Tag: adventures outdoors

Spring Is Coming Soon

Spring Is Coming Soon

Spring Is Coming Soon, the left overs of last fall are still intact around the country side. But the seeds are holding strong after the long winter and soon will be drifting off into the spring winds and rain to replant and grow into new flowers and lush green grasses.

That is always a refreshing time of year, when I can smell the green grass after a rain. We have been traveling in the south all winter and everything is brown and very dry where we have been, just no snow is all. We did not go far enough south to enjoy winter flowers and green grass.

Spring Is Coming Soon
Spring Is Coming Soon

Spring Is Coming Soon

by Sandra J

Artwork In Nature

Artwork In Nature

Artwork In Nature, this morning there is a bit of humidity outdoors and on my way back from my early morning walk, the sun started to makes its way through the trees and light up all the different cob webs hanging in the forest next to the path.

I did not even notice them until the sun touched them all and boy there is lot of them. One would not want to walk in the forest on a cloudy day. Good thing there are paths everywhere to walk on.

Artwork In Nature

Nonetheless, they are very artistically made by the small creatures of the woods.

Artwork In Nature

Now this little guy may look like a spider, but it is actually a crab on the beach.

Artwork In Nature

by Sandra J

Lots of New Things to See

Lots of New Things to See

Lots of New Things to See, as you may know we have been trying to chase 70 degree weather this winter. Our first time doing this and so far it has been working pretty well. It has been into the freezing temps at night here and there and our water pump froze once on the RV, but husband is really good at fixing anything. He had it back and running in no time.

My bird count has been going up really fast, my last entry into the log book was 124 birds. But I still have more birds to look up because I just don’t know what they are. I believe I will go get a bird identification book. We have been in many places with no internet, so the book would be handy.

Below is a preview video of where we have been. I do have a You Tube channel, because I like to document all that we see with video as well as photos and share them both with all of you. What we see is just temporary, it becomes history the minute I snap a photo.

Eastern Towhee

Road Runner

Scorpion

Hawk, but I don’t know what kind yet. If any one knows let me know and I will add it to my list.

Chasing 70 Deg Weather in RV 2022, Crossing America, New Nature and Wildlife Photography by Sandra J

The world is changing fast, but nature is alive and well, we must not trade it for the things of man. Humans tend to destroy but nature will rebuild when it is left alone, nature teaches us how to survive in our creators world.

Sandra J

The Last Hour

The Last Hour

The Last Hour before sunset is referred to the Golden Hour. The golden hour is known for producing beautiful natural light that is easy to work with. “It’s hard to overexpose or underexpose parts of an image, because the light is very even and has a beautiful golden hue,”

windmill at sunset
The Last Hour
The Last Hour

The Last Hour

by Sandra J

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

Oh What a Beautiful Morning, some of my favorite dock photos.

This first one is on the gulf coast.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

This little dock on the left is on the Mississippi River

dock reflections

And these last two are at one of my favorite lakes in Iowa. Great places to sit and dangle your feet over the edge and watch the sun come up.

dock on a lake
docks

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

by Sandra J

Rocky Shoreline and Rainbow

Rocky Shoreline and Rainbow

Rocky Shoreline and Rainbow, I was photographing the sunrise on this day facing east and when I turned around to look at what was behind me I found a different kind of light. It was an off white hue and I actually did not even see the rainbow until I looked at the photo later.

I love that about photography, the little surprises you see in your own photos.

Rocky Shoreline and Rainbow
Rocky Shoreline and Rainbow

Rocky Shoreline and Rainbow

by Sandra J

Dramatic Sunrise Colors

Dramatic Sunrise Colors

Dramatic Sunrise Colors, The best sunrises and sunsets seem to be associated with middle to high clouds rather than lower level clouds.

The more clouds the better chance of seeing some vibrant colors of orange and yellow at sunrise like these photos below.

Dramatic Sunrise Colors
Dramatic Sunrise Colors

Have a Great Weekend

I may not have internet yet, I scheduled this post a couple of weeks ago just in case. If I have not responded to any comments that is why. I will be moving from this area on the 12th and will have internet again by then. 🙂 thank you

Dramatic Sunrise Colors

by Sandra J

New Tree to Photograph

New Tree to Photograph

New Tree to Photograph, this is a new tree for me to photograph. They are Cyprus trees and are very easy to identify because of how they start growing and the base of the trunk.

It can reach 130 feet tall, developing prominent roots or “knees” above the ground. The bald cypress is usually found in swampy areas and along riverbanks. These locations provide the trees with the plentiful water they need to thrive and with the wet conditions necessary for reproduction.

