The Turkey Vulture, If you’ve gone looking for raptors on a clear day, your heart has probably leaped at the sight of a large, soaring bird in the distance– perhaps an eagle or osprey.
But if it’s soaring with its wings raised in a V and making wobbly circles, it’s likely a Turkey Vulture. These birds ride thermals in the sky and use their keen sense of smell to find fresh carcasses. They are a consummate scavenger, cleaning up the countryside one bite of their sharply hooked bill at a time, and never mussing a feather on their bald heads.
Vultures lack feathers on their heads so that they can more easily keep themselves clean when eating.
Who’s Feathers Are These, they are the back of a Peacock Bird, these are the most colorful birds and I have not seen one in awhile. But I sure love looking at them.
When I was very young on my parents farm we had a few of these beautiful birds. When his tail feathers fell out we collected them and put them in a large vase. I wish I still had those feathers, I don’t know what ever happened to them.
Some Unique Animals Along the Route, well I love all animals not just birds and we stumbled apon a Mercantile store in the desert that provided everything you need for animals, like feed and farming equipment. But they also had an assortment of beautiful animals that folks can see up close.
They are all well taken care off also. Plenty of fresh green hay and water here in the desert.
The next two photos below I will let you guess what it is and who it belongs to. I will show those photos tomorrow.
This of course is a white Camel, very friendly and look very healthy.
Lots of goats, they are always fun to see along with baby goats.
In the Garden of Trees is where you will find the spring bees. Nature is waking up after its long winters nap, a time to see bees working their magic as they pollinate the earth going from tree to tree. Video Link to see pollen falling from all these bees, Link Here; In the Garden of Trees
We were camping under a tree and one morning I woke up and went outside and could hear a loud humming noise but could not see anything. Until I looked very closely at the tree hanging over me, it was filled with bees. Video below of pollen falling from the bees in trees or click on this link here; In the Garden of Tree
I got my camera out and to my eyes surprise, through the morning light, a glow appeared around the bees and pollen was falling ever so lightly all around me.
Desert Surprises, it has been very dry in the desert this past month, I was beginning to think we were to early to see any flowers on this trip. But, we walked down to the Rio Grande river one morning right at sunrise and this lone yellow flower was blooming right in the middle of rocks and dry dirt.
A lovely surprise for sure.
Along with this one growing at the base of more rocks.
Even the cactus has just a touch of color with their red pointy needles.
Now this plant below, I believe is in the Agave family, you definitely would not want to trip and fall on one of these. Those things do not bend at all. They are as hard as a rock.
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.
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.
Nonetheless, they are very artistically made by the small creatures of the woods.
Now this little guy may look like a spider, but it is actually a crab on the beach.
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,”
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Bald cypresses are slow-growing trees that can live to be 600 years old.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This duck is a Northern Shoveler, he was pretty far away so I did not get a clean photo of it. But very colorful.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
When I find just the right photo I will often turn it into a digital oil painting as well. My artistic side 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Let your dreams dance on the windowpanes of your Heart in the never-ending Light
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.
I am the One who gave you hands to use your talents to create life around you.
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.
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.
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.
