From A Single Theme to Another

My photography efforts today emphasized fragrant water lilies. Imagine a full screen picture of either a fragrant water lily blossom, the rich green leaves, or both. Any of those are what I was thinking for maybe a computer screen or possibly a print on a wall.

To work through this process I used my Nikon still camera and my drone. I am satisfied with the resulting images, although I am not sure I have quite accomplished what I have in my mind. I may keep trying as long as I can find blossoms.

Such a Special Day!!! - Snail Migration!!!!!

I have a buddy, let’s call him “Buttercup,” who has time and again and again and again given me a hard time about photographing a snail migration. While Buttercup appears to be jabbing about a snail migration in jest, deep down inside I think he longs to spend quality time with me and the snails and the red-winged blackbirds. Odds are shared time is a secret goal of his. Maybe, Buttercup, someday you will be with me during the snail migration! (Thanks to my other Brother Darrell who…

Observations -

This fellow never knows what he might find when out looking around. Following are some pics from today.

Things that Interested me Today

There is no doubt that I am easily entertained or incessantly curious. When I see interesting scenes or pretty things, I stop to memorialize them through a photo. Today’s memories include everything from water tower repair preparations, to wildflowers, to a cicada exoskeleton. The randomness…

Observations on a Hazy Morning

Kristy and I saw a few picture-worthy scenes early this morning and I saw more later this morning. None of today’s photos were recorded with my drone. I am including the drone picture (from last night) just because…

Beautiful, But We Have A Problem

Our wet spring has been a blessing for our pollinator habitat that was seeded and pretty much inactive last year during the drought. With frequent rains we now have a variety of wild plants and grasses pushing up with welcome new additions showing frequently. The views are very pretty.

But, we have a problem. As I explore the area I am finding…

Outdoor Observations

Mother Nature seems to always provide something interesting to explore and maybe photograph. Today’s most fascinating critter - actually a collection of same critters - was this freshwater bryozoan.

Bryozoans tend to indicate higher quality water. While maybe not the most preferred texture or appearance, bryozoans are…

Bigger Bait Equals Bigger Fish (and more)

On this fine day my grandson and I spent quality time together shooting some pictures and him fishing. After catching one small bluegill after another, we added a bigger chunk of worm to his hook. Soon after he pulled in a nice-sized bluegill to which he exclaimed… “Bigger Bait Equals Bigger Fish!” Gramps made it look even larger with selective framing of the camera.

While he was fishing…

Diary of My First Day of (Early) Retirement

Today was my first “official” day of retirement (early). I found no guidelines or handbook on how the first day was supposed to go, so I had to wing it. Following was the day:

My grandson and I went to my first physical therapy appointment since my bicep/shoulder repair surgery. My feet lifted off the table a time or two and my eyes leaked three times, but, as my grandson said, “you did not squeal.”

My grandson and I went out for breakfast. (I normally eat only an English muffin.)

We had an LP tank filled and picked up a window screen.

We took care of some paperwork issues at my place of “former” employment.

We flew my drone under the Bremer Avenue bridge where…

Dew and Rain

If we are going to have dew and rain on our flowers (domestic and wild) and trees, then I am going to document some of it. Several times today I roamed the ponderosa to check things out. These are…

Outdoor Observations

Today’s sightings include one from the air and three from the ground.

My aerial image shows the color patterns in a corn field. Until I talk to the farmer to ask “why,” I won’t know what causes the stripes. Compared to other fields, this was the only one featuring such noticeable leading lines perfect for…

For Everything There is a Season

Unexpected, at least for me, was the fog that blanketed our landscape this morning. When I saw the obscured vision I went to work to capture an image I have had in my head for some time. My thought was a view of someone walking down a lonely road at sunrise, in fog, with other details obscured. My intent was for the image to feature a rising sun, leading lines, the rule of thirds, and to be thought provoking. As I considered the image since its inception weeks ago, I was thinking more of how it would make a nice album cover for guitar music that is easy to listen to. And, I had even thought maybe the person walking down the road could be carrying a cased-guitar upside-down

My Mother, My Brother, and Me

Smoked carp, just some slabs of fish… that was our excuse for the three of us to drive up near Lansing today. Since we reached the fish place (Mohn’s Fish Market) while they were closed for lunch, we explored the Yellow River State Forest first. At the fire tower within the state forest I shot some photos from the air for different views than normal.

Then, since we were close and had time, we moved to the…

Small-Scale Safari

Once again this morning I made time to enjoy a wet (dew-covered) small-scale photo safari in our pollinator habitat. I was looking for butterflies, but found none. But, there were plenty of other macro photo ops to present challenges.

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…