too domestic a small wonder, but this nest of bunlings was (and remains) quite a breathtaking wonder for me upon their arrival 07/25/03, 2.5 days (yes, 2 point 5, not 25) days after I adopted their dear mamabun from our local SPCA. A complicated gestation of a remarkable 43 days (30 the mean norm) led to complications that resulted in two dark lops failing to thrive, but here are the five plucky survivors, a week later. As initial shock resolved, Dick and I determined to set the babes on their course, have them neutered, socialized, and foster them for placement in loving homes. Two weeks later we were hopelessly smitten, unable to part with any of the wee terrors who continue to dominate our home today. "
The Fat Lady Sings sent this image of migratory birds and writes, "There were literally thousands of them, filling tree after tree. The sound of their chattering was deafening."
Maggie from Banter, Bones and Breath sent this from her favorite park: Sawgrass Lake in St. Pete Florida.
Pam at Tortoise Trail writes, "... one of my goals for this year is to learn how to take closeups. I'm always fascinated by the detail the camera can show me that I had no inkling of before. ... I photographed [this] in the Tucson Botanical Gardens last February. I had no idea what the flower was until I noticed today that the centre pattern looked similar to that of the red poppies I photographed in my friend's garden in Canada. I took a wild guess and googled "white poppy" and came up with Icelandic Poppy."
Sarala sent this from Bryce National Park in Utah. She considers it one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Recently relocated to Florida, Vicki writes, "Up until a couple years ago I couldn't envision myself spending any time in Florida. Now that we have a little aging bungalow right by the bay I am enjoying the respite from Northern winters. One of the very best parts is the birding. This place is rife with stunning water birds. I hadn't seen a yellow crowned night heron before yesterday. This handsome fellow was making the most of a very low tide."
Jimmy from Details of Nature sent this photo of a Showy Lady's Slipper growing in the woods nearby to his home.
Naturewoman sent this view from Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona.
Yankee Transplant writes, "Here is a picture I took at the playground just up from my house, where I would take my now-grown kids when they were little, in Boston. We had a beautiful ice storm in February of 1990. This close up of a bush, its branches laden with ice, brings back great memories of the wonder on my daughter's face when she saw the playground transformed into a winter extravaganza. "
My own submission of a captive Barred Owl, cared for by the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge and used for educational purposes, photographed at the Tuckerton Seaport in NJ.
Carolyn from Roundtop Ruminations took this photo of the sunset near her cabin at Ski Roundtop near Lewisberry PA.
Gary sent this gorgeous view of the last sunset of 2006 over the island of Niihau from Polihale beach on the west side of Kauai.

And finally, the first pic I received for this week's submissions from SB Gypsy of the moonrise on 12/3/06 in central Connecticut.

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Can you believe that this is just over half of the photos that were submitted to Good Planets this week? I'm delighted with the examples of beauty and wonder found by those sending photos. Kudos and thanks to you all for taking the effort to submit them. Please note that many photographers submitted more than one photo, but I've only posted one by each. Getting these photos up tonight has been something of a comedy of errors. The first 8 photos were uploaded quickly by Blogger, but then it went downhill when Blogger refused any more pics. The rest were uploaded via my Photobucket page, so if you click on them you will be directed there. I apologize for that. For the first time in more than a year, I then lost my internet connection - three times! - causing me to have to redo this post multiple times. If there are any errors, please understand that it's late and I've been at this for over 6 hours now. Let me know of the problem and I'll fix it first thing.