Piping Plovers at Sunrise! Wow, it appears to have been more than a year since I last posted a blog. In September we finally made a getaway! It was more of an 'Ultimate Homeschool Field Trip" for our son as we took advantage of homeschool rates at Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement Living Museum and The Revolutionary War Museum at Yorktown. Oh and we stopped at the Mariners Museum in New Port News, which turned out to be our son's favorite experience of the whole trip! At the last minute I decided to do two overnights on Assateague Island National Seashore for our anniversary. For this blog I am going to concentrate on the wonders of Assateague Island. I really wanted to be able to vlog the experience but didn't dare due to the requirement for YouTubers to have permits. I did not have time since permits have to be made at least two weeks in advance. In many cases I have heard of lots of other You Tubers waiting longer than that or not even getting a response to be able to get a permit from other National Parks. It is incredibly frustrating. It was nice to not worry about getting the perfect footage though and just photograph the scenery and wildlife. I don't think my husband really wanted to go. He kept telling me that a coworker used to camp there with his grandparents and never saw a horse. Note I was horse crazy even as a kid, but I was also interested in some of the other wildlife here. Assateague Island is known for its wild horses and is mentioned in the famous children's book Misty of Chincoteague. As soon as we entered the park we were greeted by a band of wild horses right there on the road! Being it was autumn and we had spent the day at the Mariners Museum and visiting a friend of my husband, the sun was just setting as we arrived! It was a scramble to find and set up our campsite on the beach, but man the views behind us were colorful! I could hardly wait to see the sunrise! That night we made a big mistake by not inflating our sleeping pads and just sleeping on the sand. It was much harder than it initially felt and made for a rough night. Luckily I rose to make a trip to the outhouse at the perfect time! Some bits of color were just beginning to paint the sky. I quietly told the guys I was getting up to photograph the sunrise and to my surprise our son jumped right up and came out with me. Hubby followed shortly there after. I had so much fun shooting the colors and waves as the sun rose. Our son watched the sand crabs and raced to and from the waves. He even collected shells to help me form a heart on the beach to photograph! Then I noticed some small shorebirds coming over to feed as the sun rose higher in the sky. This was my first time seeing and photographing Piping Plovers! These quick little birds are protected and what a pleasure it was to observe them! They are featured in the photo above. Click on photos to view larger. Then it was time for a quick breakfast. As I went to the car to arrange some gear before checking in and exploring I saw and photographed a little beach bunny hanging out by the out house and showers. My son had told me he had seen one while we were setting up the night before. Kind of funny I photograph in the backyard quite frequently and hundreds of miles away here is one on a beach. Another camper had also seen a fox on the beach a few nights before, but we did not have that pleasure. There was still lots of time before the camping office would open so we started exploring the island. There are a few different ecological areas on the island each with its own short trail. They were the story of the forest trail, the salt marsh and the Dunes area. I think we started at the forest area which had some small freshwater pools that the horses are known to drink from. Sadly we only ever so the horses right next to the roadways and not from any trails. Eventually the trails would end at the bay. We saw both Snowy and Great Egrets. After the Forest Trail we checked in to the campground and got maps as we had arrived after hours. The staff was real nice. From parking area I could see some birds in treetops with funny long beaks. I took a few snapshots and later identified them as Juvenile White Ibises. After the camping office we wandered the marsh trail. I told my son to be on the look out for turtles as there may be some different varieties from home. Well, he found a baby bottle, a plastic starfish and lots of trash. All I can say is do better people leave no trace! As we got closer to the bay more minnows and crabs could be seen in the water. Once at the end of the boardwalk we wandered along the shore of the bay, where we found of cluster of sea gulls and what I think were Royal Terns. The brochures said they were known to have Forsters Terns however in comparing my photos to my bird id book they are closer in appearance to a Royal Tern. They were kind of fun to photograph! We moved on when kiddo and the hubby got bored. Then further down along the boardwalk I finally spotted them, the Diamondback Terrapins and they were beautiful! I had never seen this type of turtle before. They looked to have mottled silvery blue skin with diamond shapes on their shells, not to mention their barnacle hitch hikers. There were three of them basking in the sun along the shoreline. One larger off more by itself and two smaller terrapins setting closer together. After a bit fourth one swam and almost seemed to ask if it could join them but he was not welcomed and a few moments later swam away. We saw an osprey fly over and a Little Blue Heron hunting in the distance. Then we made a visit to the visitor center to pick up JR Ranger Booklet and take advantage of the picnic area for lunch. We made a quick trip to Ocean City for groceries and hiked the Dunes Trail when we returned. The sandy trail was very hard on my hips and didn't produce any wildlife. We drove back towards the campsite and found the horses along the road and near the our site's parking area. We chatted with rangers and made sure to keep our 40 feet away from the horses. I should have changed to a shorter lens but I did get some intimate facial portraits of the horses. We returned to our campsite to rest and encourage the boy to fill out his Jr. Ranger Booklet. My husband disappeared for a while and when he returned I suggested walking the beach to photograph shore birds. We saw Brown Pelicans in flight and flocks of Piping Plovers. I probably gave someone a chuckle as I got down on my hands and knees to photograph and observe the behavior of the plovers. They were kind of mesmerizing as they chased and ran from the waves seeking its tasty deposits. My son appeared to be mimicking the birds as he to chased the waves and ran as they came crashing down. We walked down to where people had driven on to the beach with special permits before walking back to our site. It was getting dark when we got back to camp. We drove out to a picnic area too tired to lug the food to our campsite. We had wished that we had brought our kayaks the whole trip, but being hurricane season had opted not too. I saw rentals advertised but in our exploration learned that in September they were disappointingly only available weekends. While I made dinner my husbands buddy texted that we should hit the road asap, Tropical Storm Ophelia was due to hit the coast of Virginia and Maryland hard. Perhaps we had made the right decision about bringing the kayaks after all. After dinner we cleaned up. Everything not essential to sleeping was packed in the car and we headed to bed. We made sure to pump up our sleeping pads and tried to sleep. The boys seemed to sleep okay but stress, my abdominal pain and the wind kept me up most of the night. At 4am I desperately needed the bathroom. I was laying oceanside where the wind was beating down hard on the doors. No way I could get out of the tent without waking anyone. The wind grew worse and worse as I waited and tried to change our planned route. Finally I looked at my phone to determine when the full storm would hit. I didn't have much luck so I reached for my husbands phone to check the radar. The light woke my husband and determined we would immediately pack and leave. No one else appeared up or concerned. It took a while to take down the tent in the wind, but thankfully our son cooperated and had no issues helping to pack up at 5 am. Color was entering the sky for sunrise as we drove off and my heart ached to capture it one last time, but there was a lead foot on the gas pedal. The weather was beautiful the whole way back to New Yuck, but his buddy and the news proved we had made the right decision. Tensions had been high this part of trip. Both my husband and son's sleeping pads failed to hold air all night. If anyone knows of any reasonably priced sleeping pads that are both comfortable and long lasting drop us a line! Hope you enjoy the photos! Well, today I am writing from my sickbed. The windows are open to let in some much needed fresh air and the sunshine is begging for me to come out. I tried it for five minutes then had to come back and lie down. I hate being sick, especially when everyone else is too and there isn't much you can do other than pray. The boys are doing better now. Can you say we had the worst Halloween this year but our son took no to trick or treating like a champ. I will have to think of something fun to do in costume when we get healthy again. Big news, just in case you have been living under a rock lately I have started a YouTube Channel called Naturally Adrift Photo Adventures! Please, please, please like, subscribe and click the notification bell! If I can (and that is a big if) we get up to 1,000 subscribers I will be eligible for monetization. How nice it would be to have an income! So what is Naturally Adrift Photo Adventures about? It is about the pursuit of adventure and the photography it may or may not lead to. There will be, hiking, kayaking, camping, wildlife, waterfalls and sadly a lot of brain farts. Yup, I said it brain farts. Even though for now I stay behind the camera it seems I sometimes have trouble conveying my thoughts. I hope that improves with practice. Videography is a fair bit different from photography and the learning curve is much steeper than I expected but I will get there. I do not have a dedicated video or vlogging camera so for now it is just my Canon 7D Mk ii. I tried to use my phone to make videos too but the volumes didn't match up. Edit my husband just gave me permission to use his footage, so now Naturally Adrift Photo Adventures will now truly be a committed partnership! Which is good since we do nearly everything together anyways! In other news I have swapped my photos on Fine Art America (prints and gifts tab) to be entirely autumn photos call it a Fall Fiesta of sorts, now through December first. We did actually get out a little bit this fall. I couldn't stay away from my beloved mountains forever. We of course had to checkout the migration at Montezuma, visited local waterfalls and made two stops at Verona Beach State Park on our way home from errands and visiting my in-laws. The first stop was after having to have our car checked out by my husbands favorite mechanic. We started out going to the beach portion of Verona Beach. I photographed seagulls and caught sight of a juvenile Bald Eagle or so I thought. I eventually abandoned the Seagulls and walked to the other end of the playground which is where my son and husband were.. I kept my eyes to the sky and my ears open. I heard a crashing sound in the top of the trees ahead of me. A moment later a juvenile Bald Eagle flew over my head with a stick in its claws. I clicked away and the moment was gone. However, a few minutes later it flew back over my head into the same trees it had come from with a sibling hot on its heals! It was like they were playing some sort of game! I tried to follow the sound to see if there was a nest nearby. I never saw one. This late in the year it would be hard to believe that they would still be using a nest. I followed a path that led down to the lake just in time to see one of them fly out over the Oneida Lake. I stood there a long while and a photographed a duck or two. Then I decided to go check on the rest of my family. A lady stopped and asked me a couple of questions. Then three juveniles flew above us in what seemed like a game of tag. Can you say wonderous, breathtaking, exciting! It was a wow moment for sure. I am glad that lady stopped me or I would have missed the moment! Growing up Bald Eagles were only seen on TV and behind bars in Zoos! I was absolutely giddy, here were three Bald Eagle Babies playing free and wild in the skies above me! As an adult I've seen lots of them at mall or about Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge but for some reason this moment was more exhilarating! I ran off to tell Chris what happened and let him have a turn while I watched our son on the playground. Eventually we all wound up in that corner of the park. We saw one adult fly out over the lake. I climbed down to the lake and our son joined me once he calmed down. I don't know how long we waited but they started to return and then head back out to fish. It was during this time I caught the best Bald Eagle Photos I have ever taken (in my own opinion of course). Eventually we got hungry and bought three extremely overpriced slices of Pizza from the local gas station which had also refused to make us a whole pizza due to a severe lack of staff. The next time I made sure to pack a lunch. After lunch we explored another region of the park we had never been too before.. Across the road was Nine Acre Pond and a bunch of trails leading around the pond, forest and wetlands. The ground was soft and made it easy on my feet. The sun revealed a few mushrooms in the forest which begged to be photographed. I decided we would return when the leaves change color. It was a nice hike. We left before sunset though, which broke my heart but I was more determined to make it happen the next time. I hope you enjoyed today's blog and will help support us through subscribing to Naturally Adrift Photo Adventures on YouTube. Some of the videos are linked under the videos tab check them out!
