Woodies, Frogs, and Skeeters in the Puddle Patterns

There is an area where I frequently paddle my canoe or kayak during the warm weather months that is almost always hosting something interesting in the wildlife category. To date I have not ventured far from the shoreline due to thick vegetation and muck.

Since there are no leaves on the trees, I thought today might be a good day to look at what makes this small space on…

A Plea for Respect and Tales on Ice

I have debated whether or not I want to put these thoughts in words, but for the sake of others I am going to.

This morning I went for a mild, winter hike at Babcock Woods in Waverly. I was only a short distance up the trail when I heard noise behind me. A quick look back identified the sounds as a dog approaching me. When I stopped, the dog stopped in an alert posture. The dog’s person (not handler) called the dog back where I thought she was going to put it on a leash as the park rules/sign state. Apparently that did not happen or if the dog was leashed, it did not last long.

I continued my hike and was about 2/3 of the distance back to the forest/prairie trail. Suddenly the same dog ran past me then stopped, turned around, and ran right at me. I yelled at the dog and swung my monopod at it to prevent whatever was going to happen. The person who brought the dog (30-50 yards behind) was pushing on the dog’s remote collar and making it beep, but the dog was not reacting. Eventually, after I yelled “Git!” and swung my monopod at the dog, the dog ran back in the woman’s direction at she was saying something like “Don’t be a naughty dog.” It took some time before she got the dog under control.

Folks think about this. What if I had been an older person out for a walk with nothing to protect with? What if I had been a kid? What if I hadn’t had my monopod to swing at the dog? I will tell you, had I not had my monopod with me, things would have likely gotten very uncomfortable in that timber for that dog.

Dog owners who cannot follow the rules must understand there are those of us who have been traumatized by dogs in our pasts. If you want a dog, then be respectful of others. Leave it home or keep it on a leash. Follow the directives on the signs. Do not make me feel like I have to take strong action to avoid an attack. Do not force my hand to end a threat. And do not begin to tell me the dog was friendly. If it was friendly, you would not have been beeping the collar that did not help or telling it not to be naughty.

When I reported the incident I mentioned that a person should not have...

Abstract Images and Balanced Thoughts

Around mid-afternoon today I hit a psychological wall. Mentally I was done, there would be no more “work” energy spent at the close of my work day. I decided at the appointed hour the computer would be turned off and I was going to go out and enjoy an hour or so of drizzle, fog, and pretty much dark conditions.

Most would not be too excited with my plans… I understand. For me though, I needed to get out. It was time to fill my lungs with cool, moist air as I listened to the sound of dripping rain and melting snow. That we did not have a blue sky day was irrelevant. I had part of a day to soak in nature - literally and figuratively. I needed it and was going to enjoy it.

As I looked for possible images to photograph under the moody conditions, the thoughts of…

OK - I am REALLY Impressed!

Tonight was a big test for new camera equipment for me. I challenged the drone with a mix of lighting, and no light, while shooting a longer exposure, while hovering. Could this piece of technological wizardry do it? Would I have an acceptable image (white balance, sharpness, properly exposed)? I think this picture speaks for itself. (I know, the composition isn’t anything special. This was a technical test.)

Like I Used To See

Years ago we were subscribers to National Geographic magazine. Each month the magazine with the yellow border on the cover would introduce me to far away lands, wildlife, or views of common areas seldom seen by ordinary people. As I studied the pages I would think about how fascinating it would be to shoot for National Geographic - either…

Please, Just Chill!!!

Apparently this adult bald eagle has a burr somewhere causing it to have a short fuse.

I spotted the bird in a beautiful setting - the top…

Birds I Don’t Often See in January (and a couple I do)

Today was a cold, windy, blustery day of travel in four counties. By the end of the day I had photographed three bird species I don’t see every day in January and a couple species I can readily find. Let’s begin with the less common birds.

Brrrr….

During a bit of gravel travel today I noticed our wildlife appeared to be taking advantage of the calm conditions. It was still cold (below zero), but the wind was tolerable.

I found and photographed ring-necked pheasants and whitetail deer. Also seen were…

Tales in the Snow and Reconnecting

What began as a snowy hike to search for winter birds became an exercise in reading stories in the snow - at least two of them.

Story 1 appeared to be a short saga indicating the demise of a cardinal. Based on the number of feathers present at the scene, I suspect this bird may have put up some resistance, but not much, before it was carried off. This may well have been a case of bird-feeding in a literal sense - a bird of prey may have swooped in for a meal.

Cold Conditions with Contentment

Days before a family member and I traveled to the healing spot to the north I was thinking about this composition. Yes, I have featured this tree before, but no - not in snowy, blustery conditions as we had this afternoon.

Since the weather was providing us conditions different than normal this afternoon, we…

Not What It Appears

This picture does not show a whitetail buck in hot pursuit of a reluctant doe. What the image does show is a buck and doe (two of maybe a dozen and a half) whitetail deer heading over a hill after my stopping to photograph them spooked the group. I wonder if…

Giddy for Nothing

Imagine this guy (me) headed down the highway and seeing this at blurred speeds. (see below)

Sand Crane Along Wapsipinicon River

With great hesitation I share an observation from today.

Somewhat hidden along the Wapsipinicon River was this older sand crane. Notice how the crane was on level ground, not on a hill. Had it been on a sandy hill, this could have been considered a sand hill crane.

Incoming, Parked, and Planted

Early this morning I spotted white shadows, if there are such things, moving low over the wind-blown, snow-covered field beside me. Very quickly I pulled safely off the road to watch the scene as the incoming trumpeter swans approached and passed over me. That few seconds were “Wow” moments, especially after the many cloudy and snowy days we have been enjoying (not really).

Scenes From Today - A Variety

After repairing my once-every-few years obligatory “snowblower breakdown when I really needed it to work” this morning, I explored our area of this cold dirtball. Actually, I did shoot a couple of photos as soon as I went outside early today, as seen below. For the record, we do not remember ever having drifts so tall in front of two of our main doors. Its a good thing we didn’t have a fire!

As Most of Us Groaned

As most of us groaned (or worse) from the comfort of our homes about this blizzard we are enduring, our wildlife is toughing it out, however they do it.

I went for a short drive for two reasons - to assure I could get to a highway if needed for work, and to look for wildlife under these blustery conditions. I did make it to a highway and I did find wildlife.

Yesterday I mentioned wanting to find horned larks, Lapland longspurs and snow buntings. Today I found…

My Goal is to Do Better

Now that we have snow covering most of the area, horned larks and likely Lapland longspurs and snow buntings are easier to see. In fact, many sections of roads now have the sparrow-sized birds along or on the roads.

I made my first horned…

Full Ditches at the Tundra

My mother frequently describes our country setting as “The Tundra.” Today I cannot argue that point. With the wind it was just cold outside. With yesterday’s snow and wind our ditches are full already. Thankfully we are into the second week of January already, so it won’t last as long as a November winter storm.

I recorded a second picture to capture the…

Major Geekness

As of today, I now have an obstacle avoidance strobe for my drone. One might think it would be easy to simply attach and fly at night. Oh no… now I am wondering about balance…

Two for a First Time Saw-whet Owl Searcher

Today was a first for my brother when he joined me on a search for a saw-whet owl. To my surprise he found the first one when an hour earlier he questioned how to spell the name. By the end of the day we had photos of two. One was clutching a…