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Winter Beauty
These photos were taken back in December. I was trying out a wonderful Christmas gift of a new camera. I’m posting them months later when the chill has lifted, and I can enjoy them without my teeth chattering!
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365 Photo: Black & White
A friend of mine regularly posts photos for the 365 Picture Today daily prompts. It’s inspiring, so I thought I might try a few.
Today’s prompt is “Black & White.”
This is not a new photo, but it’s a favorite. Chickadees are one of my very favorite black & white things. They are brave little birds, so inquisitive and busy. This picture seems to capture these traits, along with the theme of this blog: “The more you look, the more you see.”
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Spring?
Yesterday, it felt like we lived in a snow globe all morning. Big flakes whirled around and drifted reluctantly to the patches of mud and color-starved grass that were emerging from the past weeks’ snow cover. It was just enough to restore a thin blanket over the ground.
Then, in the afternoon, the maple out front was suddenly filled with robins. They sat and hopped and clucked and fluttered to the holly to eat berries and generally reassured us that spring is around the corner.
As a child, the first robin was always the harbinger of spring. Some things you never outgrow.
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New Monarch
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Niche
Some people have a talent for creating beautiful domestic niches in the midst of a wild landscape. These images are from a visit with some of those people.
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Summer Pond
Late June/early July, 2021.
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Watkins Glen
These images are from October 2020.
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Early Summer: Outer Banks
What a treat to enjoy the vast, changing landscape of the ocean for a few days…
Morning 
Osprey 
Pelican 
Just a few blocks away from the wide open, salt-sprayed spaces was the Nag’s Head Woods Preserve, a place of clinging, muggy air; wetland chirps and croaks from all manner of unknown (and unseen) creatures; and green scum covering everything from the water surfaces to the turtles and, yes, the beaver — the first beaver I’ve seen live, though in our area we see the signs of beaver activity often.
It was an amazing place, and it hosted far more wildlife and plant life than we were able to see. As may be apparent from the pictures, we were racing a cloudburst, and the walk was accompanied by rumbles of thunder and general eeriness.
Still, I think my favorite environment was the beach. The grandeur, the invitation to reflect on possibilities, and the good spirit of others made it a wonderful week.
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Spring Sights: Pond Walk
Wild geranium Though it’s now late August, these pics are from a walk back in May.
Eastern phoebe 
Great blue heron 
Dandelion 
Lupine These days, mature milkweed, asters, sunflowers, and the sound of walnut leaves fluttering to the ground replace these fresh spring colors and sights. It’s nice to review the “baby pictures” of this summer as we transition into fall.
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Sapsucker Stories
Dad greets Mom 
Shift change 
Mom ready to hold the fort for awhile 
Dad needs some fresh air 
Youngster 1 
Youngster 2 pleads for food 
Mom gets ready to launch for more food 
3 youngsters 
#1 ready to fledge 
Mom feeds #1 after a successful first flight 
3rd or 4th youngster still looking for delivery 
We have enjoyed being able to observe this woodpecker family in a dead tree in the back yard. At first we thought they were downies, but before long it became apparent that we were seeing Mr and Mrs Yellow-bellied Sapsucker switching off the incubation of the eggs. How many were there? How long would it be before we saw youngsters?
Eventually they switched from incubation to feeding, and by mid-June the pace had picked up tremendously. The nest cavity emitted urgent cries for food constantly. Then finally, using not the front door nest cavity we’d been observing but a secret trap door to the roof, Youngster 1 emerged! #2 and #3 followed soon after, each one eventually taking off to sail to a nearby walnut tree. We saw 3 in all, but the mother appeared to still be feeding a 4th chick that didn’t launch till the next day.
We’re kind of in sapsucker withdrawal now, since they don’t return to hang out at the nest cavity. I spotted one yesterday, looking like a small piece of moving bark as it moved up a tree trunk. I trust they’re all making their way in the big, unprotected world now! Hopefully we’ll enjoy some sightings over the next few months.
