Flashbacks Years ago, before I ever picked up a camera, I carried a rifle, shotgun, or bow in the field with me. I hunted as often as possible – not for trophies but for the meat or fur. Through those untold hours in the field I developed wildlife observation techniques, I learned the ways …
Not So Much What We Saw, But That We Saw For the past three years, going on four years, a close family member and I have been making semi-regular trips to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As you might expect, if we are doctoring at Mayo we are probably not dealing with the …
What To Do in Single-Digit, Windy Conditions Ask anyone in Northeast Iowa what the outdoor world was like today and they will tell you it was cold and windy. If they were outside, they probably had the area almost to themselves. For most people, a day like today meant spending most of the time …
This is One and What They Do and Looking for Color So far this winter, at least for me, has been the ‘Winter of the Barred Owl.” Time and again I have been able to find them and photograph them. Over the years I have watched barred owls calling too many times to count. …
The Calls Before the Storm Nearly a week has passed since I last “talked” to the barred owl pair near the Wapsipinicon River. Knowing the weather will likely limit my transportation ability to visit the birds, I stopped out this morning to converse with them. In very little time the birds were moving toward …
Hunting for Food or Hunted for Food About this time last year I had plenty of opportunities to photograph ring-necked pheasants as they scratched and struggled to find food to survive the challenging winter. Not too long after I photographed a bald eagle that had captured and killed a rooster ring-necked pheasant in the …
A Few Seconds Preserved For In-depth Study I have no explanation, other than divine intervention, for the high number of random, unusual wildlife interactions I enjoy at very close range. Such incidents happen often and at all times of the day and night. Really, I cannot explain them. For example…This morning as …
If Squirrels Could Talk (and a little more) Mr. Squirrel on the Right – “What do you think…please?” Ms. Squirrel on the Left – “No, I said NO!” Mr. Squirrel on the Left – “Come on, PLEASE?” Ms. Squirrel on the Right – “Ask me one more time and I am going to …
An Owl Threesome Weekend Friday and Saturday I photographed barred owls, some images recorded with two of our grandkids with much excitement. Today when Kristy and I went for our “Week 2 of 52 Hike” I photographed a saw-whet owl in a cedar tree. Three days with owl images captured each day! We …
Less About Photos, More About Sharing Kristy and I were treated to grandchildren here for most of the weekend. Whenever that happens, I take advantage of the opportunity to share the outdoors with the youngsters. Already they understand much about nature and why it is important. The highlight of today was actually tonight when …