nature

All posts tagged nature

Nice to see the lake again

Posted by Photonstopper on February 14, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Guardrail and sign covered in thick curtains of lake water ice. Photo by James Guilford.

No Lifeguard

Taking advantage of a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon, we made a quick trip to the shore of Lake Erie. The shoreline was piled with snow-covered ice, in wave-shaped mounds parallel to the coast. Ice that formed on a guard rail made glistening caramel-colored curtains, even walls, joining the steel tubes of the framework to each other and to the ground. And a stream flowed beneath a bright, snowy ice layer, visible sometimes, down a rocky fall and, under cover ice once again, to the lake. Nice to see the lake again.

Photo: Ice coats and drips down from a fallen tree branch as water flows over exposed rock. Photo by James Guilford.

Ice Palace

A Mink, I think

Posted by Photonstopper on February 10, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Mink carrying a fish. Photo by James Guilford.

Emerging from the Grass with a Prize!

We paid a mid-winter visit to Lorain Metro Parks’ wonderful Sandy Ridge Reservation on Saturday, February 6. Usually, when we visit the wetland area, we are treated to an abundance of waterfowl and other birds. Indeed, we saw plenty of Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, and even a rather clumsy Red Tail Hawk (more on this one soon).

Photo: Mink running on earthen path. Photo by James Guilford.

A Little Jog on the Path

The only resident mammals we generally see at Sandy Ridge are Gray Squirrels and assorted Chipmunks, though we certainly have seen some signs of Beaver activity! This day was different. We stopped on the path out of courtesy to a fellow photographer who was staring at the grass at the edge of the path. We watched to see what he was looking for and suddenly there was a stirring in the brush.

Photo: Mink heads into grass with fish. Photo by James Guilford.

Heading Home with the Goods

Out popped a long, dark brown, very wet critter who quickly loped on to and across the sandy path, then into the grass on the opposite side! It was carrying something … a fish! And that was it. Gathering some groceries was a Mink, I think!

Changeable skies

Posted by Photonstopper on February 1, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Old weathered barn and dramatic sky. Photo by James Guilford.

Ancient Barn under Changeable Skies

February started off cloudy and gray, as many days have been of late. During an errand to Medina, Ohio some blue sky and sunshine appeared through gaps in the rolling clouds; we headed to the Medina Woods Park and its Chippewa Inlet Trailhead. Strolling along the trail encircling a major wetland restoration area. Weather has been cold enough to maintain a thin layer of ice on areas of open water. Geese, ducks, and a pair of Trumpeter Swans stood on the ice, eyeing us warily.

Photo: Spooked - Canada Geese Take Flight. Photo by James Guilford.

Spooked – Canada Geese Take Flight

Patches of sunlight shifted across the scenery, now and then illuminating an ancient barn on the property and bringing out colors in pond ice.

Photo: Dramatic clouds, sun, over wetland area. iPhone Photo by James Guilford.

Changeable Skies – iPhone

As we headed back to the parking lot, gaps in the cloud cover closed and overcast saw us off. Changeable skies, indeed.

Sorry to see the leaves leave

Posted by Photonstopper on October 27, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Photo: Sun Sinks behind Line of Trees. Photo by James Guilford.

Sun Sinks behind Line of Trees

Hillsides mounded with brilliantly colored trees are quickly fading to brown, and only a few days after reaching peak fall color. Today the skies were gray with increasing clouds, muting what hues remain. Drifts of fallen foliage litter streets and sidewalks. Tonight and tomorrow wind-driven rain is expected, promising to strip trees of their robes. Winter is still a month off and fall, it seems, was too briefly here. We’re sorry to see the leaves leave.

Froggy lives to see another day

Posted by Photonstopper on September 16, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Green Heron (Butorides virescens) Excitedly Showing its Crest. Photo by James Guilford.

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) Excitedly Showing its Crest

Too beautiful a morning to stay home, we paid another visit to the Ira Trailhead and its canal boardwalk in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). Birds have finished rearing this year’s young and have scattered, some have begun their migration treks. It was a weekday, during the school term, so the area was nicely quiet. We spotted a tiny heron plying the waters of the old Ohio & Erie Canal. A passerby had said there was a Green Heron just up the path; did they get the ID wrong? The bird was so small! Through the telephoto lenses we could see they were correct… it was a Green Heron all right though it must be a 2015 hatchling to be so tiny. The bird may have been small but it showed the behaviors of an experienced and aggressive hunter as we watched from the path. For the most part, and typical of herons hunting, the bird stood very still and stared at the lily pads and surrounding water; it jabbed once or twice catching some tiny creature for sustenance. Suddenly something on the far canal bank caught the heron’s eye: it stretched out its long neck, jerked its head around, and stood up its crest — the first time I’ve seen such a display by a Green Heron! The crest went down. The crest went up again and our little guy popped into the air, alighted in the water at bank’s edge, and a frog flew off the bank, over the alighting bird, and safely into the water! A missed meal for Green but froggy lives to see another day!

Photo: Green Heron Showing Off Beautiful Markings on its Breast. Photo by James Guilford.

Green Heron Showing Off Beautiful Markings on its Breast

Looks like autumn

Posted by Photonstopper on September 16, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments
Photo: Sand Hill Crane (Grus canadensis) Watches from Amongst Yellow Blooms. Photo by James Guilford.

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Watches from Amongst Yellow Blooms

One of our more recent discoveries that has become a favorite place is the Sandy Ridge Reservation of Lorain County Metro Parks. A wetland surrounded by super-highways, industrial plants, and new suburban development, the place is a haven for all manner of wildlife … most especially, birds. While I’m only posting the one image (above) today, we were enthralled yesterday by the beauty and behavior of several Great Egrets, the statuesque poses of a couple of Great Blue Herons, and a pair of Sandhill Cranes that were patrolling drier areas between open water and the pedestrian path. The weather was excellent for our visit — high 70s and low humidity — though all around us were hints of coloration more reminiscent of fall. The day felt like summer but looked like autumn.

Transitions

Posted by Photonstopper on September 10, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Plants transitioning from living to soil. Photo by James Guilford.

Transitions

There was a feeling of transition in the air at Hinckley Lake today. It didn’t feel like summer, though it is still summer. It didn’t feel like autumn, which it isn’t. It is some in-between, transitional season. On the ground, at the base of a tree, was an illustration of change: a green leaf, leaves fading from color to lifeless, beautiful fringed fungi thriving on a dead tree branch, and ultimately soil.

Blue Hen Falls at last

Posted by Photonstopper on September 2, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Blue Hen Falls of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. August 2015. Photo by James Guilford.

Blue Hen Falls, August 2015

A Favorite Spot for local photographers is Blue Hen Falls in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I’d never been there so I checked it out Monday afternoon. I found an open parking spot in the three-car lot (more space across the road) and made the all-downhill, 1/6-mile hike to the falls observation spot. The view from the park bench was all right but, of course, I couldn’t stop there. As have many folks before me, even a few just before I arrived, I found my way down to the rocky riverbed and set up shop. With little recent rain, the falls were down to a trickle but fallen rocks, green mosses and trees, and subdued light made for a restful scene.