This morning’s fog

 

 

 

Rest stop for a dragonfly

 

 

Click on this one to see the larger version. You'll be amazed at this critter! The dragonfly landed on a car antennae and stayed there, bobbing its head up and down. I didn’t see that he (or she) had what looks like a face on the bottom of its head.

Before flight

 

 

 

Best view in the house

Bird’s eye view

 

 

 

I took a trip to Little Rock this week, camera in tow. As usual, my eye looks for life and the general “feel” of the place. It seems that birds and squirrels fear humans less in the city than they do in the country, and this one landed close by. When he flew off, I took a shot of what he saw sitting on that concrete railing.

Birds of a Feather

Ah…

 

Frozen Morning

 

 

 

It was an amazing, frozen sunrise this morning here in winter-bound Arkansas. The pink sky lit the windows of the house and I couldn’t resist getting the camera out. But, not for long. I took seven shots before retreating quickly back into the warmth of inside.

A Bird in the Snow

 

 

 

Playing in the Tree

 

 

 

I was thrilled to capture these two baby squirrels one day, just having themselves a ball playing in the branches of the tree right outside by back door. The one in the first photo didn’t mind a bit that I kept getting closer and closer. He knew he was well out of reach. The second baby had me holding my breath often, worried that he was going to fall out of the tree.

Doe and Fawn Galore

 

 

 

 

The other night, I was thrilled to have the chance to catch shots of deer in a freshly cut hay field! By the time I got home, it was late and I only had the time to choose the best photo of the bunch and get it posted here. Tonight, going through the photos again, it wasn’t too difficult to see that I managed to get more than one good shot.

 

The challenges were many. The sun had already set, so the only light remaining was all I had to work with. It tended to mute the colors quite a bit. Plus, the deer were far from the mindset of ‘posing’ and that added to the muted colors. Even so, there wasn’t a need for a lot of tweaking beyond contrast.

An Evening Stroll

 

It’s All in the Details

 

 

In the Summer Heat

 

Really. I've got to get out more. I'm seeing aliens in the plant life! Just what is this blob? It's still so hot that even the birds are panting. I didn't know they could do that. And those berries... They look so luscious here, but they are so tiny that you'd smoosh them if you tried to pick them.

Birds on a Wire

Too hot to walk around much, I sat still and zoomed. These two birds were flying around, almost dive-bombing the dogs and horse, then finally landed on the fence wire.

I found this shot interesting. First, those birds were around 75 feet away from me. The line of trees in the background is probably at least a quarter of a mile away. Distances were foreshortened quite a bit.

Home Sweet Home

Can you believe that I'd never actually seen a bird in a nest before? Well, not that I can remember anyway. When I got out to my truck after work today, I looked up, and there is this bird, just sitting still and quiet, in a nest. Here she is. I bet she's sitting on her eggs.

Nature's Art

One foggy morning, early, before the sun came all the way up, I caught this wonder. Compliments of the fog, this very fine web was outlined in tiny droplets of water that brought out all the details. Isn't the architecture amazing?

Ed and Ethel

 

I got the biggest kick out of these two birds. I took a series of shots of them sitting high above on the wire, and their postures seemed so communicative that I laughed and laughed. The one on the left is Ethel, though I have no idea the gender of either bird. Ed is the one on the right. Ed had flown off for a few minutes after a C130 flew over, just like he had played the gallant knight off to slay a dragon. When he came back, it looked like he boasted and bragged about how brave he had been. Then, when Ethel had enough, she gave him a piece of her mind, which caused Ed to recoil a bit.

Photographing the birds meant zooming in as far as I could and waiting for the wind to stop long enough to leave the birds still in one spot. I couldn't ask for a better pair of actors for the job!

The Lurker Among Us

I'm a barefoot country girl by nature. I kick off my shoes at every opportunity, and when I'm home, it takes more than a bit to remember to put shoes on. Today, I headed out with a pair of clogs on and went tramping through the field looking for interesting things to photograph. I found this ...fellow... crawling around in the high stuff. He actually moved quick enough to throw off the camera's ability to auto focus, and a slight breeze added to the difficulty. Finally, I caught this shot. I'm amazed at the incredible detail of this lurking, miniature monster.

Nature Fight

This photo came with a price. I fell out of my truck and skinned a hand and knee pretty good to get this one. That I got the two geese fighting at all is a miracle. I was on my knees when I shot this photo. Before I could take another, one chased the other off and the moment had passed. Then, I got to my feet and surveyed my injuries.