Three ducks, a Turtle, and Three Turkeys

One day, a couple weeks ago my friend Marie called me and told me about these ducks that were sitting along the road. I grabbed my camera and headed for the spot. There sat these three ducks and a turtle. I made them nervous so they didn't stay there long but I did get a few images.

 

On my way home I saw these two turkeys. I stopped, took a couple of pictures and then looked ahead of me and there stood this hen in the middle of the road. I photographed her through my dirty car window as we were having a stand off . I inched my car forward to see if she would move and she stood her ground. Didn't matter to her that my car was bigger than her. I was almost tempted to get out of the car but decided she was bolder than I was. Eventually she took off running and flew in to a tree and I had to continue my journey home.

  

Sarah

 I do photograph people too...


A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to photograph Sarah's senior portraits.  She was so photogenic and it was so much fun. 


We spent a couple hours at Warner Lake with her Mom who assisted Sarah and myself.  Occasionally I would show her Mom an image and we were just in in awe of how much the camera loved her. 


We would tell Sarah how beautiful she is and Sarah would not believe us. 


Sarah is one of the sweetest, kindest, nicest people I know. She is beautiful inside and out. 

Baby Robbins

Last year Robin's built their nest inside of a hanging planter I had on our deck. I thourghly enjoyed watching the eggs hatch and the babies grow....  

Johnny Jump Ups ~ Viola cornuta

You never know what you are going to find and where.  These Johnny Jump Ups were found on a rocky path.

Did you know that they are edible? I didn't try them. 

Bleeding Heart

Several years ago my brother called me wanting to know if I wanted his bleeding heart bush.  He said if  I didn't want it he was just going to get rid of it.  Of course I wanted it.  By the time I got to his house it was laying in the driveway, in the sun.  I got it home and planted and every year I tell my Mom "You should see Russell's Bleeding heart." It is huge and always loaded with flowers.   

Acorn Lunch

On one of my walks I came across this stump with an acorn just sitting there.  I wondered if it was just a fluke of nature or some squirrel had set its table for later,

Butterflies and Bees

 

     A couple of weeks ago I walked out to the garden where I have some wild raspberries growing. I was actually going to thin them out but when I got there I noticed that there were hundreds of bees, mostly bumble bees all over the plants. Amongst those bees... two butterflies. A shy Monarch who refused to show me his beautiful wings and a Yellow Swallowtail who was not shy at all. 

Apple Blossoms

I love this time of year when everything starts to bloom.

“Underneath an apple-tree Sat a maiden and her lover;
And the thoughts within her he Yearned, in silence, to discover.
Round them danced the sunbeams bright,
Green the grass-lawn stretched before them
While the apple blossoms white Hung in rich profusion o'er them.”
Will Carlton  

More Swans...

I was taking a drive when I came across these guys in a field.  It was so much fun to watch them and see their personalities come out as they were watching me.  The color difference between what they looked like in March and April fascinated me.  Even the color differences between Swans.  Some of them had to move further away, some grouped closer together, some had to check me out but not to close to me. 

This one has a battle wound 



It was windy enough to ruffle their feathers

Time to move

 

Decisions

In March I made a decision to focus more on my photography.  It is a passion that I have found is bringing me some peace and serenity.  Something that I had forgotten about because I had not been escaping with my camera. 

At that same time I applied for a fellowship which I did not receive. It would have been nice to have the financial backing to pursue an idea but in the long run I think I won big time.  Getting behind my camera again has given me further insight in a part of me that was missing, something I had forgotten about, my passion for photography.

When I made this decision I started going through my images. Literally thousands of them .  What a job that was.  By doing that I was inspired and also found some favorites that I will share here with some stories along with them

(The two images here were photographed a few years ago when the Mississippi was low enough that I could sit on a chair in the middle of the river with my camera on a tripod.)    

Ducks

The last couple of weeks I have been watching the ducks on a friends pond.  On my first visit I saw this Wood Duck.  I only got a couple of shots of him before he took off.  I have to work on being more stealth like.  I would love to get closer to them but they are a little nrevous. 

On my second visit I saw a male Mallard, scared him off after I headed towards the pond but not for long. He came back with his lady friend. 

Why?

So... Why a back yard adventure?

Years ago a group of friends were traveling to other countries and I will admit to being a little envious.  I just couldn't swing those trips but one day I realized that there is a lot of beauty in my own back yard.  I didn't have to travel thousands of miles to see interesting things I could travel the back roads in the area and have my own adventures.

I decided that this was the year that I am going to take my trip, my back yard adventure. I am going to focus on my photography and spend time doing the things I love to do. 

There is something so relaxing about spending time with my camera.  

The Swans

I am still trying to solve the mystery of why the Swans look so different  since I saw them in March.   I ran in to a DNR officer today and he said that there are a couple other possibilities.  These could be a hybrid Swan or their feathers could be stained from the change in their diet. Dipping their heads in to the marshy waters and eating the grasses could be changing the color of their feathers.  So more than likely they are still Trumpeter Swans who have been swimming and eating in waters that are more acidic.