My Mom Would Have Been 92 Today
My mom would have been 92 today. I miss her terribly, but she is with me in so many ways. She was also with me when I went to Tishomingo NWR last Saturday.
My mom would have been 92 today. I miss her terribly, but she is with me in so many ways. She was also with me when I went to Tishomingo NWR last Saturday.
I took this Great Egret photo yesterday at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Even with the morning mist, I could tell something fluffy was stuck on its bill.
Both of these photos show the same tree on Goose Egg Island at Farmington Bay WMA. The images were taken in December of 2022 and 2013.
I'm sharing two photos this morning: one of Box Elder Maple seeds and another of Water Birch leaves that I took last autumn while on walks close to home.
Three years ago today, I was up in the Wasatch Mountains, focused on a bright Yellow Warbler snugly nestled in a hawthorn tree on a hillside.
I took this photo of willow catkins just two years ago high in the Wasatch Mountains because I liked the curvy catkins and the simplicity of the image.
On the first of May I took a series of blossoming Bradford Pear tree images. I've been meaning to do that for years to show that they are pretty, but...
Some days are golden. Some days are decidedly not. This is just a short post because yesterday was definitely not.
For a brief period of time in December when conditions are right I can see the glowing sunset in the heart of my neighbor's spruce tree each year.
Yesterday afternoon, after I walked around my local pond and the Jordan River Parkway Trail, I stopped to take close up photos of the bark on my neighbor's American Sycamore tree.
Yesterday morning I had planned on walking along the Jordan River after the sun came up and when I saw that there was fresh snow on the ground I was even more excited.
Being a tactile person, I appreciated getting close to and touching a cottonwood tree on the bank of the Jordan River on my walk last Sunday.
Two days ago while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains this adult male Mountain Bluebird landed close enough for me to take photos of him.
I saw snow on Utah's West Desert mountains for the first time since late spring so I thought I'd share a few views of what I saw while out there yesterday morning.
Drought stressed Douglas Fir trees will produce what is called a "stress crop" of cones which is what I believe is happening to the firs in this location.
The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.
On a recent trip to the West Desert sky island mountains in Tooele County I found my lens pointed at trees, shrubs, wildflowers and a butterfly.
I'm always happy to photograph "other things with wings" when I am out in the field so last week when I spotted my first of year Monarch butterfly I had to take a few photos of it.
I am not just a bird photographer. I am also a student of nature each and every time I venture into the field because being out there teaches me something new on practically every journey.
What got me so excited was seeing how many serviceberries there were blooming on the slopes of the mountains and how thick the blossoms were on each of the shrubs.
This morning is cloudy and gray but seven years ago today it was bright, the air was crisp and the fall colors of the Front Range of the Wasatch Mountains were in their full glory.
The cones of Douglas Firs provide food for birds and mammals and the trees provide shelter and nesting areas too. I've been paying attention to the Douglas Firs we have here for several years because of the birds I know I can find eating the seeds of the trees from their cones.
It was interesting to watch and photograph this little Broad-tailed Hummingbird defend his favorite perch from the intruders I barely saw but could hear as they flew in and he flew out to chase them away.
Like the chokecherries I wrote about yesterday it seems that because of our wetter than normal spring the serviceberries are also doing very well so there should be plentiful fruit for the birds to feast on before they migrate this fall.
Because of our wetter than normal spring it seems that the chokecherries are doing well, extremely well. Many of the chokecherry branches are bending low because of the weight of the blossoms.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to photograph male, female and immature Lazuli Buntings as they have been gorging on the fruits of Serviceberry trees to fatten up before their migration.
I love seeing the Aspen eyes of the forest upon me and I find myself happy to photograph them whenever I can.
Good morning! I am writing this morning from a campsite that is on OUR Public Lands just outside the Targhee National Forest in Clark County, Idaho.
I enjoyed my journey to Beaver Dam Wash, Gunlock State Park and the Mojave Desert even though I didn't see the birds I hoped to photograph, every journey is an adventure.
I would love to say that while I am wandering around exploring the natural wonders we have been gifted with that I can forget about the assaults on the land and the creatures that live there but I can't.