Old Fashion Calendars full of warmth, simplicity and creativity, does anyone besides me still use them? I asked a similar question on my Facebook pages and received zero feedback. Neither a yes or a no. Is the silence an answer of no? Facebook can behave strangely so maybe my question did not show up on anybody's newsfeed. Just in case the answer is the latter I poured my heart and soul and many hours into developing several Calendar Options. I would hope people show kindness when Christmas shopping by purchasing from friends and artisans, not just Amazon and big box stores. Bird lovers may enjoy the my Wild Birds 2023 Calendar. It was hard to pick just twelve photos for this calendar as I have so many bird shots to choose from. Birds are a challenge to photograph but seem most abundant and easiest to find of all wildlife. The second calendar was for waterfall enthusiasts. I miss exploring and photographing waterfalls with my husband. Most of the photos are older some from Montana, New York, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. I find it challenging to pick out the best ones, as you never know what someone else would love. Yes, that is right not like but love, I want someone to love the photo and feel inspired! My fourth calendar is simply titled Nature, a mix of wildlife, macrophotography and landscapes. I think that one is my favorite. The last calendar was a special request from my not so little anymore assistant. It's content is very near and dear to his heart so I titled the calendar For the Love of Little Boys! If you know him or have been following this blog at all then you will have probably guessed it! It is filled with photos of frogs and toads we have encountered on our adventures. Many from the pond out back like Escaper and Tiny! I have renamed Naturally Adrift Photo Boutique to Naturally Adrift Calendars. The shop is linked above in the menu simply as Calendars. I have not updated my page on Fine Art America yet this Fall as we haven't gotten out to do much of any landscape photography. I do hope to get out some even if just locally to hit up the fall foliage (if it ever stops raining). Calendar prices are $18.99 for the standard size and $24.99 on the larger Calendars plus shipping. Your patronage is greatly appreciated! Please feel free to spread the word or if you have any special requests for a calendar please reach out to me! Many Thanks in advance! I went to check if the laundry room was busy (one washer for twelve apartments) and didn't even have to walk through the door to know it was unsafe for me. I could smell the cigarette smoke and feel my airways constricting just a few feet from the dining room. I couldn't fix breakfast that morning. I sent my son outside to prop one of the main entry doors open and grabbed my inhaler. I dread winter because then there will be no escape for me. By 11 am most of the smoke had cleared and we had brunch. It had been a terrible start to the day. After brunch I figured the morning dew would have evaporated and decided we needed fresh air, sunshine and some exercise. I helped my son get his bike off the deck box and wandered around the building and toward the pond. My son followed me then suddenly, I made him stop and told him to be quiet. There on the shoreline was a Solitary Sandpiper! In nearly fourteen years I had never seen one on the pond before! I whispered, "Don't move, be quiet and watch it while I go grab the camera." For once my child actually obeyed me and the sandpiper was still there when I returned. As I raised the camera to take the first shot, my phone rang! I pressed the the shutter then grabbed the phone as quickly as possible praying it wouldn't fly off. I answered the phone. It was friend whom I messaged earlier to check in on. I found a spot to sit and photographed the Sandpiper while talking quietly. It was no easy feat keeping the phone to my ear and balancing my big lens at the same time. My son quietly slipped away to ride his bike. After the long overdue conversation I crawled closer and laid down trying to avoid the goose poop which seemed every where. I was completely captivated until my son came running over to check in with me. The Sandpiper flew across the pond. He was sorry but I shushed him and said to wait. A few minutes later the Sandpiper was back. My son leaned against me watching for a while before silently returning to his bike. The Sandpiper was foraging the rocky shore. It would often find a bug or worm and then dip it in the water before swallowing it. The pond is low as we have not had much rain. It is down about three feet and the floating dock no longer floats. As the Sandpiper slowly paced the shoreline on its hunt I began to wonder if it had an injury as it kept shaking. Then it occurred to me that what I was witnessing may be a technique to lure out its prey. Twice the Sandpiper stopped to preen and wash. While it was preening there was no shaking. I was on a slope so it was hard to get right on level with the Sandpiper but I did manage a few shots that way. Like children the best wildlife photos are taken at eye level. It isn't always possible to do that but this was a rare and beautiful exception. Typically when I encounter a Sandpiper or relative it is at Montezuma Wildlife Refuge where in most areas you are not allowed out of you vehicle making getting on eye level impossible. For two or three hours I observed and photographed this beautiful, hungry and rather tolerant bird. Five hundred photos later I think, maybe I really am crazy. After all to most folks it is just a bird. There is something about observing, learning and making a connection to wildlife. Then again Snow White talked to and even sang to the wild animals, so perhaps I am still semi sane. It was a day when storm clouds rolled by and took turns with the dancing sunbeams. Afternoon light is often really harsh, but that day it was perfect! Sometimes I did have to wait for it but in the end I didn't need to edit most of the photos at all! That was a surprise. My two favorites were at or even below eye level. The grass in the foreground and the water in the background are blurred but the Sandpiper is tack sharp! Hope enjoy the photos as much as I did in their creation! Until next time all the best to you! Oh and maybe a few bonus shots for you! It was really hard to decide which ones to share!
