More Questions… A Not So Good Gut Feeling (and pretty pics)

For several weeks I have been keeping an eye on a trumpeter swan that may or may not have an issue. During several observations I have noticed the right wing appears abnormal. My first guess was the bird was just losing feathers. However, subsequent checks on the bird revealed the abnormal feathers had not changed much as the bird moved around in shallow water over several days. Compounding my concern was the fact that the bird…

Our World in a Dew Drop +

My outdoor photo shooting came very early this morning…. just as the sun was rising over the horizon. As I roamed our prairie an untold number of dew drops promptly grabbed my attention. Wet from the overnight condensation of moisture or not, I knelt down to capture peaceful setting after peaceful setting of our world captured in so many dew drop globes. It was a special time and a beautiful way to begin another day!

Seven Months

Today marks seven months since I fell on ice and tore my shoulder and bicep apart. Undone during the injury was the work from two successful surgeries from twenty-five or so years earlier. With one sudden drop to the ground my bicep was torn, my bicep was torn where it connects in the joint, and my rotator cuff was torn loose in two places. All had to be repaired and reattached using additional hardware. Frustratingly, all was entirely preventable, but that is a different story.

Seven months ago “life” changed for me…

Natural Art

Nearly every day when I am shooting pictures in our outdoor world I consider my observations to be works of art, maybe natural works of art or God’s works of art. Some days the “art” in the compositions is more obvious than others. Today was one of those days when I saw ample art. Allow me to explain.

We woke to fog this morning - beautiful fog - assuming you were not driving in it. My reaction was to put my drone in the air to use the fog as a compositional element to create a moody scene. I tried both a time-lapse and still images. As advanced as the drones are, they do not remain exactly in place enough for a static time lapse. Still images, on the other hand, really worked nice. My drone pictures were of the tops of our spruce trees, in fog, with the sun rising between them. Then, once I had the still image done, I edited the photo to create a painting effect (featured here).

Join Me!

Join me on a virtual walk through our pollinator habitat. This planting was done per guidelines, and I know there are some non-native plants reaching skyward., but isn’t it pretty!

Each time I wander the blossoms I…

I Was Not Vaping!

For anyone who may have seen me out and about this morning, appearing with a slight vapor trail around me, know that I was not vaping. Those fumes visible around the window of the Jeep were…

Outdoor Images

During a morning drive I found some outdoor settings that I thought might make nice images. Here they are!

One Picture

Today was a slow day with only one time for my camera to be recording images. For most this picture is a run of the mill picture of a great blue heron. For me it was the first picture of a great blue heron recorded in a very long time… too long. And, since GBH’s are…

Several Topics

Since my post yesterday several activities have interested me that might also interest you.

Last night I was called about a young bald eagle that was not behaving as expected. Since the bird offered no resistance, this one was easy to catch and take to Black Wildlife Rehabilitation Project. I have not heard what, if anything, was learned when the bird saw a veterinarian.

Plants and Pollinators

This morning was another time or three of wandering our CRP where wildflowers and grasses are finally growing after the drought threatened any success. The wildflowers I enjoyed today were common and each species has been featured recently. Still, they were pretty so I photographed them.

Along with the plants there were many pollinators busy at the blossoms. Most did not remain in position long enough for pictures, but a few did.

For those wondering… the biting bugs were atrocious. My tool to combat them was….

Art Out of Ordinary

With continued limitations on my activity, I am now - when it works - attempting to create art of ordinary observations. Following are views from today.

No Common Theme, Just Pictures

Today was one of those days when I saw and photographed a few things, but nothing with a common theme. I’ll just put the pics out for review and stop at that.

On A Dew-covered Morning

On a calm, dew-covered morning the landscape is wet. Roaming among the grasses and wildflowers leads to a wanderer becoming wet and bitten…

Same Scene, Several Depictions

Today, both going and coming back from the healing spot to north, several of us stopped at “our” tree to “see” it from various perspectives.

After looking at each of the views, I am not sure which I prefer. All are interesting on their own. Maybe it isn’t even…

We Need These for Those

As I wandered our wildflowers on this very calm morning I was surprised by the number of tiny pollinators that were out doing just what we wanted - pollinating. Interestingly (almost troubling), I did not see any bees on the blossoms. Hoverflies and spotted cucumber beetles dominated…

Under Our Feet

I would bet there are plenty of people who really look forward to walking barefooted through grass, enjoying the freeing sensations between their toes and on the bottom of their feet. I am one of those persons.

I would also bet that most people may not realize what is under our feet when we walk barefooted through the grass. This morning’s dew was a revelation, at least in our yard.

The sun shone at the proper angle to light many lawn wolf spider webs spread over our yard. Spiders or not, it was impossible for me to deny the beauty of the dew drops on their intricate webs, so I went exploring with my camera. One web in particular had great detail and an,,,

Dodging Drips

Today was not a good day for outdoor photography. Rain, drizzle, rain, repeat… and it just kept raining.

During a period of light rain I shot some flower photos… just because I needed to get out of the house to breathe fresh air.

Maybe…

Experimentation Time

Due to the lighting conditions when I was able to get out and walk, I used my photography time to experiment with shooting close-up images of wildflowers with an intentional controlled soft focus effect. When the background was not what I wanted, I then went artsy for the blossoms. I definitely need to improve my skills for these types of photos.

Reality and Altered Reality

My morning walk among the flowers generated thoughts about today’s post. Do I shoot and share pictures without alterations or may I take liberties to adjust as desired with declaration? I am opting to share some photos with no editing and some that are less specimen images and more “nature as art” style photos (edited).

Let’s begin with the unaltered images. For these photos I will feature a couple of the dragonflies calling our pollinator habitat home. Two observations were apparent. The dragonflies really like to use last year’s dead vegetation as hunting posts. Both came back to the same stalks time and again. The second observation was…

God’s Handiwork

Being an early riser, mornings are special. The sun lights the landscape with warmth, dew has settled on blossoms, and the new day offers a fresh start.

This morning I began my day with a quiet walk in our prairie project. No matter where I looked I saw God’s handiwork. My only obligation was to look around and enjoy. I did record some images to share with others, but for the most part I just took it all in. The views were so pretty!

Hopefully a picture or two might brighten your day too!