1/7/16

Well, dreary and rainy out today.  Guess it could be snow.  I am continuing on with my nature photos and this is one I was able to capture a few months back.  I saw this Egret out at Milford Lake and it took off when it saw me but I was bale to capture it in flight and in focus.  I saw 2 different Egrets this day and got my best shots ever with the equipment I have so I was very happy.  Actual birding lenses are quite out of my price range.  

1/6/16

Well, looks like we are in for those dreary days for a few now.  Yuck.  This was taken on a dreary morning in very late December.  I had my 500mm lens with me but the 300mm was blurring if they moved even a little so did what I could.  This was taken while this Blue Jay was sitting in the in-law's Ornamental Pear tree.  It was wanting some peanuts.  I liked this view of it because it really showed off it's markings.  They say Blue Jays are bullies but I have not really seen evidence of that.  They squawk very loudly when they want their  peanuts but they don't seem to bother other birds.

1/5/16

Well, turned into a nice day.  I was reminded that January and February are usually dreary so I should expect it to be that way.  I hate it though, especial right after the holidays and the decorations are down, especially the lights.  Sigh.  So blah.
Anyway, dreaming of warmer days and continuing on with my Nature Challenge.  I did not see a time limit for when photos could be taken and I had this shot I wanted to use one day ready to go from the archives.  This is a beautiful Elk I was able to see and photograph during our trip to Yellowstone.  It was just slowly walking along and eating new growth in this previously burned out part of the park.  It was just wonderful with it's big tack of antlers.  I felt very privileged to be able to see it and photograph it.

1/4/16

Well, I was invited to a 7 day Wildlife Challenge over on Google+ a few weeks ago and never got started.  I thought I would finally get to it, especially since I was given a nice compliment from the person who invited me to do it.  My first image I got this past week after it snowed on Monday.  This Goldfinch in winter plumage was pecking around on the deck railing in the snow and looked rather cute.

1/3/16

Another lovely sunny day and last day of my vacation.  SIGH.  Didn't get everything done that I wanted to but that's pretty normal.  I had to share my first train pic of the year and this goes back into the archives of my favorite tourist railroad, the Cumbres & Toltec in Colorado and New Mexico.  I like this shot because it shows the vastness of the landscape you travel through on this train.  Plus it's a shot of the whole train which I usually don't do.  The train is on a loop of track after passing by an original Rio Grande water tank just to the right of the track you can see in the foreground of the image.  There are actually some houses in this area that are just out of sight to the left of the image.  On an interesting note, they have to provide their own electricity and water as the area is not developed for living.  There are some lovely log cabin style homes here though and I can see why they would want to live here with the beautiful view.  The train is a bonus too.  :-)  

1/2/16

Another sunny day to start off the new year, yay.  Got to see stars the last 2 nights, had been several days without.  It's cold though so thinking of warmer days and walking out on Konza Prairie.  I shot this back in June of some storm clouds moving in.  This is 4 images stitched together I believe, maybe 5, and is viewed better large by clicking on the image.

1/1/16

Happy New Year 2016!  May this one be better than the last!  We are off to a nice start with a lovely sunny day though a bit cold but it's winter.  :-)