Stretching Feels So Good even for birds. I took this series of photos as I was watching these Brown Pelicans perched on post in the water. This one started to do a stretch and ended up looking like he was going to dive right into the water. But it was just a stretch.
Stretching Feels So Good
What Will You do in 2022, the world is an amazing place. What is your passion, mine is exploring the great outdoors. My grandfather inspired me to want to be outside all the time. He was an outdoors man. Back in the day when he had to hunt and fish to feed our family. I just always wanted to be with him no matter what he was doing.
So I am still like that today, indoors is just no fun. Fresh air and sunshine is very good medicine to take every day. I mentioned that we are skipping winter this year and this is what we are traveling in. A 28′ RV and we pull our jeep behind it so we can go exploring when we are parked somewhere. You can see my little dog in the window if you look close. Her favorite place to be when the sun comes shinning in.
We love trying to take the roads less traveled and there are plenty of them out there. Below is just one of the campgrounds we have stayed at. I look for the smaller ones when we can, they are cheaper and less crowded at times.
For me this is all created for us to enjoy and take care of. One does not always have to travel to see it, there is also beauty in our own backyards.
I made thee; go forth, a season to·to-give-birth-of
and·you, be-fruitful-you, and·increase-you, roam-you, in·the·earth
What Will You do in 2022
After the Rain here in the south the flowers come back to life even on the beaches. I want to say thank you to all of you that stop by to view my photos and read some of my words. I am not the best at writing but I have often said I like to let my photos speak for me. In a way that lets your imagination flow, a way for you to see a part of creation that is not always visible to all of us.
You may have noticed I have been posting photos from the southern states along the Gulf Coast for a few weeks now. Well, actually it has been since September. On September 30th 2021, I turned 60 years old and wanted to spend that day on the gulf coast which we did.
But, what I have not mentioned until now is that my husband and I have thought about this trip for some time now. We have been traveling for 5 months now and plan on skipping winter all together. I have always believed that life, for me, has never been on my timeline but on the creator’s timeline.
So this is the year that we are chasing 70 degree weather and so far it has been working out, is has been staying in the 70’s or less. The best part is not shoveling snow for the first time in my entire life.
Some may wonder how can one travel in times like this. It has always been my contention that the gaining of Knowledge cannot be decoupled from life experience which gives us a foundation of Wisdom. Simply put Common sense or the lack thereof of Common Sense determines one’s course or path in life.
Cognitive reasoning becomes distorted when we are given a daily dose of half truths to swallow in hopes of some redeeming value. Far to often in the realms of societal constraints imposed upon us, the daily rules and regulations, thousands of rules that regulate our everyday walk. We spend our waking hours in minute details of life.
The face of man kind is changing rapidly due to these effects. Society in large part has lost its bearings its common sense.
Opinions turn one into a thief to steal from others to maintain a feel good attitude. A sense of superiority lording over others in a competitive spirit.
We can all have an opinion and facts have no basis in Reality because they don’t progress. Truth lies in the opinion of the speaker and what he thinks.
Progressions turn into distortions. We have lost respect for the construct of Creation and instead it becomes easier to explain life in what ever feels good at the time. Life becomes motionless at a standstill, you will decay, losing your bearings, your Nature in Creation.
If we leave our nature, the natural beauty that we are, we forget who we are and become someone else.
I see people creating life everyday around me. With their words and photos. Some will see the light some won’t that is just a fact of life. When your desire to live overrides what man told you on how to live. Your purpose in life might just be right in front of you. These are the thoughts that came to me by Creating my Vision.
Have a Wonderful Weekend.
After the Rain
No Luck for That Osprey, he did not get his fish, he came up out of the water empty handed. I did not get a shot because my camera was buffering. But next thing I saw was another osprey coming from my right side and it did have a fish in its talons.
Now this might be a sad photo for the fish. But it is nature doing what it is designed to do. Fish is the main diet to the Osprey and its talons are created exactly for what it needs to do to survive.
