One Way - New York City

I love the apparent contradiction of this collection of signs, especially the brightly lit figure walking in a defiantly antithetical direction. Pretty symbolic of my life! New York City 2006.

Great Blue Heron - Dropping In

I just happened to be at the window using the 500mm lens to identify an unusual hawk I saw off in the distance. Suddenly this Heron caught my eye as it dropped in for a landing right in front of me. Fortunately the camera settings were right for the moment, because I turned and started shooting. This shot turned out to be the best of that flurry!

Blue Jay - Out on a Limb

Blue Jay leaning way out on the end of a limb.

Cardinal - Snow Covered Logs

For my #1 Cardinal fan..... Mom!

Spring is always a bittersweet time of year for me. I welcome the rebirth of our gorgeous, colorful landscape, but miss the beauty that winter lends to bird photography <sigh>. It's also much more difficult to photograph birds in dense vegetation, soooo shooting birds late spring through summer literally "Goes to the Birds"! I can already hear you guys boo-ing me for that pun! Sorry, I couldn't resist! 

Just Bee-cause

Bees have a long proboscis (complex tongue) they use to extract nectar and pollen from flowers, like the bee in this photo is doing.

Marengo Cave - Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake at Marengo Cave in Marengo, Indiana. 

We had really hoped to enjoy a leisurely pace through the cave system, but found ourselves falling victim to a verbal cattle prod for moving along too slowly at every turn. It is unfortunate that this historic site is privately owned and operated. If you are planning a trip to Marengo Cave, forget the hiking boots, you're gonna need a good pair of running shoes to keep up with the tour guides.

Mount Evans - Vanilla Icing

I love how this wall of snow looks like Vanilla Icing. 

North America's highest auto road (14,260 ft or 4,346.5m). A view of the road to the summit of Mount Evans, near Denver Colorado. Yes, it is every bit as scary as it looks. One wrong move and you could be taking a short cut to the bottom. This photo was taken shortly after the road opened for the season, in early June of 2008. The road is open when weather is cooperative from the end of May through October. Truly one of the most exciting and breath taking drives of my life! I've got to do this again! 

Tulips! Tulips! Tulips!

Fowl Personification

Ok, so I'm not much on "personification" or  "anthropomorphism". Both terms reflect the concept of assigning human qualities to otherwise inanimate objects such as scrubbing bubbles racing around your tub, chocolate candies that would do anything for love and incredibly talented cows painting bulletin boards all over town telling us to eat more chicken, etc. However, sometimes you just have to wonder what would be said or what may actually be being communicated during periods of brief interaction in nature. With that in mind, here is my interpretation of this brief encounter between a Canada Goose and a Great Blue Heron. 

"Hey Blue! Do these feathers make my tail look fat?"

"How 'bout now?"

Wood Ducks

Every Spring and Fall I have a incredibly shy pair of Wood Ducks stop in for a few days. These two stayed for the weekend, but I haven't seen them today....they have probably moved on by now. They are difficult to keep track of though, because they are so shy they tend to hide when they see or hear human activity. Many thanks to my partner for putting up with my demands ( ie. "don't let the dogs out" and "No! you can't work in the yard today"). Knowing me, by mid week I will be screaming about the lawn not being finished:) You just gotta love me for my honesty;) 

Wood Ducks in the pond the first week of April 2013.

The female Wood Duck.

The male Wood Duck.

Great Egret Pair

This pair of Great Egrets stopped by for a short layover one afternoon last week. I haven't seen them here since April of 2011, so I was excited to have them stop in once again. Unfortunately their visit coincided with that of a Great Blue Herons', so the Great Egrets didn't stay long.

Blue-winged Teal

A single, male, Blue-winged Teal stopped by for a short visit yesterday. This is one of my favorite ducks. At first glance, from behind it appears similar to a Mallard with a bit of a shimmering purple-green iridescent head, but the Teal is a much smaller duck. In fact, the Blue-winged Teal is one of the smallest ducks in North America. Of course the best identifying mark, on the male, is the bright white crescent on his face making for easy identification. The pale blue wing patch is often concealed, but I have a few shots with the blue wing and green speculum exposed, I'll add one to this post shortly. I've seen Teals before during migration season, but have never seen one in my own pond, so this was a real treat. 

Blue Heron and Mallard Pair

Living here is like having my own private bird sanctuary. This is one of many Great Blue Herons that stops in daily for a bite. These two Mallards are on their way to the bird feeders to scoop up the left-overs from the ground.

Great Blue Heron Spears Giant Frog

A Great Blue Heron speared this giant frog in my pond.

This frog, believe it or not, actually got away!

This one did not! 

Good Morning Mourning Dove

You can see a Mourning Dove in the morning, 

but you'll never see a Morning Dove in mourning!

Blue as a Jay

I somehow deleted this 'Blue as a Jay' post. I have no idea how I managed to do that, but I did. This is a repost from Wednesday - March 20th, the week I caught the flu, thanks in large part to my partners' coughing, sneezing, spitting, sputtering and spewing germs about the house and car! Anyway, I was certain the world was coming to an end despite the comforting and encouraging words of friends. Finally, after 8 harrowing days of absolute, painstaking misery I managed to escape the grasp of the grim reaper and live to tell this tale;) The 2012-2013 flu season has claimed 66 lives in the State of Indiana (accurate as of March 27th). For up to date flu statistics for Indiana click the following link to be directed to the Indiana State Department of Health (Indiana flu statistics). The States' flu web page is updated weekly on Wednesdays. Many thanks to those of you who cheered me during my near fatal illness! This Jay's for you;)

Pink Orchid

It is so hard to resist orchids!