All the little stumps you see are what they call knees.

New Tree to Photograph

In the wild, cypress trees play a very important role in soaking up floodwaters and preventing soil erosion.  Environmentalist love them for their ability to trap pollutants. Frogs, toads, and salamanders prefer cypress swamps for breeding grounds. Wood ducks nest in hollow trunks and catfish spawn in submerged hollow logs, while bees, wood ducks, barrel owls and raptors nest in the treetops.

New Tree to Photograph

Bald cypresses are slow-growing trees that can live to be 600 years old.

New Tree to Photograph

by Sandra J

Royal Tern Is Holding its Ground

Royal Tern Is Holding its Ground

Royal Tern Is Holding its Ground, Mr. Pelican is coming in with the intention of taking the pole the Royal Tern is on. But Tern is not budging and appears to be yelling at the big boy coming in for a landing to get his own pole. But, , ,

Royal Tern Is Holding its Ground

Mr. Pelican takes what ever pole he wants, as you can tell in the photo the lighter colored pole is where the Tern was standing and now the Pelican has it. He did take the pole and Tern had to move up to the next one. there is a stern look from the Tern towards the Pelican.

Royal Tern Is Holding its Ground

Then they both relax and quit staring at each other and just enjoy the sunshine together.

Royal Tern Is Holding its Ground

by Sandra J

Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas

Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas

Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas, we have stopped in a little town that actually has some internet. So I am able to make a post of what I have been doing the last few nights. Most of you may know I like to be up early in the morning and I have mentioned I hardly ever see a sunset. (video below)

But, when you are in dark sky country, I have to make sure I have the energy to go outside at night so as not to miss seeing the beauty of the night skies.

This photo is the milky way over our camper. I love trying to photograph the milky way, my camera settings for these types of shots are. 15 sec ss, 17 mm lens, f 2.8, and Iso 6400. I find that Iso 6400 is a good start to bring out the most detail, it picks up more stars on this setting.

Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas

Next, I love to photograph stars and create star trails as in the photos below. The more photos you take the more trails you create when you stack your photos on top of each other.

This photo below has 38 photos stacked on top each other, which is not quite enough to make a complete circle. Each shot is with a 15 sec shutter speed.

Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas

This photo below has 109 photos stacked on top each other to create more of a circle.

This photo below is the milky way, but if you look to the right of the photo, you will see Elon Musk satellites passing by as well. The 9 lights in a row are satellites.

Time Lapse Sunrise, Sunset, Rainbows, Moon and Stars - Dark Sky Country Where the Noise Disappears

We are only in this little town for the weekend and we are heading back into darker sky country with no cell phone or internet for the next 11 days. So I will see you on the other side when we travel back out. Have a wonderful week.

Star Gazing in Dark Sky Areas

by Sandra J

We Have Moved On

We Have Moved On

We have moved on from Alabama, but I still have some photos from that area that I will be sharing. We are headed west and here are a couple of photo of what will be coming up after I get done posting Alabama photos.

We came across a huge flock of Ibis birds. This is a new one to my list. I am now up to 110 birds photographed.

No Internet Coming Up

This duck is a Northern Shoveler, he was pretty far away so I did not get a clean photo of it. But very colorful.

No Internet Coming Up

Thank you again for all of you who view my photos and leave comments. I really appreciate it. If I don’t reply in the next 2 weeks, please accept my apologies. There are obviously area’s in the states with no internet here, even in the twentieth century.

We Have Moved On

by Sandra J

For the Love of Birding

For the Love of Birding

For the Love of Birding, one never knows exactly what one will see when out enjoying nature. When it comes to birding, the range of different compositions is unlimited.

Like this egret who is holding its own on a windy day, as the wind keeps ruffling its feathers. Looks like it has black stockings and yellow boots.

For the Love of Birding

Pelicans in a row, but what I like most is the bokeh lights in the background. Bokeh is one of the most popular subjects in photography. The reason why it is so popular, is because Bokeh makes photographs visually appealing, forcing us to focus our attention on a particular area of the image. The word comes from Japanese language, which literally translates as “blur”.

For the Love of Birding

On a humid day here in this photo, natural fog is surrounding this Cormorant bird giving it a natural vignette look to the photo.

I just love the brown pelicans, the photos always speak for themselves with these birds.

