Birds and a full moon...

Rich got a neat barn-like birdfeeder from his daughter for his birthday. He really likes it. I put it in a spot where he can watch the mules and the birds at the same time.

It seems all the birds enjoyed it. 
 

Of course, I couldn't resist making sure that the Lego Birds got in on the act.

The Cardinals weren't bothered by the little Lego Birds at all. They all ate together without a fuss.

Our ground is warm enough for the Robins to be pulling up worms. I watched this Robin and learned something new once more. They don't gobble down the whole worm. At least this one didn't. It pulled it up and then took bites out of it. After a bit the Robin left leaving part of the worm.

I always assumed that Robins grabbed up the worms and chucked them down all at once. See? I can learn new things on any given day!

I spent most of the afternoon grooming the mules and getting burrs out of their tails. A bit of hair conditioner rubbed into the tails makes that chore a bit easier. I am always amazed at how they go find more burdock any way. 

We spent part of the day looking through old family photos. Rich would tell me who they were and I'd write the names on the back of them. He couldn't ID them all, but we sure had fun looking at them. When I pulled out his High School Yearbook I read him the signatures he'd collected. Some of them were pretty hilarious. He was drafted not long after graduation.

This morning [Sunday] we had the full moon peeking at us from a partially cloudy sky, I took this shot and then did a little video of the predawn morning sounds.

20 seconds long. The moon is not in focus as I was

recording the sounds.

The song is that of the coyotes and their young hunting in the valley to the west of us and in the forest to the east of us.

The mules were rather unconcerned.

Wonderful Quiet Weekend

I'll never be a Nat Geo photographer, but dang that series is very interesting!

National Geographic Photographer

We've watched 2 episodes and they are just wow! [On Hulu]

Another amazing show is Queens, also by Nat Geo. The music and the wildlife is incredible, not to mention the photography and the fact that they feature almost all females who photographed and produced the series. [On Disney+]

Here is my faint attempt at being a 'wildlife' photographer with the birds the other day.

Purple finches:

Do you see the female behind the male?

Chickadees having some seed with my Lego Birds:

Junco who knocked down my wee little Lego birds!

Goldfinches in a tussle at the feeder!

And for your landscape pleasure...

the heavy band of snow that came through and dropped nearly 4 inches in an hour and a half!

And now it is Monday.

Messing around

 

In the mean time, I've been busy with experimenting with lights indoors. I used a technique called Black Background ... it uses no background but a setting on the camera that makes the scene black and then the photographer uses a flashlight, flash, or something to light up the subject.

It was a pain to do, but I think if I practice a LOT more I can get it to work pretty easily. I'm studying how to do this outdoors while photographing a flower. I didn't take a 'how to' shot. 

I did it on the kitchen table with light coming in through a curtain. There is a coffee cup about 6 inches from the Lego Bird.

While the camera thought the scene was black, I used a bright flashlight to light up the Lego Bird and this was the result. I still have some work to do to figure out the best settings for this type of photography.

I tried a new method of lighting up a subject from underneath. I found a large piece of broken glass and put it on some old play blocks.
I stuck a flat light under the critters and a weak light shining on them from the front.

That is how I did the Shark Duckie shot which you already saw last week:

I then stood a tiny soldier right on top of the light with a black plastic background.

The soldier standing on the light with a black reflective
background behind him.

Cropped version...

A Calico Critter ~
She stood on the light and I took a flashlight and
lit her up from the top.

The shots turn out quite moody and interesting. I'd guess this method would work with some still life like an apple or forks or utensils? Perhaps a salt shaker with salt spilled on the glass and a small measuring spoon alongside it?

I just have to face it. There is not a lot out in the woodlands right now to get excited about. 

However. Things are starting to happen!

I saw Robins again today, along with Bluebirds, Sandhill Cranes have been flying overhead...and this morning I heard my first red winged black bird.

Seems like I need to start looking for neat signs of spring.

I guess a mission to look for Skunk Cabbage should be in order!

PS-- I did find skunk cabbage when I went out on Tuesday for my walk.

Springing up

I was really quite curious as to how the warmer weather was affecting things in the forest. I took a hike down to the Big Spring in the Valley where I usually can spot the first signs of spring when the Skunk Cabbage emerges.

Years ago, this was an easier hike. But the forest has taken over with briars and weeds. The land has been left 'feral' in the past 15 years. 

Charlie and I found the spring and it took a little bit of looking around but eventually we found Skunk Cabbage plants emerging just and inch or so above the leave debris.

The usual time for Skunk Cabbage to emerge in this

part of the forest is late March to early April.
So this emergence is about 3 weeks

early.

We also found Water Strider running back and forth across the creek. How they walk on the water is amazing!

It is hard to see the Water Strider in this shot, but you can see its shadow quite easily.

In the woods, things are brown and rather dull looking, however this is another time of year that the mosses really do shine. I love seeing them in the early morning or late afternoon sunlight. They are in areas that will be shaded later this year. The mosses will be hidden by the greenery of the briars and trees on this hillside above the Big Spring.

These aren't the 'best' shots of birds, but I did enjoy trying to spot this Junco inside a bush. It was a challenge. Charlie and I had to sit in the hayfield and stay still for a while so the bird would settle down too.

Robins were appearing everywhere and they were able to grab insects and even worms which I found very amazing for this early in March.

The whole reason to go for the hike was to look for Skunk Cabbage and some birds. I didn't do very well on the bird search, but here are some rather odd little birds.

This one was a difficult shot. Not in the way you think though. I put the Lego Bird in a nest that was inside a multiflora rose bush. In the natural world, this is a perfect spot for birds to build nests. No predators or even humans can get at the nest without being stabbed and caught up in all of the thorns!

We discovered more crocus flowers when we got home. So did the baby Lego Birds.

Spring is starting to creep into our area.

I wonder what it will be like? Friday we are supposed to have rain which we need.

Birds and roots

 I wanted to go see if any Swans, ducks, or other birds had shown up near the KVR Ponds so Charlie and I took a little trip to walk the trails around the ponds.

We saw geese. A lot of geese! 

The water in the foreground is still frozen on this pond. 

On the large pond though, the geese were lined up on the shore where the winds weren't blowing. At first glance it looked like they were turtles all lined up.

I wished that the viewing blind that the Reserve put up wasn't facing the sun. However, it is fun to sit there with binoculars and watch these characters chatter and flap their wings. After all, I felt good getting out and enjoying the sunshine. 

The ponds were a bit of a dud but that didn't matter much. We wanted the fresh air and anytime getting off the farm feels like a bit of a vacation.

We wondered around Harrison Trail and down a little known footpath that encircles one of the smaller ponds. On a good year it is really quite wet and muddy. Only a few places required some leaping from log to log and grass clump to keep from getting my feet wet.

We found cool tree roots...of course...

Now that tree grew sideways and UP!

Charlie had the best time, he chased a family of red squirrels around and around on the base of this bluff before they took off and climbed a pine tree.

Ahhhh! We did find some birds!

I found 3 little ones hiding alongside a bluff out of the wind. I didn't know that Cardinals, Bluebirds, and Sparrows hung out together.