One evening I went outside to keep an eye on my son riding his bike when I saw some cottontail bunnies playing in between the storage units.. I pointed them out to my son who thought they were cool and then continued to ride his bike but away from the frolicking bunnies. I then quietly slipped back to the apartment and retrieved my camera. There is a small area of big spruce trees between the apartment and the storage buildings. I sat quietly on the edge of the spruce and the and storage buildings. A medium sized cottontail was playing with little young one. Then all of a sudden they dashed into the bushes beyond. Drats, I thought to myself and looked around. These were really young rabbits I thought, and then I waited After a while the larger rabbit came out and began exploring. A little while later the younger one came out and hopped up onto one of the entryways to someone's storage bin. Perhaps it had been watching the the chipmunks, mice and squirrels that frequent the bins who's doors have been damaged or not shut tight. That door was shut tight so he hopped down and nibbled the vegetation growing up through the gravel drive. Then he or she started to play with the older bunny. for a minute. At one point the older bunny hopped down the alley toward me stopping to listen once in a while. It came surprisingly close to me and stopped at the end of the building nearest the pond, maybe ten or twelve feet from me then dashed down the grassy side of the building out of sight. My son had stopped riding at this point and was crouched quietly behind my shoulder. I can't believe the bunny came so close he whispered. I was glad to share such an experience with him. Soon they both disappeared into the bushes as a crow flew over. My son returned to riding his bike. I waited quite a while and when I was about to quit they came out for one last show. I love wildlife, I guess I am easily entertained. In between rabbit shows a cute little chipmunk came out of one of the storage bins and foraged in the driveway. Then it scurried toward me and turned to stop in front of one on the storage bins. It picked up leaf like it was going to nibble on its. There were some weeds or Queen Anne's Lace growing up behind it and the white of the door frame just seemed a perfect backdrop so I shot a few frames of the little cutie. When I was young a chipmunk lived under our fort that Dad had built. My sister and I loved watching that little chipmunk. I remember she named him Runny because he always ran so quick. Although I am not sure it was always the same chipmunk that we saw. Sadly the next morning I found the back legs of a baby rabbit being eaten by the neighbor's "House Cat," under one of the picnic tables. It has also killed a lot of birds. Other than cars nothing is more dangerous to wildlife as "House Cat." I know rabbits are prey animals and actually taste really good but it really makes me angry. That cat gets well fed, it doesn't need to be stealing the food of wild natural predators! Grrrrr! Alright, I will get off my soapbox, now that I've probably upset many of you. My posts are going to become more sporadic. Sadly with gas prices I haven't gotten out much and my last hopeful outing turned out to be a freaking disaster. I might have a few more backyard stories for you. We are still trying to find safer and more affordable housing. Sadly more smokers have moved in and I often wind up having to use my inhaler to go do laundry, or getting the mail as I can't always avoid the cigarette smoke that builds up in the hall! Trust me it is no way to live and it will be worse in winter when all the doors and windows are kept closed. Photography sales are not doing well at all and to the few who have bought I thank-you from the bottom of my heart especially knowing first hand how hard it is to make ends meet right now. I think we all need a moment now and then to watch the bunnies play, or fresh air, to watch a sunset or sunrise, the sound of water gently lapping or rushing down a fall just to refresh ourselves. I hope you get to hop into a great weekend and get to enjoy a moment out in nature no matter how small it may be! Hi, folks seems like it has been a while since sharing anything. I guess my mind has just been elsewhere. Anyways I thought I would share with you some of wildflowers I have photographed around the pond and surrounding area. Please bare with me as I am not a botanist so I won't be able to identify most of the pretty flowers. Above is a pretty pal yellow flower I found growing out of the gravel all by itself. I actually broke out the tripod out for these wild flowers or garden transplants. In the spring I came across some stringy pink wildflowers that sort of fascinated me. I found them mostly in bunches near water. Recalling them now the petals were so thin you'd almost think that they had been through the shredder. Some shrubs and assorted berry bushes had pretty blooms in the spring. They sure kept the insects busy and even some birds that hunt insects. Then of course you have your Daisies and it's relatives. A summer favorite, the Black Eyed Susan flowers.. Well, I like the Tiger Lilly a little better but none grow around here. Who knows maybe I will find some more wildflowers to brighten your day with before the snow flies! Don't forget to checkout my available prints! Hopefully I will find something wonderful to photograph this weekend! Have a great evening!
The month of June is one of the best times to see turtles out and about in the wild or your backyard. One afternoon as the rain was starting to wain I noticed one of my neighbors post a photo on Facebook of a snapping turtle. I grabbed my camera and my son hopped into his rain boots. At first my son took off running but I yelled at him that we need to approach cautiously and keep our distance. He didn't need to get bitten by a snapping turtle or disturb her when trying to lay eggs. He had grabbed his camera too. We gave our neighbor a slight fright as we walked around the area I suspected to find the turtle. I gave my apologies for startling him. We talked about whether or not it was laying eggs. My son to a few photos. I lined up a shot and......nothing! My battery was dead! So we raced back to the apartment to grab a full battery. She was on the move and the neighbor had gone back in. My husband had just gotten home from work and joined us. We had to move fast as she was headed back to the pond. Wouldn't you know I had the wrong lens on! Ughh, I felt so stupid! I snagged a few quick snapshots not my best work but here they are.! Then on another day when the sun finally appeared my son and I went outside. He rode his bike and I had my camera looking for birds or anything non-human to photograph. I had been looking into the bushes when I heard a bike tire. I turned out of the corner of my eye I noticed I medium sized painted turtle by the corner of the far corner of one of the storage buildings as my son came speeding by. I took a few shots. My son came over and checked the turtle out with me. I mentioned wishing I had my macro lens out with me and was afraid it would disappear if I left to get it. My son volunteered to fetch and was soon back with it dangling in its case from his handle bar. I can tell you it is quite painful kneeling or laying on gravel but I did it anyways in my attempt to get some good detailed photos at eye level. I will share the three best below. I saw another painted turtle tryin to lay eggs on another evening but all traces of light were nearly gone. Earlier in the spring I was amazed to see a dozen painted turtles at the far end of the pond tucked in the brush. If it were not for my big lens I would not have seen them.
Hope your had a turtle-iffic time today! Don't forget to check out our prints and gifts linked in the menu!
I was visiting with my mom in her kitchen when my son came running in exclaiming, "Mama, mama look, look, look what I...." Before I could even see what was in his hand my mother was screaming at him to get that thing out of her house. I burst out laughing and she yelled at me which made me laugh even harder. I motioned to my son to take his new friend outside. Then I followed him once I regained my composure. It was just a small toad not even a big one. He was proud of his catch.! I forget what he named it, he names all of them. Dad and my husband were sitting on the porch steps. We talked about how we don't take toads inside and remembered the teeny tiny one he lost in the apartment when he was three. He still remembers. Thankfully I did find it after several hours. There was also the bigger one he and his buddy let loose in the car during his birthday camping trip. I had ripped everything out of the car but could not find it. Later I discovered the toad hiding in a gift bag when I went to get his present! Then my Dad told my son about how the neighbor boy and I dissected his barn toad. It wasn't anywhere near the barn when we found it and he will never let me live it down! I didn't photograph that toad, but one day while I was out practicing macrophotography on flowers we found a decent sized toad. Of course he had to catch it and so I decided we should have a toad photo shoot. It was challenging because of course animals don't like to hold still at least not for long and my macro lens is manual focus! We found it near a patch of bright yellow flowers. After taking a shot of it being held my son, he posed the toad near the flowers. Uncle Grumpy Jr. (the toad) kept escaping before I could get focus but after being continuously caught by my assistant he settled down. I photographed Uncle Grumpy Jr. under the flowers. I photographed Uncle Grumpy JR. on the flowers and next to the flowers. Eventually the photo shoot came to an end. We gave Uncle Grumpy Jr. a loving goodbye belly rub and released him back where we found him. Don't the yellow flowers accent his golden eyes well! It wasn't our first toad photo shoot. My son has several photos of toads on leaves, in his toy trucks and on his boot in his room. In fact I think I may have shared a few last year. Anyways to those of you who I like toads I hope you have enjoyed these short snippets of our life! Thanks for looking and don't forget to checkout our Prints and Gifts! Photos will be changing out again soon!
I haven't been traveling much, but I have discovered a wealth of wildlife in and beyond the pond here at the apartment. Yesterday my son and I were sitting next to the pond reading when suddenly a baby cottontail ran out of the bushes and nearly into my son's foot. It as absolutely adorable, but also running for it's life as not even four foot behind it was and equally adorable but hungry weasel! It was a flash in a pan in it's moment of time. It may seem insignificant but I write about it as a moment to remember. I wish I had gotten a photo of them but I was not prepared or ready..
So I have been working on a big project that is going to take quite some time to complete. I don't even know if it will pan out but while working on it I did get distracted. We had some new neighbors build their home by a creek behind the pond. A pretty spot for sure! But that male, Oh My Gosh he is not shy about flashing his goods! Absolutely no sense of modesty. Do you think that he helped at all on the build? Absolutely not! His poor wife was working hard hauling building materials and he kept trying to distract her dancing like a male stripper on a pole! The nerve of some males! She just watched him from above, mouth full of building materials. When he paused to see if she was looking she flew off as if he mattered not to continue her task but he was not willing to take no for an answer and continued pursuing her,. Get this he calls everyone a pretty girl day and night too. Some guys I tell you will try to charm the heck out of anyone! I feel a bit sorry for Mrs. Oriole! Although to be fair he is now very defensive of his territory. I hope you have enjoyed this short article and now introduce you to our new neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Baltimore Oriole! Each year in May the Apple Tree outside our bedroom window blossoms with beautiful white and pink blossoms. They smell so good. The tree itself is huge and hasn't been pruned in the almost fourteen years we have lived here. A few branches have broken and died in storms. Each year I try to photograph the blossoms and and the busy bees that work hard to ensure apples grow. Sadly the blossoms rarely last very long because May is also quite windy with a few good thunderstorms. Sometimes the blossoms may only last a day, but this year they lasted five days! At first there were not very many bees working the blossoms but slowly more did come! There were a few giant Bumble Bees but there did seem to be fewer Honey Bees than last year. I broke out the macro lens one evening to try to catch the last rays of the setting sun through the blossoms. I was a bit late but still managed to get a few photos with interesting light. I photographed one or two of the Honey Bees working the lower part of the tree. Then the breeze picked up so I retired for the evening. I set out one afternoon a day or two later with the Macro and tried hard to capture the bees on the blossoms before the wind knocked them all down. Here are the shots I managed below. Don't forget to check out what is available in the Prints and Gifts Section too! Have a great day! After four or five days sadly the Ruby Crested Warblers disappeared. All was not lost though as I wandered down to work on a special project I was greeted by joyous birdsong and new colors flashing about the trees and shrubbery. Tiny bits of bluish gray and yellow moving all about the bushes! Say hello to the Yellow Rumped Warbler. It was a beautiful sunny morning by a stream we've come to love.. My son played in the water while I watched birds. After it a while it seemed too quiet but I noticed more movement further downstream. I did not have appropriate footwear for the water so we followed a deer path through the rushes to get the stream bank further down. Yes we make sure to look for ticks every time we venture to the creek. My son and I chatted quietly as the show began. Five or six Yellow Rumped Warblers came out to feed around some dead trees and brush. They would flit from branch to branch pausing for a quarter of a second here and there. Talk about an autofocus workout! The morning light was perfect capturing these tiny colorful darts! I even manage a photo of one pruning itself! They moved on once they ate what they could in that spot. My favorite shot of the Yellow Rumped Warbler was taken as it stood in front of a well worn trunk full of holes and bore lines. We followed the stream just a bit further before returning to our "spot." I saw some movement in the brush upon our return. It was not the Yellow Rumped Warbler but a type I had never seen before. It was a small yellow warbler with two chestnut stripes on it's head. It was very pretty. I made sure to take lots of photos of it and later looked it up in the my field guide. Turns out it was a Palm Warbler. The warblers hung about for a few days, bringing us much joy with their delightful songs and colors. Then they disappeared over night. I was hoping they would stay but it turns out our "spot" was just a pit stop along their long migration. Well, hope you enjoy the photos as much I did in creating them!
