From Dawn til Dusk 1/15/12

I spent much of Sunday lakeside, watching bald eagles, swans, and other waterfowl.  Captions tell the story:




                                   This plane was the only object on an otherwise clear sky at dawn.

                                 As the world began to wake up, a gull flew in from the west.



A couple ducks quacked overhead.

I had my eye on an eagle nest, seen as a silhouette.

And wouldn't you know...   an eagle came flying in!

I was so focused on the scene before me, that I was taken aback when I turned around

and saw the trees washed in brilliant orange light from the sun, now risen.

I turned back to watch the nest....  skies now gray....  and then I noticed--

...a juvenile bald eagle flew in from the other direction.

So did this cormorant.

Since I could no longer feel my toes from standing at the water's frigid edge for such a long time, it was time to leave.  Inside my car, through the tinted window, I saw this adult bald eagle fly by.

Deciding to remain in the car, I left to explore another area up the road that

allowed a view of the nest from another angle.

After a while, I left....  only to return to the nest again in the late afternoon.

Suddenly, swans (with such blue wings!) flew into the scene.

The setting sun added a nice layer of primary color to the scene.

The swans circled the lake and then flew off.

Flying solo.

A plane flew overhead and a smile of fondness spread across my face.

Ducks flew too.

Light was diminishing.  Dusk was falling.  I took one final look at the eagles' nest

with a rose-colored sky behind it, and left.  Sort of.

A flash of white caught my eye. 

An eagle flew down to the water and splashed itself a few times.

And then it began the ascent to it's nest.

As a mere flicker of white...

...it circled around...

...til it reached the rosy-skied nest.

Water, Freezing With Each Lap

Spending time at the water's edge on a frigid morning over the weekend, I noticed that the water, thickened by the freezing temperature, was beginning to transform into a frozen state each time it lapped against the shore, creating rippled patterns.

Hittin' the Slopes!

It seemed that if I wanted to see any substantial snow this winter, so far, I had to hit the slopes!
I'm not a skier or snowboarder but living in a mountainous region, I did take advantage of
spending time time on the slopes photographing others who enjoy those outdoor winter sports. 
A benefit was the snow itself--it reassured me that dispite unseasonably warm temperatures, the
season was indeed winter!

Just Another Fabulous Day in My Life - Bald Eagles, Winding Roads & Other Cool Stuff

                            Yesterday was filled with pretty awesome things around every bend!
                                Winding roads and narrow bridges lead us through rocky terrain
                                    to a place where Bald Eagles and hawks compatibly flew.





                                                                        (Hi Diane!)

            This Red-Tailed Hawk joined the pair of eagles, all soaring overhead on this beautiful day.

      A third Bald Eagle, seen coming in for a landing, was at another location in the same general vicinity.

                                    A few geometric structures caught my eye on the ride home..

                                                   It was just another fabulous day in my life!

                                                                                 *

Other People

One of the things I like about being out in nature is being 'at one' with it.  Solitary.  Quiet.  But then I get thrilled when life from the animal kingdom appears seemingly out of nowhere, entering the scene, sometimes lingering for a while before it naturally moves on, or sometimes, like birds flying above, quickly pass by on a mission.  From time to time, human animals will appear.  Rather than viewing them as an intrusion on my solitude, I welcome the new subject of interest and observe them as I do of all animal behavior, particularly when I see them first--before they see me--to catch them in their own natural state.

The other morning while photographing the "fractured sky" (see previous post) this kid strolled into the scene.  It was a clear, cold morning, but layers of smoke from wood stoves burning inside homes from around the lake created a misty aura as it dissipated.  I watched this kid walk over to the water's
edge of another pond and bend down to get a rock.  He turned around and 'skipped' the stone over the pond before turning back toward the direction he came and left as quickly as he came.

These two guys walked all around the lake looking at the extensive damage done by the beavers.
(Images of felled trees that I, too, had been observing and shooting that morning will follow in another post.)

I also love seeing other photographers stopping to capture something along their way.
I recognize that we're kindred spirits and I immediately draw inspiration from them.  I
appreciate that their perception differs from mine, causing me to look again, curious to
see what they see.

I also like sharing a space with sport hunters, like this small game/wild bird hunter. 

Although different forms of shooting, we still utilze mostly the same skills to achieve our desired outcome.