In the Rain (+ A Bonus)

Even though much of today was moist due to rain or drizzle, I still went out to look for wildlife and/or wildflowers. After all, life in the outdoors continues in all types of weather. Rain just means I have to work a bit harder for observations or photos.

I will share images in this order - a mammal, birds, and then wildflowers with a bonus to follow.

During my looking around I saw several cottontail rabbits. Each appeared to have had enough of the rain as they ventured from safe hiding spots to easy feeding areas.

My most unexpected bird observation was a green heron that first caught the longest worm I have seen. In fact, I thought it was a small snake until I looked at it on a large screen. After the worm meal the heron rested on a branch and then had to shake off water.

Two trumpeter swans did not seem to mind the rain. There was much swan feeding going on.

Not too far away this American coot was doing the same thing - feeding in the rain.

I felt a little guilty for the effort these goslings had to exert to follow their parents away from me. They seemed to be doing fine though.

I will end the outdoor images with a few wildflowers with rain drops. Overcast skies and water drops made everything look pretty, even if the flowers were drooping.

The “Bonus” image for today is something I worked on early this morning. For some time I have been trying to improve my macro image quality. Part of that success is extending the sharpness in an image when the depth of field is so shallow (typical in macro work). Today’s project was focus stacking versus achieving high magnification and sharpness with optics. I like the way this “high key” view of an orchid blossom turned out. This is certainly something different for me.