I woke up and peeked out the window. The sky was blue! I opened the window. The birds were singing so I quickly and quietly got dressed. The men folk were still sleeping so I grabbed my camera and slipped out the door to my new "happy spot." I have a project in the works but mother nature has to cooperate. I sat down by a small stream and waited for the magic to happen. Soon I was surrounded by tiny birds. Swamp sparrows foraged along the edge of the stream. A White Throated Sparrow made an appearance as did many migrating Ruby Crowned Kinglets. While photographing the speedy little Kinglets one kept getting closer and closer. Finally it was so close my lens could not focus. I moved it aside and to see the miniscule missile coming straight at my face! I ducked and quicker than a blink that Ruby Crowned Kinglet zipped back to its perch. I would have been crowned had I not ducked! The little bird looked shocked for a moment and then flew off. I had a great morning. I returned to the apartment to find the guys watching YouTube videos. I grabbed some breakfast and made the younger one get dressed. Then after lunch we set out for Pleasant Valley Nature Preserve. We had been there one other time and enjoyed the trails. It is mixture of field, swamp, ponds, Christmas tree farm, and Maple Trees set on a steep hillside. They do collect sap here so you have to be careful of all the sap lines. When we arrived we found the main trail flooded. This delighted our son as he got to test out his new used muck boots. They passed! As for my husband and I well we had to try to keep where it was shallowest. We all made it across. I stopped to survey the flooded swamp only to hear my son say, "Mama, look out there is a snake." I instantly backed away and saw the culprit. We then booked it up the trail. I did good and maintained my composure. I hate those awful creatures. I did encounter one other that day but managed to out run it! We entered the area of the Christmas trees and spotted sparrows in them. A grove of mixed hardwoods to our right were filled the bug catching Phoebes. To my delight I captured a few photos of the Phoebes with their mouths full! A robin perched on a branch above our heads. I spotted a small Reddish Bird high in the trees. I think it was a House Finch. We hiked the red and blue trails up the hill into the maples. I had forgotten how steep it was. My husband stopped ahead of us with his camera poised. I looked about but couldn't figure out what he was shooting. Our son and I clamored up the hill to join him. As stood next to him and raised my lens to look a around a pair of ducks flew out of a tree and into a another further down the trail but the view of them was obscured. He said he didn't know ducks sat in trees. I replied that I had seen them do it a few times but no many. And then I reminded him that Wood Ducks nest high up in hollowed trees. A little further up the red and blue trails split. I remembered how steep the blue trail was although very interesting I suggested we explore the red trail. The woods were peaceful and full of bird song. Thankfully the trail leveled out and we walked down a much milder slope which circled back around to the tree farm. We then carefully crossed the flooded swamp trail. We were going to check out the field where the Bluebird boxes were but our son caught sight of a frog in the water. So my husband and I parted ways. He continued on to hike the white trail and check out the blue birds while I went "frogging" with our son. He wasn't too happy with me when I wouldn't let him try to catch a few just out of arms reach in the swamp. I know him, he would have fallen in and completely soaked himself. He was happy with my first frog of the season photos though. When my husband finally returned he told me that he saw a Blue Bird chase a Tree Swallow away from its nesting box. Then he encountered another in a tree just around the bend. I doubted they would still be there but I asked if I could take a turn. He took over frog duty (not his favorite) and I slowly made my way to the location he had described. The nesting boxes appeared empty except for a few tree swallows swooping over. Then I spotted a bit of blue in a tree in the distance. As soon as I got close enough the blue bird took off far down the trail. I followed it a little ways but turned around. When I got back to the tree two more blue birds were occupying it. I took some photos. My spirit soared as they would strike a pose fly to another nearby tree and pose again. Sometimes one would go to the ground quick and return to the tree. I lost track of time and finally decided I had better return. I met my family part way down the trail excited to thank my husband and tell them all about the Blue birds. The sky was blue and I felt alive!
Are you intrigued by the title? Have I completely lost my mind? Perhaps, but have you ever seen those picture perfect photos of birds and squirrels in gorgeous light perfectly reflected in mirror like water. I've always wondered how they were so lucky to get the timing just right. Well, it takes a lot of work or at least a lot of creativity based on some how to videos on You Tube. Turns out the results are a mix of staging, knowledge of animal behavior and a small sprinkle of dumb luck. These photographers find a semi-rich areas where wildlife reside. Not all locations have water, so they build reflecting pools and surround them with dirt, rocks and vegetation.. They move and even tie off broken branches in just the right position to get a bird to perch and snag that perfect reflection photo. They often set up a store bought camouflage blind to camp out in or sneak out to just before sunrise. A few dress in camouflage and try to blend in with the surroundings. I suppose they get better results than I do heading out in my bright pink jacket and boisterous tag-a-long. Considering we rent an apartment I do not think it is okay to try to build my own little reflection pool or blind in the shared yard. For years I have tried to catch a great wildlife reflection in the pond. However you have to be quick and ready. The opportunities are rare because that water is often moving. I have photographed a robin reflected in a mud puddle before. Perhaps a shallower body of water would work. There is a hill in front of our apartment and at the base is a drainage ditch that often overflows with water. One day I saw a pretty little red squirrel take a drink out of the drainage ditch, I quickly grabbed the camera and as I searched for a section of glass lacking fingerprints it dashed away. After that I made sure to clean the glass door. It didn't last long with a very disobedient child. Then one calm sunny morning I noticed a sparrow looking for food next to the very still drainage ditch. To my delight the sparrow and grass were beautifully reflected! Hence, the title Drainage Ditch Delight! So if I can keep the kid out of the ditch maybe I will get to witness and capture more pretty wildlife reflections before it dries out while using the apartment itself as a blind. I also managed to catch a Robin in a snow storm reflected in the drainage ditch too. Have a wonderful day and don't forget to checkout our "Prints and Gifts." available through Fine Art America! Spring was officially here, when I grabbed the camera and set out for a walk around the pond. The muskrats were not out. Some geese had a quick spat on the pond. It didn't seem like there was much out that was photo worthy. Then suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a pair of Red Breasted Robins fighting or were they mating. In all appearances it seemed rather violent. I swung my camera up to my eye. In this instance, when the action is so fast and sudden all you can do is spray and pray! A few photos turned out but many were just slightly out of focus. Is this aerial snuggling or a bitter attack? I originally spotted them in the air but eventually the fight or heat of passion moved to the gravel mound left by the plow guy. My buffer filled. I had to wait a few seconds before being able to shoot. Their aerial antics were sure swift. Ahh, nature is this what we call love on the rocks? Yes, I believe so it is spring now so why not! While it was not much of an adventure for me and very brief, I am sure it was quite the adventure for these twitter-pated robins. Hope you enjoyed this little walk on the wild side!
