Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Birds
Crane Down
A sandhill crane seems to have found a green spot to rest. It was struggling to walk, due to some injury to its right leg and dropped to this stance for a short while.
Though sandhill cranes are plentiful in our area, I’ve had a difficult time getting a good photo of any. They are particularly shy and head for the hills whenever I attempt to get close enough for a decent photo. I spotted this one out my back window one morning as I was preparing to go to work. I could only see its head and upper body because it was behind the mound of grass it eventually rested on, as seen here.
When I first saw it, it was bobbing its head and hopping around with a flutter of its wings. It’s early spring so I thought it was some kind of mating dance going on. Of course, I ran for my camera. When I returned, it had made its way up the mound and I could see that its bob, hop and flutter was the result of some kind of painful leg injury. It was limping on it’s right leg and the herky-jerky motions, as it hobbled, to take some of the weight of its leg. After limping to this spot, at the top of the mound, its long legs buckled and it plopped into this position where it remained for several minutes. I closely looked at some of the other photos I took, while it was standing, and I didn’t notice any malady with the right leg other than the joint seemed to be larger.
When it eventually got back on its feet, it limped around a little until it reached down and ate a huge night crawler it found in the grass. A few moments later, another sandhill crane flew in and landed nearby and this one took to the air, flying off across the farm field and beyond the woods.
As I mentioned, these birds are shy – at least all the ones I’ve encountered. I was only able to get this image by shooting out the not-so-clean window of my garage. Even then, I was keeping myself hidden as much as I could; shooting at the edge of the window frame. I’m sure, if I would have attempted to get outside for a better vantage point, the bird would have been off at the slightest sound of the door opening.
I also got a few photos of the second sandhill crane that came just before this one flew away. I’ll post it sometime in the near future.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Be Still My Soul
I find this to be a very therapeutic scene. It is the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse with the waves of Lake Michigan rolling and reflecting the sunrise in the foreground. To add and extra measure of calming grace, six Canada geese fly past the lighthouse. (If you look close, you’ll even see a sea gull above the geese, on the right side.)
This is one of my favorite images. I captured this at the end of last February – the same morning I captured, Morning Rolls In, posted March 1st. Look back and compare the two. This one was after the sun was up and into the clouds. Morning Rolls In was shot earlier, before the sun breached the horizon.
I like both, but I like this one more. The sun’s reflection among the waves and the near perfect timing of the geese flying by make this an easy favorite.
Do yourself a favor and view this image in it’s largest available format. It’s easy, just click on the photo and a full-screen version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Bluebird Family Outing
These are Eastern Bluebirds perched on a stump in our backyard. We have bluebird nest boxes at several locations around our rural home. Each spring we watch, expectantly, for them to return, build their nests and raise their young.
The three birds with the speckled plumage are the young ones. They were attracted to the stump by a treat of mealworms we offered on a regular basis. We love watching them and their progress from hatchlings to fledglings…until they head south for the winter.
Feeding them mealworms on a regular basis creates a location where I can set up my camera and capture some good images. This photo was taken with my camera on a tripod ten to 15 feet away from the stump. I was actually in my house, watching out the window, snapping the photos with a wireless remote.
You can enjoy more of the detail in this image by viewing the full-screen version. Simply click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Pheasant Friends
I was driving home yesterday afternoon and I noticed a flash of color in the tall grass of the ditch along the road. I pulled my camera out of it’s case and doubled back. When I got there, these two, gorgeous, ring-necked pheasants were moving in the grass.
When I first spotted them while driving by, they may have been sparring, but now that I’m closing in they decided to head for the hills – literally.
They ducked into the very tall grasses (taller than me) that filled the ditch. I followed, crossing the muddy ditch water, hoping to get a clear enough view to snap a good shot. Beyond the tallest grass was a very steep hill. I chased them up the hill expecting them to get spooked enough by the pursuit to just fly away. They didn’t fly and I kept following.
I could usually see one or the other moving through the brush, but never in an area where I could get an unobstructed view. Finally, a little further up the hill, where the cover wasn’t so thick, I was able to snap a couple of frames. They continued to move and soon were back into thick brush, now among trees where I couldn’t follow.
As I always suggest, if you like this image, you’ll love the larger version – available by simply clicking the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame option or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Bluebird Family Brunch
This is a family of eastern bluebirds. The gal standing tall in the back (on the left) is the mother. The rest are her offspring from 2014 hatch. They’ve come together to share a mid-morning brunch of mealworms in our backyard.
This female brought two broods into the world this season.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Poolside Perch
An American Goldfinch (male) clings to a stalk from a blooming hosta while eyeing the refreshing waters of the garden birdbath. The bright yellow summer plumage makes him a standout.
To get a better view of this image, click on the photo and a larger version will open in a new browser tab.
Upward Call
The sea gulls soar upward as the sun beams stream downward over Lake Michigan and the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse and pier. Since the colors were somewhat muted, I decided to convert this one to a monochrome look.
This is one of those images worth looking at in a larger size. To do so, click on the photo.
Pelicans On Blue
There seem to be more pelicans hanging around the lake shore than I remember in years past. These birds were gracefully gliding by in the early morning light.
To view a lager version of this photo, click on it.
High Five Fly By
This female ruby-throated hummingbird seemed to be offering (and expecting) a high-five as she zipped by.
I finally got around to taking some hummingbird photos yesterday. I’m a bit rusty at the high-speed skills it takes to snap one of these. I’ll have to get out there more.
To view a larger, more detailed version of this photo, click on it.
Bluebirds – Father & Sons
Let me introduce you to our neighbors – the Eastern Bluebird family. This is a father and two of his offspring. There are four of these youngsters hanging around, having hatched this spring.
It’s hard to get the whole group together for a family portrait – though I’m working on it. The mom is busy sitting on another clutch of eggs. She does emerge to eat, now and then. I just have to convince them all to eat at the same time.
I’ve been supplementing their normal diet with meal worms…placing them on this tree stump in our yard. I’ll be posting more of the family in the near future. Stay tuned.
To view a larger, more detailed version of this photo, click on it.