On the way to the office today –yes, I worked yesterday and today– I spotted a great blue heron flying high overhead; the first heron I've seen this year. I also saw several male robins chasing each other around as they define their territories. One pair of robins nearly met their end as they eyed each other and hopped bit by bit, ever farther out into the road ahead of me! They seemed completely oblivious to the oncoming metal Bringer of Doom descending upon them. Or they may have been robins playing "chicken." This time of year many robins die on the roads as they get involved in their aerial territorial disputes that take them across roads and highways. I'm happy I didn't thin out their gene pool this morning!
birds
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It was a beautiful day. The weather was cold (it's January, after all) but sunny and blue skies have been mighty scarce this winter!
We spent the day running about: to the Cleveland Home & Garden Show followed by a visit to Legacy Village. We had hoped that, in a new venue, the Home & Garden Show would improve but were bitterly disappointed. Not only had the show itself declined in quality but its new venue was shoddy and unwelcoming. The owners of the Great Lakes Expo Center would have done everyone a favor it they'd have hired some of the exhibitors to fix the place up. The converted DIY retail facility needed wallboard, paint, plumbing, and light. The Show? Well let's just say there were no homes, few gardens, and way too many hucksters. We won't be going back any year soon and will likely skip any other show housed at the Center.
High point of the day was lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen restaurant followed by window shopping at other Legacy Village stores. She had the roasted vegetable salad and I enjoyed the simple margherita pizza. From there we strolled to the Joseph Beth bookstore where She sat in a warm, sunny spot and paged through baker Duff Goldman's Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes. I quietly perused the art, science, and bargain books. A most pleasant way to spend a chilly, sunny, Sunday afternoon.
Back home She Who Must Be Obeyed pointed out interesting impressions in the snow next to our sidewalk. A bird or birds, engaged in some sort of struggle, had left body and wing marks in the dry, sand-like dusting. I grabbed the camera and recorded the scene created by birds in a more ephemeral medium.
Glancing out of an office window, I did a double-take: a lump of snow in an old robin's nest had taken on the appearance of an icy bird in the light of late-day. Feathers hanging off the right-hand rim of the nest aid the visual trick. I shot the picture through the glass to preserve the angle of view necessary for the illusion. I expect "Frosty the Snowbird" to disappear entirely sometime tomorrow — we expect above-freezing temperatures.
Not long after She Who Must Be Obeyed set off for work, I headed down to Hinckley Lake. It was a hazy morning and not too late for some wonderful visual effects caused by the low angle Sun shining through. I saw some quiet and moody sights, shot many photos and, as I was doubling back on the hiking trail I'd taken out, encountered a Great Blue Heron in the lake's nearby shallows. I got a couple of nice close-ups before it warily waded farther out. Then it stopped, lowered its head, raised its right leg, and started scratching! A mundane task, perhaps, but the still photos give it a different character. This quick-pick is (so far) my favorite photo of the morning, both at the lake and at home. I had a nice quiet hike in the morning air, saw some beautiful sights, and captured some good images. It was a fine morning at Hinckley Lake.
It's my day off (lucky me, I get to work Saturday) so around midday I headed over to the Cleveland Metroparks' Mill Stream Run Reservation in Berea. Recently I'd seen a great egret wading the shallow waters of the Rocky River and I thought I'd see if I could catch a photo. Well, I saw the bird perched high in a tree across the water too far to photograph. Other sites caught my eye, however, including a beautiful feather caught on a stick — the only thing keeping it from floating over a nearby water fall. There was flowing water, rock and water, shade and trees, all-in-all a restful place. The ones that got away: 1) Two great blue herons swooped in together for a landing, low over my head before I'd even removed my camera from its bag. 2) As I stepped stones adjacent to a shallow dam, I spooked a black water snake — it quickly slipped into the water before I even had a chance to lift the camera (now out of its bag). 3) I hope that wide-angle lens gets back, well-tuned, soon…. could have used it! Time for late lunch so I headed home. It happens my little outing was well timed. It had been dark and gloomy all morning, skies brightened a bit while I was out, and not long after I arrived home a noisy thunderstorm rolled in and dropped plentiful rain. Tasha and I sat on the floor at the open patio door listening to and watching the storm. The day provided a much-needed quiet interlude.