For my birthday I just wanted to get outside and away from the apartment. Unable to drive and my birthday falling on a weekday this year, didn't lend to getting out. However, my wonderful husband did take us outside and away the preceding weekend! It was an adventure for sure! With gas prices soaring we've been opting to stay local if we venture out at all. My husband remembered a Preserve with a trail to hike we had passed by the year before on Otisco Lake so we opted to do that after lunch. I vaguely recalled reading that the trail to the lake was steep, so I planned to grab my hiking poles from the back of the car. Upon arriving my husband and I grabbed our camera gear. My camera bag doesn't have a space for a water bottle but my new purse does so I decided to take that with me too. While I was getting that my husband set his camera on the ground to help our son clean up a bunch of cans strewn about. Just then another party of hikers showed up and started backing up to park. I noticed and right away dashed over to rescue the heavy camera and lens. They apologized but honestly how could they see it on the ground. I held the heavy beast while my husband climbed back over the rail and put the cans in the the car. He locked up, I handed him his camera and we all three headed down the trail. It started gradually and then quickly turned to to a series of steep switchbacks. Half way down I remembered my hiking poles, which were still in the car. Rain had been predicted to start at about 5pm so we just hurried to the bottom. We could hear tiny waterfalls trickling around us on our hike but only one was visible. I figured I would try to photograph it on the way up. The other party had beaten us down to the small landing area on the lake. We enjoyed a brief visit and they enjoyed skipping stones on the water with our son. My legs felt weak after the climb down so I sat to rest on a log washed ashore. Most of the lake was still covered in ice but the edges had started melting. From my low perch I looked up and saw an Eagle fly from a huge nest. Of course I had the wrong lens on and by the time I switched the Eagle was long gone. From what the kind folks we met said the trail is often closed due to the pair nesting and this was a rare opportunity for them. As we chatted the clouds grew and pushed closer. They decided to head back to the car. I switched lenses and continued to try to capture some great shots, including some macros of shells in the shallows. As I was doing that it began to sprinkle. There was a cabin with a tree that had orange leaf buds in the distance jutting out into the lake that just screamed take my picture with those moody clouds and so I did. The rain was starting to come down a bit more than a sprinkle so I put my gear away. It was just a little after 3pm We headed up the stairs and the rain started pelting. It only took a moment for my husband and child to disappear before me. It was the wrong trail to do after a whole winter doing nothing. My legs were really weak in the steepness. I had to keep stopping to catch my breathe, I was trying hard to not have to use my inhaler. My eyes kept scanning the edges of the trail looking for a stick or branch to use as a walking stick. About half way up I finally found one to use! It was actually a bit too heavy but my legs were too weak and heavy or not it was my only option. The rain seemed to just come down harder and harder and the steepness of the rather short trail made it seem endless. When finally the ground seemed to flatten the car was still further away around the bend than I remembered. I was completely soaked. Then finally I rounded the last bend and saw my husband had moved the car right next to the trail head. Boy, was I ever grateful! While the hike back was unpleasant it was an adventure to remember, of course I won the wet tee shirt contest.. As we drove away the rain stopped. I wish I could have captured the fog rolling up from the lake on the other side but there was no where to pull over. Trust me it was beautiful. We need to return in better shape and remember the hiking poles! As we headed over to check on our property a huge rainbow streaked across the sky! I tried to capture it from the car on my phone. Then it disappeared as we dipped into the valley.
Please be sure to explore the available prints and gifts linked in the tab above as I have been busy switching out the photos to provide new options. I hope you like them! It was hard to come up with a title for this week's blog. It is a little different from my usual content but also a follow up to a blog I wrote several weeks ago. Between the freeze and thaws, my son and I have been cleaning up around the apartment complex. We picked trash up around the pond, a total of four big heavy bags so far. Trust me when I say there is still a "ton" more to clean up. The lawn crew just mows over everything so I thought to clean up before they start would be helpful. Earth day is coming up and I urge you to invest in work gloves and some trash bags and join us in this quest in your own neighborhood or natural area. We should consider everyday Earth day and do our part in cleaning up and consider ways to reduce the amount of trash we produce. It would be nice to eliminate waste completely but I don't believe that possible. I have seen many commercials about the "war on plastic" and how it is filling our oceans. It is not just our oceans that plastics are polluting but our lakes, forests, mountain trails, backyards, roadsides and ponds too! How many videos have you seen with animals trapped in buckets or with their head caught or tangled in trash. I applaud the folks who are able to come to their rescue but admire those who refuse to be the cause of such accidents. Don't get me wrong, accidents happen. When cleaning up around the pond we collected quite a few plastic containers animals could get trapped in. Drink containers were the number one item we picked up. Smashed beer and soda cans, Gatorade and water bottles carelessly lining the pond and woods. I imagine most people who read my blog already do this but if not invest in reusable BPA free water bottles and use them! Don't set them down in the woods and walk away put them in your pack, strap them to a belt or your wrist, wash and reuse! I know what you're about to say get off your high horse and click away, but it really does matter. Someday if things don't change the only mountains to photograph will be those made of trash, maybe not in my life time but very possible in our great grandchildren's future. Small changes like this are so important that many of our national parks offer water bottle refill stations, no charge! I think that is awesome and would love to soon see that option at all of them! So when you head out for the day don't forget your water bottle and bring it back with you! Metal insulated ones can even help regulate your beverages temperature too! Water bottles come in many fun designs and stickers are being made to be used on water bottles. You can have fun and customize your own. Sticker options are available many places but if you order some from my gift shop I would be forever grateful. I have made it a goal of mine to reduce the amount of plastic we use, especially after learning most of what I put in the recycle bin isn't getting recycled. Many products are refused due to chemical reactions between the product and the plastic. Here I thought I was doing good by recycling all these years. Can you see the big sad face? A few years ago I had trouble with my hair falling out. It turns out there were multiple causes for it but one was the sulfates in the shampoos. In my quest to find sulfate free shampoos and conditioners I came across Ethique which is a bar that you rub on your wet hair, scrub and rinse. I actually get it via an Amazon subscription but you can order it direct from the company.. It took a little while to get used too but is totally plastic free and the thin cardboard can be recycled. Another bonus of bar shampoo is that it is very easy to travel with, no problems stepping on the plane since it is not liquid or metal! I have not been able to find bar shampoos or conditioners in stores yet, but a simple internet search can lead to many options to choose from and order. I may link a few resources under in my Facebook comment section if you follow me on there.
I have also changed to using laundry sheets recently. The one I am currently trying out is Kind laundry and can be found at https://www.kindlaundry.com/. I actually just bought it off Amazon for a few pennies less. I couldn't wait to try it out, guess I'm getting old. Anyways so far the clothes seem brighter! There are many different places and formulations of laundry sheets. The top and most expensive is True Earth, another popular one is Earth Breeze an I also looked into a Minnesota based Company called Good Hands which supports protecting the boundary waters! I chose to try Kind because it doesn't have a lot of sulfates and the ingredients can be found on its listing page. Price wise it was in the middle when compared to the above companies. One thing I love about the idea of these sheets is that they are light weight and easy to pack if you are traveling! Not every laundromat has sample size detergent for sale anymore. I recall our trip to Montana we took years ago the I wound up buying a regular bottle of detergent to wash just three loads. We couldn't pack it home with us so I left it for someone else to use. Powders can be messy to especially if the lid should pop off during travel. Just a though to consider. Another way to cut down on plastic that I have yet to try is to use reusable bottles for your cleaning agents, like dish soap, counter cleansers and bathroom cleansers. I have looked into Blueland and love their concept of a "forever bottle" that you fill with water and then just drop a cleansing tab (comes paper wrapped) into the bottle and voila you have cleanser and only one bottle! However, I have read a lot of reviews about either the bottles or the sprayer breaking which defeats the purpose. Good Hands offer a similar option and I am sure if I dug deeper I could find more options. I wish I had thought of that when I had to throw everything in my bathroom out last fall, but I will use up the cleaners I have now then switch. If you have any more "plastic free" or "planet saving" ideas please share in the comments! I would love to hear your suggestions! After the thaw came an artic blast blanketing New York in snow again just as I was starting to see tiny buds on the trees. Yes, buds the weekend of the thaw was that warm, but it had not succeeded in melting all of the ice. We experienced several more days of cold and then the temperatures slowly began to rise. . My son wanted to go outside to play one evening so we did. His father arrived home and the boy went running. I however, turned around to notice a pair of muskrats having dinner next to a hole in the ice on the pond. I quickly and quietly went inside and retrieved my camera and long lens. They were still just dots in the distance so I very quietly walked the old trail around the pond until I was just across from them and made my way down the bank and across a swampy area to get a closer look. It was the almost perfect spot. The light was in the wrong place and instead of getting some semi-cute mammals my test photo showed two fat black dots. I rejoined the guys for a few more minutes of precious fresh air before going inside to make dinner. The next morning we awoke to snow covering everything again but the sky was blue. It was pretty. Much better than cold, gray and brown. It was even a bit cheery. I however am ready for warmer temperatures and more time outside in the fresh air. My son and I grabbed our camera, trudged through the snow. We took photos of the trees still tucked in their blankets around the iced over pond. We discussed composition and angles a moment for art class and then took some actual photos. My best shot is displayed at the top About a week later I decided for my son's art class we would go outside and do some more nature photography since he now seems interested. It was warmer and the snow was gone. There was still ice on the pond but it was melting. First we listened to the birds and tried to locate them. There were a few in branches of the hedgerow but a clean shot was impossible then high above I noticed a mourning dove greeting the morning. We continued to walk over to the pond and observed four muskrats having breakfast around the big hole in the ice. I raised my camera as one disappeared into the water. They were still quite a ways out. I pointed them out to my boy and we very quietly tip toed back to the spot that I had last seen them in the light of the setting sun. This time the sunlight was coming from the opposite direction and it was glorious. We carefully made our way down to the edge trying not to snap twigs and avoiding getting too wet. Only one muskrat was still up. We quietly raised our cameras and photographed it eating before it too disappeared. My son was upset when it dove into the depths of the pond. I quietly whispered to him, " Wait quietly, they will be back with more to eat." He squirmed a little but was really good. After a minute or two another muskrat appeared on the ice with more vegetation to feast on. A moment later it's mate appeared beside it. We observed the muskrats for about twenty minutes. Once they had all disappeared and I knew I couldn't keep a seven year old quiet for much longer it was time to go in and review our shots and get started with the dreaded language arts (he hates writing anything). It was great fun photographing wild animals with my son. He enjoyed shooting the trees too. For a beginner he has quite an eye, than again both of his parents are photographers. There is a rumor that one is distantly related to Ansel Adams so he could be great some day, you never know. I think my mom would say they are so ugly they're cute. I hope you enjoyed the muskrat show as much as we did in photographing them. Wildlife photography is a thrill. The next morning we saw a sure sign of spring which I will drop below.