Included below is a video of a variety of birds I have photographed here on the Gulf Coast, including the Rare Reddish Egret and my camera settings that I use to go with some of the photos.
As the bird reaches for a fish, its outer front toe swivels to the rear, giving it two grasping talons front and back. Its long, slender, arched wings help the Osprey get clear of the water too, as it takes flight with the fish’s head facing the front—the most aerodynamically efficient position.
It is Lunch Time
Did He Get His Fish? Well his head is out of the water as he tries to flap his wings to go air borne again.
He is almost out, the talons are right there.
The water is nice and clear on this day. I have to go, I am making dinner right now and it is boiling on the stove. 😉
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.
Did He Get His Fish
Fishing With an Osprey, it hovers overhead looking for the fish of the day.
It spotted the one it wants and off it goes.
It gains speed as the wings tighten to its body.
Talons are Out
And under the water it goes.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post to see if he caught his fish. 😉
Fishing With an Osprey
Sharp Hooked Claws A bird’s talons are the sharp, hooked claws at the end of the toes. Birds have one talon on every toe, and they may differ in overall shape, curvature, and thickness depending on how the bird will use its talons and how worn individual talons may be.
I was walking along a pier and this beautiful Osprey was perched on a pole. It wasn’t to spooked as I got closer and closer so I was able to get a wonderful photo of this beautiful bird.
On tomorrow’s post I will show you this bird going into a head dive to catch a fish. It actually went full body into the water. I thought they just swooped down like an Eagle to get their fish.
Sharp Hooked Claws
Did You Hear , One pelican is asking the others this question; ” Did you hear the saying that humans say about us?”
“No, what”?
They say; ” How beautiful is the pelican who’s bill holds more then their belly can”.
Ba ha ha ha, ha, ha, ha,
Hmm, George seems to really like this joke 😉
Still laughing 😂
Have a great weekend.
Did You Hear
Birds Can Make You Smile, they sure do lighten my day and that is why I love birding. Not only is it a challenge at times but some photos you just can’t help but smile when you see their expressions.
The pelicans of course, if you can catch them while they are doing a stretch, makes it look like they are smiling.
Take this photo of the Reddish Egret, it looks so regal and beautiful the way it holds its head up and the feathers blowing in the wind.
But you take a photo with it looking right at the camera does make one smile. Taking a photo of a bird looking at the camera is usually a no no just like photographing a person looking right at the camera. You always want the person to have a bit of a profile look, as they turn their head slightly and chin up is usually the best way for people and birds.
I don’t know what this bird is below, but looking right at the camera makes it look like it has a lot of feathers on top of the head.
Birds Can Make You Smile
New Bird at the Beach, when we got to the end of the Pelican beach, I first noticed all the orange bills again. I knew I had stumbled across more Royal Terns. I had not seen any of them in days and here at the end of this long walk they are hanging out with gulls and pelicans.
But to my surprise after I got home and looked at the photos on the computer there is a new bird in the group. I did not see them when I was out there with them taking photos. I was quite far away from them, hence the blurry photos. But the birds with the black wings are Skimmers. A very unique looking bird with an orange and black bill.
The strange, uneven bill of the skimmer has a purpose: the bird flies low, with the long lower mandible plowing the water, snapping the bill shut when it contacts a fish. Strictly coastal in most areas of North America, Black Skimmers are often seen resting on sandbars and beaches.
It is hard to tell in my photo the bill so I will add a photo off of the internet so you can see it closer.
Unlike most birds, their eyes have vertical pupils, narrowed to slits to cut the glare of water and white sand. Flocks in flight may turn in unison, with synchronized beats of their long wings. The world’s three species of skimmers are sometimes placed in their own separate family, although they are clearly related to the terns.
New Bird at the Beach
Mountain or a Beach, a little fun with forced perspective photography. Sometimes you have to get down low to the ground and take your photos. It can give a new perspective on what you are looking at and lets the imagination think of a world that is beyond what is right in front of us.