Today we decided to try out the Salt Run Trail in the Virginia Kendall area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It's just outside the town of Peninsula and we've visited that area often but never tried that trail. Park materials said it was "moderate to difficult" hiking and they were not fooling. The warm, humid air quickly brought out the sweat in us as we hiked rolling to hilly forest pathway covering a little over three miles. Along the way we stopped to photograph plants and animals we encountered, shooing away far more mosquitoes than I would have liked to have dealt with… including one little biter who actually tried to enter my ear canal! I swear, I didn't mean to kill it… it was an accident! I saw my first scarlet tanager (bird) and, at the end of the walk, we had a close encounter with a beaver that was gathering reeds on the banks of a stream. The hike was a lot of work but the exercise was good, the woods were beautiful, and the wildlife surprises a treat.
We sighted this great spangled fritillary butterfly visiting flowers in a prairie area of the park. It moved between plants at just slow enough pace to allow me some photo opportunities.
I didn't notice the detail in the head-on shot of the butterfly (it actually rotated for me as it sat upon the clover flower) until viewing my photos at home. Digitally zooming in we can see the insect's nectar-gathering tongue or proboscis at work probing the flower, seeking sweet drink.
I don't believe I've ever seen a scarlet tanager before. This one was very shy … I had to hide behind trees and brush to simply look at the beauty. The best images were captured with the bird in shadow where, apparently, it was most comfortable — very difficult conditions for photography, however. Four frames exposed at long distance and that was it… off, deeper into the forest, it went!
As we were emerging from the woods, finishing our hike, we crossed an automotive bridge spanning a stream. There, to my surprise, was a large, deep brown beaver gathering reeds from the bank. It finished its work, slipped into the water, and swam under the bridge with a bunch of green plants trailing from its mouth. I couldn't think of an appropriate pun based on the old TV series, so let's just say we'll Leave It to Beaver.
As a pleasant diversion (and out of curiosity) I left early for work Wednesday morning and made a trip out to Letha House Park in Medina County, the site of the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association's observatory. I wanted to see what progress had been made on the new driveway and parking lot for the park. I also figured I could enjoy a little nature walk around the pond and wetland area there, a little respite before the workday –and night– began. There was no progress on the lot except that a giant digging machine had been removed. The day was sunny and surprisingly hot. Walking slowly, dressed in shorts and tee shirt, I sweated as I moved along the path to the wildlife area. Dragonflies (yes, again) were everywhere so naturally I started shooting photos of them.
I also encountered a bird that flitted from perch to perch obviously trying to evade me but not wanting to go very far. I figured it was a mother and didn't want to tip me off about the location of her nest. Later I was able to confirm that it was a female red-winged blackbird. This particular bird was holding an insect in her beak, obviously a meal for her offspring, as I photographed her watching me.
Time passed all too quickly and it was time for me to go. Despite the heat I could have spent hours more there watching the bugs and the birds. Duty called, however, so I packed up the camera gear and headed north. Windows down to help me dry off, I piloted the thrifty Insight cross-country pushing the gas mileage to nearly 54 MPG as I went. Lunch at Chipotle, then to the office. A fine way to start the pre-work day.
Note: At home that night I found my camera no longer wished to talk to my PC. Haven't yet fixed it but I can do what many others do… offload the photos from Compact Flash using a media reader.