Just a reminder prints are available at Julie-Metott.pixels.com and will be switched out quarterly or by request if you see something you love just message or email me. A variety of gifts and household goods are also available. The link can also be found in the navigation bar Thank you and until next week enjoy spring!. While the weather can't seem to make up it's mind I temporarily escaped to enjoy nature! I even dug out my camera. I was bad and requested a trip that is about a fifteen minute drive from the apartment. The weather was warm enough for me to venture outside so we drove over and hiked to the quarter mile path to Tinker Falls. Tinker Falls often freezes nearly solid in the winter. Many years ago my husband and donned proper attire for hiking on the ice and managed to climb up to and behind the falls. It was magical. I know I wrote a blog about it but that is long gone as it was over decade ago now. This day although much of the waterfall was frozen, it was flowing. So the folks who hiked up and behind it were lucky to not get impaled by the thawing stalagmites of ice. I started off using my nifty fifty lens and then switched to the Irix 150 f2.8 macro lens to try to capture more of the details of the ice even though I couldn't get up close myself. The colors and different patterns were a bit mesmerizing. While the air was brisk it smelled so good! As we hiked backed to the car I stopped to shoot some ice that had formed on the bottom of a fallen tree. I almost think that was more exciting to photograph than Tinker Falls itself. The variation of colors and and textures pulled at me. I guess some logs do have teeth, if you want to have a bit of fun. Is this a giant creek shark? Look at the rows of ice teeth! The hike was very brief and I was not ready to go back to the apartment. So we stopped at Labrador Hollow Unique Area just around the corner. We visit here often as it is a nice place nearby to hike. Our son did not want to walk the boardwalk so we took the trail through the woods that goes past a large vernal pond. I grabbed my camera and a couple of lenses. Turns out I only used the nifty fifty. The sun was hovering just above the hills when we started into the woods at the edge of a field. There are some really neat trees along the trail and the light was just right to try to gather up my "inner Adam Gibbs." Adam Gibbs is a nature photographer who loves photographing trees and landscapes on YouTube. I loved the way the trees lined the trail and the mix of curves and colors they displayed in the last bit light. I didn't care that I was being left behind by my family. This was a creators playground and to wait would mean to lose the perfect light. All my shots were handheld as I opted not to lug the tripod with me. Who knows maybe it was a mistake, anyways it was a small moment of glory. I escaped the cage and was free if only for a moment. I wonder what those trees were whispering about. I imagine they were saying" look at the crazy photographer. She thinks she can properly shoot us with a 50mm lens, she should be using the wide angle lens. Ahh, well, I'm sure I will get another chance since it is of course my son's favorite hiking trail. Often times you think you have managed a great shot only to find out it is not. Sometimes the vice versa it true too. With gas prices so high and the huge task of finding and affording a home at hand we won't be traveling much. The next day we stayed at the apartment. The weather was glorious outside and I was going completely stir crazy. I grabbed the camera and walked outside to the pond I photographed the plant life in the pond through a hole in the melting ice with the macro lens. Then I found an orange leaf on the ice to play with. I am not impressed with how those photos turned out. Walking around the pond I found footprints of a creature embedded in ice. I am going to guess they are muskrat prints based on knowing a pair lives here. Then I walked around the pond a bit more and discovered photographic gold! It would be a macro shot. The moment did not last long as few gusts of wind rocked the water the bubbles under the ice escaped and popped. Still it was pretty cool to capture nature made bubbles under the ice! What do you think? Leave a comment below!
As I mentioned in my last blog, my son wanted to go camping for his birthday. This thought absolutely delighted me. Unfortunately we would have to cut it short as other family members wanted to do a small party for him. We made the best of it that we could. Now one of the biggest challenges was in finding a spot to camp as almost all campgrounds were closed and many of the free sites we visit were gated. After some research I came up with a few ideas to try. We drove up into the Adirondacks Saturday morning and struck out at the first two ideas but then we found a great site near water. No I am not going to reveal the location other than between Eagle Bay and Raquette Lake. The boy was excited to be out in the woods again! Once we picked a site we set up our tent and discovered holes in the screen. The holes had been made by a miscreant chipmunk people had previously fed from last year. That is what we believe happened because I swear I heard it trying to climb on the tent that night. We set up anyway and hoped the cool weather would keep the bugs at bay.. (I did reach out to Eureka about mending the tent when we got home. After some miscommunication they fixed the tent for free!) Once everything was set up we explored the area on foot. After exploring it was cookout time with hot dogs, hamburgers and pasta salad. There is nothing quite like a burger cooked over an open fire. My husband tended the fire while I took sometime to shoot the setting sun over the big pond below our site. My son grabbed a lantern and followed me down. He happily floated boats (sticks and leaves) while I tried to compose the perfect scene. I even photographed the very soon to be birthday boy on his last evening of being a six year old. It was quiet and serene, the air was clean. Then when it started to get quite dark I photographed one of the lanterns next to the water. With sun gone we climbed the hill back up to camp where a warm fire greeted us. It was perfect for roasting smores and gazing at the stars! It was a very, very cold night. The boy seemed to sleep okay. I couldn't quite get warm enough and neither could my husband. I should have packed the big double zero degree bag but I was not sure if I would have to hike to our campsite, which thankfully we did not . Let's just say when we got up the fire was rekindled and the kettle was put on to boil. It was exciting to have hot cocoa for breakfast! Once the boy was awake and cleaned up I gave him his birthday present. Not overly exciting but he had been wanting his own adult size camp chair in bright red! Daddy of course had an even more exciting gift for him at home that he would open after his second round of cake and ice cream! Once we were sufficiently warmed up we grabbed the cameras and hit the mysterious hiking trail across the road from our tent site. It seemed to join another trail and a few spurs seemed to join to that trail. We had followed one spur the day before to a pretty pond with a floating dock. Sadly the few photos I took did not turn out as the dock had moved with every footfall. So we let the birthday boy pick the direction and whenever he got whiny and wanted to turn around one of us would point out something ahead and ask what is that. The whining would cease and he would race to see the next discovery. Turns out the woods were filled with broken down motor boats! They lined the path on both sides! Then we came across a small pond and when I looked down the trail i thought I could see a lake and a small town. This renewed the child and we wound up hiking all the way to Raquette Lake from our campsite. The Raquette Lake Navigation company had their big tour boat docked on the lake.. Our son naturally wanted to go on a cruise but the crew was busy painting and mending the boat for the busy summer season. Maybe someday we will get a tour of the lake. We walked on a little further, and took a short rest on the shore of the lake. Then the boys booked it back to camp as I hobbled after them. The tendonitis in my feet had flared quite badly. They did stop and wait for me at the turn off before beating me back to camp. Once there we packed up camp being very careful not to leave any trace of our visit. Then it was off to celebrate with family. He absolutely loved camping. I wonder what he will request this year and if we will be able to make it happen.