When I see this photo it looks like a mountain range along a lake.
So this is what I imagine. I added a small person silhouette to give it my perspective. But picture him smaller and it will look like a mountain.
All it takes is One spoken word or written to change Ones world into a different perspective then what they have become used to. Or One spoken word or written to destroy Ones world.
This is what it looks like from above.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Mountain or a Beach
Its a Bird Its a Plane, its lots of birds with wings down. I have put two videos on my you tube channel showing these little birds roaming around the beaches. Along with my camera settings I typically use while photographing birds. The videos are a little longer than usual so I will just put the links here; 5 Tips for Sharper Wildlife Images and Shutter Speed Settings – New Bird – Sting Rays
Wings up
I can’t remember if I told you all, but I made a list of all the birds in North America, I think it is 900 plus. I made a spread sheet of the names and I check them off as I photograph them. So I have two new birds to add to the list. This one below is called the Greater White Faced Goose. They are found mostly west of the Mississippi.
And these two below are called Black Neck Stilts, I am wondering is it because of their long legs, stilts? But they don’t have black necks either. But that is what they look like when I tried to find what type of bird these are.
I am up to 104 different birds photographed as of today.
Oh and this one below, just two wings. It is kind of a bird in the air.
Its a Bird Its a Plane
The Real World is Hard and often draining on the mind and body. Human beings have been drawing on cave walls since the dawn of time to inspire themselves.
Human brains are wired to appreciate and be inspired by art. The right brain, for example, is stimulated deeply by art. Artworks inspire creative and innovative thinking; the right brain takes what it sees and expands upon it.
Staring into a picture of a forest, the right brain envisions walking through the forest, looking to the corners just beyond the frame to see animals and new vistas.
That is what I do when I look at artwork and photos and it inspires me to create art with my own photos. Like the top photo, I took that photo early one morning. There wasn’t any reflection but the water was calm. So I made a reflection to show you what I was picturing as I stood there on the beach watching this shrimp boat sitting still on the water.
Sometimes nature creates its own art work, like the photo below. I think the curve of the sand along the edge of the island is so unique. I walked this spot quite a few times and it only looked like this once. It changed everyday I was there.
Have a Great Weekend
The Real World is Hard
The Sands of Time keep on blowing. Time is like ever-shifting sand, it is never at a standstill.
For what is life, it is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
The Sands of Time
Piper Plovers, these are the cutest birds on the shores. They are so tiny but move very fast. There are about three dozen species of plovers, 15 to 30 centimetres (6 to 12 inches) long, with long wings, moderately long legs, short necks, and straight bills that are shorter than their heads.
If you look close you can see this Plover pulling a very small worm type thing out of the sand. You can imagine how small this bird is, there is probably no way we could see this little worm in the sand.
I read that birds tuck one foot up in their feathers to preserve their heat. They lose heat through their feet and on this morning it was pretty cold out. But they still stand in the water.
Cuteness overload.
Piper Plovers
Reflections of Times Past We sometimes take Light for granted. It turns out that, with a bit of persuasion, Light would show us things we thought we would never see. A beautiful reflection of you or me.
Reflections of Times Past
Happy New Year, hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and here is to a new year full of love, laughter and faith.
“There is no fear within the walls of faith with our Father.”
“There is no fear within the walls of faith with our Father.”
Happy New Year
INCOMING!!! Look Out 😉 As the one brown pelican checks its backside to get his tail feathers out of the way for the two diving behind him. Whew, close call.
Happy New Years Eve,
We went for a walk along the beach on a windy day and there were dozens of brown pelicans diving all in one area, but when I looked closer I noticed they appeared to be following some dolphins. As the dolphins moved around the pelicans were not to far behind. A short video below will show this amazing sight we saw.
I mentioned before about how the brown pelicans turn ever so slightly to the left to protect their esophagus. You will see this in the video below.