On Sunday we drove cross-country to to Sheldon Marsh State Wildlife Preserve just outside Huron, Ohio, a Lake Erie shoreline community. It was a cool, blue-sky day and perfect for a casual nature/photo walk in the protected area. We usually visit this area late in the season — after the large wading birds have left, fleeing the approach of freezing weather. This early-season day, however, saw a large number of wetland- and water-loving avians including no fewer than three great egrets. One of the striking, white giants was hunting the shallows along our path. We stopped to watch and photograph the bird which was surprisingly tolerant of our actions. It hopped into the air once but alighted in the shallows only a few feet away. She Who Must Be Obeyed got one good shot and I, with a faster camera, came away with two.
We watched and waited a while longer and, as anticipated, the egret either grew tired of our spying or decided to seek better hunting grounds. Holding down the shutter release I fired off a number of frames and got a couple of nice shots (one seen below) of the action. I've mostly stalked the wild great blue herons prior to this and these are my first images of the great egret. I'll be back for more!
A common call heard across the nature preserve came from the male red-winged black birds as they defend their territories against intruders. They are most famous for their "Okalee" call and we stopped to watch, listen, and photograph one handsome fellow as he puffed up to stake his claim. The red-wings' were the most common bird calls echoing through the wetland woods but there were many others. Among the most beautiful were the songs (again, probably for territorial announcements) of the male cardinal.
It was a beautiful and relaxing afternoon which we greatly enjoyed and we left considering how we can balance highly active days (cycling) with quieter activities such as nature walks and hiking.
Not much to write except to say the day started off nicely. The garden area tended by She Who Must Be Obeyed is sprouting beautiful new green. It has been cool and wet so my favorite foliage plants, the hostas, are looking very good.
To take a break from a day full of frustrations –installing a new server machine ought to be easy for me, but when the manufacturer and vendor strip it of all documentation, well, it isn't easy– I ate a quick Taco Bell lunch and headed for the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. The Center is nestled in a beautiful suburban metropark and features exhibits and a lovely courtyard dominated by a large water feature. Wild and captive (injured) birds are in residence in the open and are both fun to view and easy to photograph.
I'm glad I took time out to enjoy a little open air and wildlife. The afternoon wasn't nearly as frustrating as the morning since I pretty much resigned myself to the fact I wouldn't finish the installation today! Left work for home and, hopefully, a good weekend. Viewing these photos tonight brought back good feelings of a lunch hour well spent.
It was a cold but beautiful day. As I left the house a little after dawn, the temperature was -1.7 degrees (F). The sky was an amazing shade of blue with the horizon showing pink all around. The fresh, fluffy snow sparkled. It was quiet. I packed my commuter items in the car but before leaving, brought out the camera I carry daily: my trusty Fuji FinePix S7000. In the cold, still air I did my best to capture some of the unusual color and dawning beauty of the day. The trees here all had tufts of snowy fluff on their branches.
The slightest movement or breath of wind caused the snow to collapse into a cloud and drift to the ground — I knew the scene would not last for long.
She Who Must Be Obeyed had suggested I shoot a couple more images of the piles of snow and ice that surround our house. One photo includes my car and shows it right next to a plow-piled mountain of snow easily larger than the Honda.
Up in the bare branches of the tree in our front yard may be seen dark dots –one of them red– which are birds assembling for their turn at the feeder. It is usual for us to see sparrows, blue jays, cardinals (the red dot), black-capped chickadees, gold finches, house finches, hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers… they were all represented today.
The sky stayed mostly clear all day and it was refreshing to see the sun and not worry about how much more snow we would face in our travels.
This evening I stood on the indoor landing between our first and second floors admiring a beautiful sunset through the window. A jet trail illuminated against the dark sky inspired me to grab the camera again. I captured the trail and the sunset sky. Then I turned the camera to the southwest, still through the window. Any time, in recent weeks, when we have been blessed by clear evening skies, the planet Venus has shown like a brilliant diamond high above the horizon. There it was tonight.
It's only a few pixels in the digital image but there that diamond is, set against a deep blue velvet sky, floating over a beautiful pink sunset. The day ended as it had begun. It was cold but beautiful.
PhotonStopper 