Back in 2020 I received a macro lens for Christmas, which was a bit of a blessing for it gave me a new area of photography to explore. Welcome to a whole new and challenging realm of photography! Well, the year 2021 only had two great adventures. One obviously being the two weeks in which we traveled to Wyoming to visit a few National Parks. The other was a quick over night camping trip in the Adirondacks for our son's birthday. The rest of my time was being stranded here at the apartment complex or trying to tame the two acres of land my husband owns but can't afford to build on. So when I wasn't busy homeschooling and doing all things domestic I broke out that new lens and scoured the yard for something to photograph close up! So Mama's new toy is the Irix 150mm Macro! This is a fully manual lens. The aperture opens all the way up to f2.8 so it is a light sucking monster, I mean that in a good way! Through this macro lens I able to view world's within worlds or so you could say. I recall photographing a daisy while trying to get the focus right, I noticed a fly and a teeny tiny white spider. The spider, despite being much smaller than the fly was winning the battle of life over death and all this played out on the pretty Daisy! Never having noticed white spiders before I did a Google search and discovered that this was a White Crab Spider. It's color is the perfect camouflage for living on a Daisy. Now I know why my Mom wasn't overly thrilled when I brought home wildflowers for her. Can you see the smile on the spider's face? As you know I love wildlife photography, but never really considered the fact that you don't always need a long focal length to do so. You can capture some pretty wild wildlife with a macro lens. For example an entomologist would love this Irix 150mm f2.8 lens. I have seen other photographers with a love of entomology on Instagram make gorgeous photos of insects but there are other wild critters to photograph in which a macro lens would be quite handy It rained a lot here on the east coast last year. When it rains the slugs come out to play! Okay, so maybe slugs are kind of icky and very sticky but I thought they made for some interesting photography and entertainment for the kid.. I found a slug stuck on a daisy! Other great creatures worthy of macrophotography are mollusks like snails, amphibians such as newts, toads and frogs. This idea delights my son! He loved being my assistant catching my subject and putting it back whenever it decided to hop away. Yes, his walls are covered in pictures of frogs and toads! One of the biggest challenges I faced was getting my subject perfectly focused. As a nature photographer I work outside where the wind blows and most of my macro subjects were either flying or swaying on a leaf! My other challenge was I typically did not use my tripod, which ironically was usually in the car. The same car my husband takes to work with him everyday. Hopefully I will get more use out of my tripod this year. I did delete a lot of blunders but hey there is learning curve to everything. You might say that I would be better off with an autofocus lens for macro, but I disagree. Do you know how frustrating it is when your autofocus just keeps continually trying to focus! With manual I found if I could get close to full focus and then wait for the moment that the wind or breeze would stop or slow a moment I could lock in focus, wait for the next opportunity and then bang, bang bang! At least one of the shots would be just right! One day my son's frisbee went into the bushes but he refused to go get it. "Mama, Mama, come quick, there's red bugs and ticks all over!" I am glad he did not retrieve the frisbee on his own. We have had to pull too many ticks off of him, including from inside his very deep belly button! Once I calmed him down and took a few photos of the mysterious red bugs, I did a Google search to identify them. I did not study entomology but evidently these are red aphids. I could see a few ticks too. Sometimes I photograph unpleasant things just to learn about them.
In few images I took there was what I thought was a tiny bee hovering over the flowers. It was actually very pretty so I thought. Unsure of what it was exactly I shared a photo in a Facebook group asking if anyone could identify it. All answers revealed that it was a Hover Fly. I tried to take photos of an ant colony too but that was gross so I deleted most of those photos. I will however leave you with a half dozen pretty flowers in hopes that spring will arrive soon! Hi folks, if you've been following I opened a shop through Fine Art America to sell prints and photo giftware. I linked the site to the shop above under Prints and gifts. The direct website is julie-metott.pixels.com. I am still selling calendars through Naturally Adrift Photo Boutique and the 2022 Wildlife Calendar is marked down to net just $1.75 from each sale. Recently I was very excited to find out five prints have sold! Selling prints is hard business but if I can sell a few each month it will help out in the long run.
Marketing is a bit of a challenge and something I need to study but I have been sharing on both Facebook and Instagram. I go by Julie Metott on Instagram if you are interested in following me there and it is Naturally Adrift Photo on Facebook. Fine Art America offers numerous gift options to print photos on. I really like the shower curtains although pricing is quite high I think. Then again the cost of huge amounts of special inks and the curtain itself add up. One of most logical and entertaining gifts are the puzzles. Does anyone write or mail pretty notecards anymore? I have some available in both of my selling locations. I wish I could offer more of a variety of cards in each pack. Cell phone cases are practical and two different styles are offered depending on the type of phone you have. There are also two types of Face masks sold but I am sure most folks are hoping we wont' be needing them soon. Yoga Mats are surprisingly on the list as well. I need to get back into doing yoga on a regular basis! Laugh out loud I would love a new pretty yoga mat but which one to choose. Beach towels and mugs are also available. Pouches of various sizes are also being sold. Need a new pouch for your make-up, pens, pencils, coins, medications the uses are endless! How about a pouch to hold all the pretty stickers also available. Prices for the stickers are comparable to those sold in National Parks. I loved stickers as a kid especially wildlife ones. Do any of your children collect them? I am thinking of ordering a large sticker to use as a band-aid over a large crack in my laptop. They look pretty cool on water bottles too. Ornaments for your tree or wall, it is a pretty big list. I could put the photos on shirts to sell but honestly that just doesn't look right. I would rather wear a tie-dye from In the Fold Apparel. I love that canvas and metal prints are offered as well as traditional prints.. I am using the free version of Fine Art America which limits you to just 25 uploads (or photos). Since people may get bored with current offerings I plan to switch out 20 of those photos quarterly. So if you see a print you love don't put off ordering too long as I cannot guarantee that it will be offered again. I aim to change things up in April. As for life we had a nice visit at a friends home last weekend. My son was beyond happy to play with other kids. We can hardly wait for spring! I haven't gotten out to do photography in quite a while between the cold and rising gas prices. Our bathroom is still growing mold. Our kitchen cabinets are warped and were slowly descending from the ceiling but at least they reattached them. My husband is working with a lawyer to get something done about the smoking and getting the bathroom fixed. For those who don't know we currently rent an apartment and things have not been well since we returned to sewage spewed all over when we returned from our trip out west. I search daily for homes in our price range and can only find ones in ghetto areas. I hope spring brings more to the market. I plan to use earnings from print and gift sales towards getting a home. Rental prices are sky high right now. Too be honest I don't want to rent again after our experiences here. If I were to write an honest ad about this place everyone would flee. I do not know what this year will bring. I do not have any big or little adventures planned as we are fixated on getting a new home, a real home. I will have to find someway to practice photography even if it is just searching the yard like I did most of last year. I have been working on processing photos from the past two years and hope to get everything backed up soon. I have a ton of bird photos. Part of me wishes to move out west where wildlife is more abundant. I loved seeing the buffalo, elk, pronghorn, bear, deer and coyotes when we visited although I do fear the snakes and wildfires. Every region has its pros and cons. Maybe I should explore Pinterest for photo challenges or new ideas to try. I am looking forward to shooting flower Macros in the spring. Well, I guess I am just rambling now. Hopefully I will have something different to blog about next week. Take care everyone! We love pretty pictures but in order to do so photographers often have to omit or Photoshop out the ugliness that us humans leave upon this earth. The thing about getting out in nature is to relax and get away from the things of society, and the clutter of our own homes to breathe and feel free. Trouble is not every one that ventures out into nature practices leave no trace and often our technology or infrastructure can destroy our best views! Is it wrong for photographers to manipulate photos to remove the ugliness of a scene to create a more wondrous neat clean portrayal of a place that has actually been spoiled? Is that deceitful? What do people think when they get to a destination that they saw in photo that was so pristine and clean only to find it trashed or next to fa smog billowing factory? I don't have Photoshop so there is not much manipulation in the development end in my photos although I can and do crop. I crop out all the wires and cables that I possibly can. I have walked away from beautiful would be shots because of cables, wires, signs and other other things that mar the landscape and could not be worked around. It is really frustrating. Should I have made the photo anyways? We do a lot of hiking and camping miles into the woods and have to work around mounds of trash left by other hikers or campers too lazy to pack out their own trash. I can recall a trip to Beaver Lake and the memory makes my stomach churn. I need to make sure we start packing gloves and trash bags! Sometimes I photograph it and sometimes not and generally don't share it because no one wants to see that kind of stuff or do they? I have seen neighbor kids just drop their candy wrappers out in the yard and walk away. When I told them to pick it up and put it in the trash the little miscreants were like, "no and you can't make me!" My son reached over grabbed it off the ground and threw it away for the kid. That kind of defeated the purpose but I can only hope something was learned and not that someone else will always do it for me. The parents paid no attention. What are people teaching their children these days. Do these people want to live in a dump because I certainly do not! We live next to a bunch of storage units next to a wetland and a pond. The owner has stopped cleaning up after its cliental. Broken Power Wheels lay in the swamp, a shatter sink lines the drive, beer cans and bottles are strewn everywhere. The neighbor kids piled up some of the moldy abandoned mattresses and jumped down on to them from rooftops, and made ramps for their bikes out of some of the junk people left. Broken dishes, bags of clothes, microwaves, fake flowers, bits of scrap metal you name it , you can find in our yard! The pretty pond is filled with plastic bags, cans, popped balls and who knows what else! It is very depressing. My son and I started picking some of it up but then the snow came. I guess we have a big project for the spring if we are still stuck here. I guess that is why such photos are more for photojournalists rather than landscape artists. We want to create and see the beauty in the world provide a moment of respite from reality or give hope. Often we have to climb over or work around all the human trash, leaving the photos of true reality to photojournalists! Truthfully we would prefer not to have to see, smell or deal with the trash at all!