Have a Great Weekend
INCOMING
In the Morning Light
When the world is screaming
Stirring up fears
I long for a place
Where the noise disappears
A walk into this place
Surrounding me here
In the morning light
Where the noise disappears
It’s so refreshing
The Word spoken clear
This glorious sound
Where the noise disappears
In the inner room
Of intimate prayers
Let my soul dwell
Where the noise disappears
Genesis tells you this, there is eternity in the Spirit. By the time your eyes open in the present the future has already become your past.
In the Morning Light
Sunrise on the Gulf Coast, The sun is rising and I am preparing to paint a new canvas today. Have a Wonderful Day
Sunrise on the Gulf Coast
The Royal Terns Have Left the Court, well this is the closest I have been to these birds this week. I have driven by this marina many times since I took these photos and have not seen any birds there since. But I am always on the look out for the next exciting bird sighting. There are some new birds still to come as we venture along the gulf coast.
The Royal Terns Have Left the Court
Merry Christmas Eve from our home to yours. A variety of colors from all our feathered friends. To brighten this day with cheer and love. Have a wonderful Christmas.
Merry Christmas Eve
The King of the Royalty Court standing above all the others is of course the Brown Pelican. Mostly because of their size, they take what ever post they want and make the other birds leave. But they are such a beautiful bird as well I think. Dressed in all their brown plumage.
They are a facinating bird, especially when they are fishing. But I have noticed one thing here on the gulf coast, when the dolphins are around the pelicans follow them. Looking for the fish the dolphins round up I suspect.
The King of the Royalty Court
There is More, I took plenty of photos of this beautiful bird in case I never see one again. There is one in the line that is different from the rest. Can you see it? 3rd bird down, he wants to be a Royal Gull I think. Standing with all the other Royals.
There is More
Its the Tern’s Turn This Week, The Royal Tern to be exact. We stopped at a marina because we saw a lot of birds flying around down at the end of a dock. So I got my camera out thinking they were all going to be Gulls and Brown Pelicans, but to my surprise there is a new bird at the end that I have never seen before.
The gorgeous birds with the orange bills of course, what a surprise. I love seeing new birds to add to my list. There are a lot of different kinds of Terns like most species, I looked at them all to determine which one this is and I believe it to be the Royals. They do sport a bit of a crown of feathers on their heads.
They seem so arrow dynamic on windy days as they lean into the wind perched on post.
Its the Tern’s Turn This Week
Portrait of the Snowy Egret, we went out for a bike ride on this particular morning. The sun was still low in the sky and as we crossed a small bridge we came to a sudden stop. As we noticed this beautiful Egret perched on a branch just above the creek.
I slowly got my camera out, the sun was behind us creating a beautiful spot light, it turned to look towards me and I took the photo as you see. Sometimes when I am least expecting it, an average morning bike ride turns into a site that can take my breathaway.
Have a Wonderful Weekend.
Portrait of the Snowy Egret
A Southern Christmas at Bellingrath Gardens, a beautiful place to visit anytime of year. It is a historic home in Alabama where they have the most beautiful flower gardens all year long. In December they put up beautiful Christmas lights throughout their gardens in many different flower shapes and trees. Video below.
Merry Christmas and may we all have a wonderful season of love and giving. Have a Wonderful Weekend.
A Southern Christmas
The Great Blue Heron to Music, We were walking back along this boardwalk and this Great Blue was perched on the railing. So I had to just stop and watch it for a bit as the wind blows his gorgeous feathers to the beat of the music in the video below.
The Great Blue Heron to Music
What is Snowy and Great, that would be two different species of Egret Birds. The Snowy Egret has a black bill and a touch of yellow around the eyes. Much smaller than the great egret as well.
The Great Egret, as shown below, has always impressed me with their large wing spans. I love to try and photograph these beautiful birds when the are flying over water, to capture the tips of their wings just grazing the water is a fun challenge to do. One has to sit patiently for quite awhile to do this sometimes.
The Snowy Egret below enjoying the fresh catch of the day.
What is Snowy and Great