For the Love of Birding

by Sandra J

Portrait of the Reddish Egret

Portrait of the Reddish Egret

Portrait of the Reddish Egret, such a beautiful bird I think. When I photograph birds I take a lot of photos at one time when I can. I put my camera on burst and hold the shutter button when the bird looks like it is in the right light and position. On average 1 or 2 photos out of 20 will be sharp, but the photos that excite me the most is when I come across one like below that looks like it is posing for the camera.

This is what I find most enjoyable about wildlife photography.

Portrait of the Reddish Egret

When I find just the right photo I will often turn it into a digital oil painting as well. My artistic side 🙂

Portrait of the Reddish Egret

Portrait of the Reddish Egret

by Sandra J

Alligator and Turtles

Alligator and Turtles

Alligator and Turtles, here at this small lake on Dauphin Island. There are lots of turtles who seem to not mind this alligator swimming right next to them. The folks that live here mention that there is just one alligator in this lake. I don’t know a lot about them, but maybe they are territorial so he wants the lake all to himself.

I placed a video below of this beautiful animal. We were standing on a dock above him and took these photos with a video on the one day he came out of hiding from the tall grass. It has been pretty cold here lately so he doesn’t come out unless it is warm outside.

Alligator and Turtles
Alligator and Turtles
Alligator Encounter - See This Alligator In Its Natural Habitat with a Lot of Turtles

Alligator and Turtles

by Sandra J

My Day Begins at Sunrise

My Day Begins at Sunrise

My Day Begins at Sunrise for me, actually before sunrise. I am always up before the sunrises in anticipation for what is coming as the sun begins to warm the earth.

I watch the horizon, as if I am watching a movie in slow motion. The gorgeous colors of light dancing across the heavens. When you actually stop to see it, I mean really see it. You see its worth, its purpose and its power as the Light of the World.

Days Begin at Sunrise
Sunrise on Gulf, Slow Motion, Time Lapse Go Pro, From Above Drone Sunrise, Island Views, Relaxing

Have a Great Weekend.

Days Begin at Sunrise

by Sandra J

Heading Out to Sea

Heading Out to Sea

Heading Out to Sea

Today we are traveling farther west, I scheduled this weeks post ahead of time because the campground we are going to said it does not have any internet available. So if you leave a comment and I don’t reply right away, that will be why. But I will get back to you when the internet is available again.

We have another spot coming up at the end of the month, that might not have internet either. Remember the days before internet, when we had to read the newspapers for news and I remember I would have to get the encyclopedia out to look up bird names and such. I do appreciate the convenience of the World Wide Web. 🙂

Heading Out to Sea
Heading Out to Sea

Heading Out to Sea

by Sandra J

Bayou La Batre Boats

Bayou La Batre Boats

Bayou La Batre Boats originally known by the French name “Riviere d’Erbane,” the town was the first non-Indian settlement in what would become Mobile County, which at the time was in Spanish territory. It arose in 1786 on a 1,259-acre land grant from the Spanish government to French settler Joseph Bousage. oats

You can see the video for this post by clicking here; Bayou La Batre

Bayou La Batre Boats

 After the French took control of the area and installed a series of cannons (known as a battery) at the site, the settlement became known as “Riviere la Batterie” and finally as Bayou La Batre.

Bayou La Batre Boats

The town became part of the Mississippi Territory of the United States in 1811 and by the 1830s boasted its own hotel. It became a popular vacation spot after the Civil War for its location on the water. In 1906, a hurricane devastated the town and destroyed its tourist industry.

Bayou La Batre Boats

By the mid-1920s, the town began an economic comeback centered on the seafood industry, which remains a mainstay of the local economy today, as is shipbuilding.

Bayou La Batre Boats

by Sandra J

Shrimp Boats

Shrimp Boats

Shrimp Boats If you have heard of Bayou La Batre, it may be because it was featured in the movie Forrest Gump when the lead character had the only shrimp trawler in this Alabama coastal town after a storm and he made huge amounts of money. It lies along the Mississippi Sound on the Gulf of Mexico in south Alabama.

We went there very early one morning and were surprised at all the colorful shrimp boats docked along the shore line. Beautiful reflections of each one.

Shrimp Boats

Starting in the 1970s through the early part of the 1990s, Bayou La Batre was the shrimp-trawler-building capital of the world, often turning out more than a trawler a day from a dozen shipyards. During the latter part of the 1990s and the early part of this decade, the business of building trawlers almost stopped in its tracks because of several economic reasons including overbuilding, cost of fuel, scarcity of boat financing and plummeting shrimp prices.

Some of the local builders turned to building offshore workboats with great success, while others divided up what fishing boat business was left. For example, Master Boat Builders built scores of fishing vessels until 2002 but only four since that time. Since 2002, over 50 OSVs have come out of that same yard and almost no other vessel type has.