Let's do the world a favor and practice leave no trace both in the wild and public spaces. Personally, I have been looking into ways to reduce the amount of trash we produce. Our family of three fills a garbage bag to a bag and a half every week. We recycle a ton. We have switched to a bar shampoo and conditioner called Ethique available on Amazon to cut down on plastic waste. I have also stopped buying paper plates too, as much as I hate washing dishes. We each have a special plate for camping. Now I need to see about getting camp utensils so we can stop using plastic throw away utensils. I have also seen a lot of ads for laundry detergent strips and am very serious about giving them a try too. Those would be either Earth Breeze or True Earth. I don't want my child or grandchildren to have to live on or near a filthy dump so let us all try to do better! It is bad enough the town I grew up in was literally dumped on. A dump was put in next to a wetland just a few miles from the high school. I dread driving through there to visit my folks it smells so bad! So what do you think, should landscape photographer shoot the whole picture or just the pretty part? Yesterday we broke out the cameras for the first time in months and headed to the Onondaga Creek Walk behind Destiny USA to look for Eagles. It was a cloudy overcast day. As we drove in to the parking area we could not spot any Eagles in the trees.
We decided to walk the creek walk in the brisk cold anyways. It had been warmer in the morning. A few ducks and swans swam about in the distance, too far away to photograph. We spotted two juvenile Eagles flying above. They sparred briefly and headed to the trees far away. The light was not good and they literally just looked like dark blobs in the sky. We waited in the cold just a few more minutes but no wildlife came nearer. Preferring to be warm we headed to the car but stopped when I saw a lone Great Blue Heron standing on the ice on the other side of the creek. I raised the camera, my hands freezing and took a few shots. My son had left his gloves in the car so rather than go back earlier I had just given him mine. We walked ahead a little bit more for different perspective and I took a few more shots. I walked about ten more paces and photographed the Great Blue Heron for the last time as it spread its wings and flew up the creek out of sight. That my friends is the end of the adventure. Pretty anti-climatic I know, but sometimes that is just how things go. Don't forget I have some photos available as prints or you can even get some unique photographic gifts like shower curtains, puzzles or even Yoga Mats! To the person who ordered four prints the other day I send a big Thank You! After our grand adventure west we have pretty much stayed home or visited family. There is one good about this apartment complex and that is of course the pond. It has been a great source of entertainment and education. I taught my son the life cycle of frogs through real life observation. He has also been learning a bit about migration. Geese come through here every spring and fall. This fall we could hear the geese honking their arrival in the morning. I could peak out of the window and watch them sleeping and eating on the pond and lawn. When we finished our homeschool day it was time to go outside and play. I of course took my favorite toy, my camera! Mid afternoon some of the geese were still resting but most were either feeding or preening. As the evening approached more and more of the geese would wake and start swimming about more. Of course our presence would also push them around a bit too. We observed an increase in preening and stretching of there wings as the sun sank in the sky. Then it seemed like they would separate into groups with one goose honking signaling its family to swim to the north end of the pond. The amount of honking would increase as most of that group would swim around the north end. This event would occur earlier and earlier each day as the days were growing shorter. Then all of the sudden the leader would start to take off and the rest of its family would rise up taking flight simultaneously behind it.. It looked like utter chaos through the lens water and wings everywhere. Sometimes a flock or even one or two would go north but then they would circle back around for their nightly quest to find warmth in the south.
Now photographing them taking off and flying away was a bit of challenge. They are fast and you need to pan and focus on at least one goose in the group. Groups were of usually twenty to fifty geese, and most of the time the pond held at least three groups. I normally use aperture priority mode and let the camera figure out the shutter speed in the changing light. Once I locked on to a goose I would pan along with it all the while using the spray and pray method. I wound up with lots of photos to delete as you can imagine. One mistake I made was not increasing the ISO. It had been set at 1250 which equated in tons of motion blur. I expected the background and even some of the geese to be blurred but eye of the bird I was shooting or focused on should have been tack sharp. I tried again with an ISO of 3200 with another flock of geese with slightly better results but of course there was more noise. The geese were noisy taking off, but I am referring to the photo. Another challenge is that the geese were taking off to migrate south at sunset which doesn't leave much light for the lens to suck in. I was using an aperture of f5.6 the lowest setting my 400mm lens will go. Another challenge has been I have no image stabilization with this set up and I have to handhold it as my tripod is not built well enough for such a heavy lens. Anyways, below is what I managed to capture on several different late afternoon walks around the pond. Ever wonder, hey Julie how did you get into photography? Maybe you have or maybe you have not. If we go way back, my little sister was allowed to handle my parent's camera first. Being much older I did not think it fair. For a while it was her thing. Dad let her use his camera often. I wanted to but no one ever offered to let me use it. The camera until then was something breakable and only for adults. I finally got my start as a wedding photographer at about age ten. You see by this time I was taller than my mother and could shoot above the heads of the other wedding guests! Yes, I finally got a chance! Unlike my mom I did not cut the heads off of the people I photographed, so she had me take more photos at other weddings we attended. Now these were not great or fantastic shots. They were taken with a simple point and shoot camera with a flash bulb. Then one Christmas my sister and I each got Kodak point and shoot cameras. I was thrilled. I mostly photographed our dogs, family and friends. In high school one year I joined the photography club along with my cousin and a couple of friends. The guy who ran the club worked for the local newspaper. Unfortunately even though we had access to a dark room the club was completely broke. All we did was chat and try to come up with ideas of things to do. I learned a little bit about photography but not enough to really say so. I didn't rejoin the following year since we didn't take or display or process any photos. I would have had more photographic experiences if I had joined the Yearbook club. I loved art as a child and my first art teacher was very encouraging. Then he disappeared one year and I struggled after that. It seems as if my painting and drawing skills are stuck in fourth grade.. I was always trying to draw horses, dogs and forest scenes. I can remember classmates making fun of my drawings in junior high. I gave up on my dreams of being an artist. I still drew and colored from time to time but it was more therapeutic and not really anything to share. I would like to think I do better painting by capturing light with a little magic box. In college I was determined to become a Veterinarian. Suddenly the science that had been so easy in high school was difficult and riddled with math. Turns out my advisor didn't think I would make through freshmen year and was shocked to see me actually graduate. I am not sure if her comment was meant to be praise or a slap in the face! My GPA was not high enough to be able to pursue a career in Veterinary Science.. Strangely I was mandated to take at least one course in art. My professor was wonderful and encouraging and I actually received an A for a grade. It was just a very general course in art. I did consider adding a photography course but my academic load was already a bit much to bare and I still had to have enough time to work too. Not to mention I don't think my little point and click would have worked out well for class. So photography got put on hold again. Looking back now it should have been my major or minor mixed with a business degree. My cousin had majored in photography in a local college. She was pretty smart. Check out My Story Photo by Sonia Hernandez if you get a chance, she is pretty amazing! I was a mess after college for many reasons. I tried and failed at a few jobs and eventually went back to retail, and substitute teaching. I saved up money for a decent camera and went to Ritz Camera one day. There they let me handle a few cameras and gave me some advice. I chose the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 as it was on sale and the manual focusing felt more natural to me than the Nikon. I've been with Canon ever since (my husband is a Pentax fan.) Now I had a way to create the photos especially of those things I could never draw or paint. Maybe I could learn to take photos as beautiful as the ones in Grandma's collection of National Geographic Magazines. Okay, well I am still not up to that caliber. I bought books and subscribed to Outdoor Photographer Magazine. I headed out into the woods and chased down waterfalls. I picked up tips from other photographers and even entered a few Photo Contests. I actually won one once . After that honorable mention I worked my way up to second place and then First in color one year at the show put on by the Rome Photo Shoppe. The winning photo is the one I use as my logo! Photography has turned from a hobby to an obsession. I am constantly trying to do better. It offers a different way to see the world or a way to get closer, more intimate with things most people either don't notice or take for granted like a simple leaf in a stream. It is beautiful, you could inspire a poem or a story with a photo. (I was told that when I was little if I came across a book without pictures I would throw it across the room.) I love wildlife photography for it's intimacy and challenge. Those few precious seconds shooting a bird in flight or deer fleeing across the field, or that buffalo you encountered on the trail that made you pray to be ignore and not charged. Photography is an adventure and or a way to document adventure whether it is a hike in the woods, capturing the love in a new marriage or the essence of someone. Photography can speak volumes without a word, perhaps that is why I love it!
Oh and in case you are interested I have joined up with Fine Art America to sell my photography. I have prints, canvas, metal prints, framed prints, notebooks, stickers, beach towels, face masks, tote bags, phone cases, mugs, shower curtains and even Yoga mats available. Just click on Prints and Gifts above and it will take you to Julie Metott.pixels.com which is where my free account up to twenty five photos is located. So if you need a gift for a little something for yourself please keep me in mind! At this point I intend all income from sales to be saved in order to help in the cost of a home so every purchase is more than greatly appreciated. I am going to give this a trial period before upgrading the site to allow posting more photos and personalization. If you see a photo on social media that you are interested in and it is not on my sale page, please contact me and I would be more than willing to add it for you. Thanks, and I hope you have a great day! |
Julie MetottNature Photographer, wife, mother, lover of outdoor adventure! Archives
November 2022
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