Red Wing in the Willows
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Category Archives: spring
dammed creek
on the road to spring
spring birds returning
Two images, same bird, taken minutes apart but they look seasons apart. Conifers form a springy green background for the bird on the fence while the pond ice background gives the second image the feel of winter.
Though ice still covers the ponds this week, the Canada geese, six of them, have returned to Lower Lake Ranch to stake nesting claims at the fishing ponds. The one below hid from me in the tall grass the same evening I photographed the robin. Same buck fence in the background but how different the color due to a passing cloud and my angle of view which excludes the conifers in this one.
I caught a glimpse at great distance of a blue heron on the creek the same day I made these photographs so know they’ve come back to us as well. If the high winds of the past week ever slow down I’ll get out to make more photographs of our spring birds.
spring green
At my house we love the aspen color in the spring. When the leaves unfold they are shiny and bright. As they grow into summer the color dulls, of course, so I have been trying to capture some of the spring color now.
Georgia Spring
- Georgia woods in spring
The fresh green of spring in the woods was a visual treat this week in Georgia. A slow shutter speed and a quick upward pull on the camera created the vertical streaks in this trail scene. I added some color and textures with my wacom pen and photoshop brushes.
Wet April Snow
barn storm
Captured while snow shoeing on Lower Lake Ranch at Elk Falls during the storm. As I worked my way up the creek the snow fell harder and the camera only left the bag to make quick image here and there.
picnic, anyone?
Back at home, my dog pauses at the top of the stairs as if unsure he needs a trip down.
To go or not?
here comes the sun
Spring Snow at Lower Lake Ranch
spring snow
- An overnight snow fall last week made a perfect morning for a walk on the guest ranch in the valley below my house. Light snow was still falling as I began my walk.
I cross a new bridge recently constructed to replace a broken and abandoned one of long ago. Lots of restoration work has been done in the past year on the ranch.
bridge over elk creek
Weak sunlight begins to filter through the clouds as I photograph the barn with lions head soft in the cloudy background.
at the barn
Bright spring gold in the twigs along the creek.
spring color along the creek
Two geese on upper lake. One gets out of the water and poses on one foot for me.
Two more geese circle and call. The first pair loudly answer and hold their claim on the only open water.
two newcomers
The 2nd pair continue to circle and call,
circling pair
then land on the snow covered ice at the other end of the lake.
geese landing
The lead goose lands gracefully followed by a sliding partner.
still sliding
As the clouds lift and the sun rules the sky, I move up the creek to photograph lions head from a couple of other favorite locations.
Near crop rock:
ponderosas and lions head
And, from lion’s foot.
- lion’s foot
Spring Snow
Snowing again? Yes, this is spring, warm one day and snowing the next.
spring robin
When I was a child, my mother sang to me about a happy robin coming in the spring.
Though I was happy to see this robin a couple of days ago, I’m not sure the robin was happy about all the melting snow about.
The snow lasted a couple of cold days, but it’s warmer now and the snow is gone except in areas of deep shade.
This is April in Consworld, snow and melt, cold nights and warm bright days, anticipation in every twig and species, and spring fever in me.
I want to photograph the snow showers and melt, the winterbuds unfolding, and the early wildflowers. I want to walk along the creek and around the ponds in the mornings looking for spring birds and landscape views to capture. I don’t want to do any work. I want to play.
Kits, Hummingbirds, and Spring
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Spring has finally pushed winter aside. Fox kits are emerging from their dens, hummingbirds are fighting over feeders and wax currant flowers, and raindrops are replacing snowflakes. Just over a week ago, we had a foot of snow with phone and power outages (again!) and ice on the windshields last Monday morning. But now, the weather is warm and springs seems truly to be here.
Friends Cris and Glen invited me over to photograph the fox family living under their deck. The beautiful kits won’t be this size for long. Startled by the sound of the camera, they would run back under the deck and bark for their mother who seemed bored and not at all concerned at the people watching from the window.