Familiar Fall Friends

This time of year, the marsh area I love to visit has quite a few visitors to watch as they take a break on their way south. I can also catch the last few sightings of those that have raised families over the summer and are getting ready to hibernate or hightail it to warmer climes. 

Madame Wood Duck is always shy, so it's a special treat to get to see her. She was way out in the water, so I had to zoom in pretty hard. That's probably why she kept paddling and preening. 

An egret took flight from a tangle of cattails and brush and it was beautiful to see its bright white plumage in contrast to the trees. 

Speaking of white, fall fungi have been less prevalent this year, since it has been so dry, but every little rain will make a few pop. This one created a lovely white on white arrangement, growing on a birch tree. 

And, of course, flocks of geese are gathering and honking almost continuously as they jockey for position in the line flying south. 

It's fun to watch them shift position and form their classic V flight pattern. 

Random Wandering

Sometimes a walk will suggest a theme, and sometimes I collect enough pictures of a bird or beast to warrant a profile piece. But, sometimes a walk will just present random little delights. 

Random bits of serendipity are always welcome, though. A song sparrow on a fencepost brings a smile every time. 

Watching a cottontail rabbit keeping a wary eye on Piper as she goes into a perfect point and then slowly tries to sneak up on her prey is quite entertaining. (The bunnies always take off long before they're in pouncing distance.)

Following a monarch butterfly around as it searches for nectar is both a challenge and a pleasure. (They are camera shy - or maybe just shy of Piper, even though she doesn't take much notice of them.)

While purple loosestrife is an invasive species, it's still pretty to see glowing in the early morning sunshine. 

So, it's well worth keeping an eye open for random little treasures along the trails when out wandering. They're some of the very best discoveries! 

Apologies and the Solution

Sometimes life just does life things.... So, I apologize for being a little late with the solution, although I'm pretty sure most of you saw the star of the puzzle pretty easily. I'll go through the usual process, just in case. :)

Clue number one showed the larger view, and if you check out the lower left branches on the big tree on the right, you can see something perched there. 

Clue number two zooms in a bit, so it's easier to see who might be out on a limb... 

Here's the final payoff. The great blue heron was preening and primping, so it stuck around for a long time, allowing me to get a pretty good focus and a few nice pictures. 

Piper was also very patient as I snapped a bunch of shots of this guy. Pretty handsome bird, don't you think? It was really fun to watch. 

 

Another Episode of Spying

As our mysteries usually go, first I will post the original picture clue, so you don't have to backtrack to see it. 

So, there it is. (And I think I forgot to mention yesterday that you can enlarge the picture by clicking on it.)

I know that some of you saw it yesterday, but this somewhat zoomed version should make it a lot easier to spot, just in case you haven't already found it.

I'll post the close-up version tomorrow. That should make a confusing start for October! :)
 

Scenic Sunday Spying

Here's a fairly simple little hunt, but I thought it was sort of a fun one. 

Even without the mystery, it's a pretty scene, looking out over the marsh. But, there's something in particular to find. 

Did it catch your eye? 

Duck Back Riding

Things have been hectic and I haven't taken time to sit down and prepare pictures for the blog. I have been taking them, though, and finally got a few ready to post. Stories and pictures will probably be out of sequence, at least some of the time, for a while. 

I loved the mother merganser giving her little ducklings a ride. They were concerned when Piper and I wandered out to the boat launch to see who might be around. 

Piper also likes to get a drink and take a little swim when we walk that way, so I guess mother merganser had reason to move the youngsters away from us. 

They're awfully cute floating fluff balls, aren't they? They have grown nearly as big as their parents now, but still hang out and go fishing together. 

They got far enough away that they started paddling around on their own again.

Then, mom gave them a lesson in how to go fishing for breakfast. 

My brother continues to improve and I was able to come back home two days before the local art show to get a few prints into frames and mats and ready to display. 

Now, I need to start catching up on things like cutting and preparing Tan-Z and Firm Kut and doing an ink order for Stampeaz. Not to mention, culling through more pictures to find good ones for the blog. :)

Fantastic Feathered Family

A pair of sandhill cranes has been coming to our family property for a number of years now. The first few seasons, they tried to raise a family and failed, but for the last three years, they have had success. First a they had single youngster, last year they raised a pair of chicks and this year they had another single baby. 

They have gotten used to us doing things around the property, so they don't immediately fly off. In fact, when my brother seeded the big field with wheat and rye, they stuck around the edges and ate the little piles of seeds that dropped when the hopper was filled. The picture above is one of the parents. It has that beautiful, bright red face. 

They also like to poke around in the newly grown wheat/rye grass, so I get to see them when I go out to take care of various chores. Junior is facing left, with buff colored feathers on the face. (The picture above made me smile - it almost looked like a three headed bird.) 

Here, one of the parents (left) is facing off with Junior, who is just as tall, but just a little lighter color and with no red on the face. 

There's been a second (unsuccessful) pair for the last couple years, but they're still very shy of us, so I haven't gotten any pictures of them - they're always in the air and flying away by the time my camera is on and ready to focus. 

It's always a delight to see these beautiful, tall birds.