Day 200

July 20, 2011

Day 199

July 19, 2011

     My summer garden.

Day 182

July 1, 2011

Day 181

June 30, 2011

     I cannot help taking pictures of nature over and over again, it never loses my interest. There are always new pictures to make.

Day 178

June 27, 2011

     My very first picture out of my new AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8! I tried to make it a good one.

Day 249

   Bald Cypress Tree.

Day 248

     Hatching Year Mallard Female.

Day 191

Day 189

     Zoo time! The zoo is always so much fun, but it wears me out in a real hurry. The Grizzlies there were puny. But that doesn't take anything away from how beautiful they are.
     There are so many zoo pictures I want to share, but I will not.

Day 177

Day 168

     I did it. I broke the Rule. The Rule I've always had and always heard and always kept. I broke the "Let Nature Follow It's Course" Rule. It's the fatal mistake. And sometimes it actually is fatal. But I couldn't stop myself. I told myself that I needed to break It.
     Today it rained harder than I had ever seen it before. Plants were being shredded and some branches broken. I instantly thought of the poor mother Dove, sitting on her eggs, trying through the terrible storm to give them life. And then it started hailing. Big, round balls of ice rocketing from the sky. I couldn't help it. If you don't know, I have a pet dove, but due to all the remodel work, I haven't been permitted to keep her at home, so she's staying at a friends. Discovering this mother and nest was like discovering a little link to her.
     I ran over with a giant umbrella to see the mother, and though it was an image of distress, it warmed my heart. I found her on the nest, eyes plastered shut, head thrown back in determination, all concentration on keeping the two little bundles warm and every feather on her body soaked useless. I broke the Rule and stood under that tree in the slanting rain, with the umbrella angled to protect her from impact. After a few minutes she opened her eyes, curious as to why she could no longer feel the hail or rain. She cocked her head and looked directly into my eyes, a little shocked but perhaps a little thankful. That should have been my cue to go. I should have left the umbrella hanging in the tree and backed away, looking away from her. But I stayed there with her, staring into her beautiful blue-framed eye and seeing her drenched feathers. And for a few minutes it worked. But then she realized what I was, and flew away off in the storm, leaving those eggs subject to the drafty wind. In that situation, those eggs could die in minutes. And my learning was strong enough to know I couldn't take the eggs. But if they were left there, they would die due to my foolishness. I decided to leave the umbrella in the tree and watch from inside. And I waited, waited, waited, but she didn't come back. As the worst of the storm was over, I took the umbrella, and was incredibly concerned, believing there was no way those eggs would ever hatch. But soon after the rain stopped, I heard the familiar whistling of dove wings and saw a disturbance in the leaves. She miraculously returned. I do not know if those eggs stand a chance, but at least she's trying.

Day 158

     Today I did a lot of garden work. As I stood up rather adrubtly, my head bumped into the branch of an Acer ginnala and a startled Zenaida macroura whistled out of the tree. Me being me, I wondered why it hadn't moved until then (they are pretty shy birds) and did some searching. And got out a ladder. And found a nest! Two little white eggs, freshly laid. I don't think she's started to incubate them yet, but I'll keep watching. But I can't wait to have cute little babies! 

Day 145

     No matter how hard I try, I have never been able to capture the mood I get when I simply sit outside. It's definitely happy, but it feels like so much more to that. And that's why I love the outdoors so much. Because it is peace. No matter how awful my day, if I go outside, I'll feel something to make me feel better. Laugh at me all I want, but if I could, I would live purely outside. I belong among these pines. And that is part of the reason that I grew up in the best place ever.

Day 141

     Today was my camera's first birthday. So respectfully, I spent a lot of time with it. No, surprisingly I haven't named it yet. Should I? I don't know. I am open to suggestions!
     I spent a few good hours today lying in the grass. And a lot of that time was spent within a few feet of the teeniest bunny that I have ever seen. And, laugh at me when I say this, bonding with it. It was not startled by me or my camera, just innocently ate our struggling lawn. I loved just watching it. And I loved the wonderful weather. This thing is so cute.

Day 135

     I absolutely love Western Meadowlarks. Sturnella neglecta. Their song is beautiful, their coloring is beautiful and they always signify the glorious days of spring and summer to me. I feel like the bird itself is sunshine. I've never been able to get a picture of them, as they sit in the high pine treetops and scare easily. You can always hear them, all throughout the day and evening but they're hard to find because they're notes carry so far. When I do get to see them, I fell so lucky and so happy. The other day when it was raining, I saw one a far off bathing in the wet grass, and it significantly improved my day. And today I got closer to one than ever before. This time, it was sitting on a Yucca, not using it's classic song but letting out a few notes here and there. And it calmly watched me as I watched it, slowly approaching. It didn't startle, even when my sister called out for dinnertime. Eventually, I went and had my desert, after I had watched it fly away.

Day 128

Day 122

Day 117

    Today we hiked a few slot canyons. They were so extraordinary, and so fun to be in. What an incredible world we live in! I definitely believe that there is beauty everywhere we go.

Day 116

     Today was a day for Zion National Park! It is so beautiful here. We did one of the hardest (mentally) hikes I've ever done, but with an incredible view. For any visitors (who are not extremely afraid of heights and in fairly good shape) I would recommend hiking Angel's Landing. As the bus warned us as we approached "fatalities have occurred." We got to eat lunch up there, sitting on top of the world, as the park rangers were working on the chain leads we would cling to, joking that they were removing them. What a great, hot, sweaty, beautiful day.

Day 115

     On a trip to Southern Utah! And my, the rocks are beautiful! Even in black and white, with the loss of their rusty red color. With all the extraordinary rocks, I feel as if I am in an extraterrestrial world.