Shrimp Boats

During the transformation away from shrimp trawlers, many types of commercial vessels emerged from the boatyards of Bayou La Batre including ships used in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. It was a combination of the skills of the boatbuilders of Steiner Shipyard and of the Walt Disney Company’s magicians that made realistic-looking period warships from small self-contained utility vessels.

Shrimp Boats

by Sandra J

State Birds

State Birds

State Birds, I mentioned a few days ago that we are doing some traveling this winter, trying to avoid winter. But it caught up to us, some snow and lots of ice that many people are experiencing here in the states.

But, during this ice storm as we are hunkered down in our RV, I had a wonderful surprise this morning as I open the shade on my window and saw these beautiful cardinals sitting in a tree. I have not seen a cardinal in months and let me tell you, they are wearing their brightest feathers this month.

Below I picked a couple of my favorite cardinal photos from last summer. I also decided to try and take a picture of every state bird as we travel. Some I have already taken in other areas, but I will list them as we go.

The Cardinal is a state bird to; Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia.

State Birds
State Birds

Stay safe out there and have a great weekend.

State Birds

by Sandra J

Winter Color in the South

Winter Color in the South

Winter Color in the South, it has been getting colder even down here in the south. But on a sunny day you can still spot a butterfly or two with some yellow flowers strewn about.

Winter Color in the South
Winter Color in the South
Winter Color in the South
yellow daisies

Winter Color in the South

by Sandra J

In the Still of the Night

In the Still of the Night

In the Still of the Night

Another King will leave traveling North back into the Mountains of no name to be with His Father. He leaves with Duty, Purpose, Honor and Courage. For you see he wears many faces, a Soldier a father a King.  And then, in the still of the night, when the Light is low in the heavens. Look up son, for I will call your name and you will return to Me. To stand with those who went before you. To rest in Me for eternity. 

In the Still of the Night

  Peace be with you Mark, I will forever remember the day I found your post with the simple words that caught my eyes.  The Rural Iowegian.  💕  There is no fear in the walls of faith.

In the Still of the Night

I started reading Marks post (the Rural Iowegian), back in 2019. He struggled with cancer for 509 days and recently went home to be with our Father. May he rest in peace for evermore.

In the Still of the Night

by Sandra J

Health Benefits of Sunlight

Health Benefits of Sunlight

Health Benefits of Sunlight (Light)

Being in the sun generally makes people feel good, and there are many scientific reasons for this effect. I can attest to this theory. I worked in a factory most of my life, inside of 4 walls and no windows. But when I wasn’t at work I was outside, which works well with me being a photographer.

Take for example the two photos below, when I look at the first photo I see an ok picture, nothing to get excited over, for me.

Health Benefits of Sunlight

But look at the difference when the clouds started to clear up and the warm sun light started to bring the world around me to life. This is what excites me when I am out wandering in nature. It immediately gives me a warm feeling and lightens my mood.

Health Benefits of Sunlight

Some of the effects of being in the sun is exposure to UVB rays, which causes human skin to produce beta-endorphins, which are hormones that reduce pain. Their other benefits include:

  • promoting a sensation of well-being and improving mood
  • boosting the immune system
  • relieving pain
  • promoting relaxation
  • helping wounds heal
  • helping people feel more alert
  • reducing depression

Makes One wonder if we were not designed that way.

Darkness is always the antithesis of light Freedom Comes From the Light that is placed in our heart

I am born again in the word, nobody taught me except the voice of the Creator within me.

Health Benefits of Sunlight

Let your dreams dance on the windowpanes of your Heart in the never-ending Light

Have a Wonderful Weekend

Health Benefits of Sunlight (Light)

by Sandra J

Looking Down at Us

Looking Down at Us

Looking Down at Us – Tranquility does exist.  Off the beaten path, taking the road less traveled and returning to creation.  That is us down there on the left side of the photo. Husband takes care of the photos from above as I photograph from below.

A way to show any one that happens to see these photos that the beauty of creation still exist.

Looking Down at Us

I am the One who gave you hands to use your talents to create life around you.

Looking Down at Us

Looking Down at Us

by Sandra J

Nature Speaks to Us

Nature Speaks to Us

Nature Speaks to Us Simplicity, beauty, purpose. That is what I see when I am in nature surrounded by the beauty of creation.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

Nature Speaks to Us
Nature Speaks to Us
Nature Speaks to Us

Nature Speaks to Us

by Sandra J