Another first!

Wow.  So very happy with the pics I got today at Eastwood MetroPark!  AND I do know how very blessed I am to have so many MetroParks to visit within 30 minutes of home.  There are also several other parks and hiking trails to visit that aren't part of the same system, so there's plenty of variety for my wandering eye!

For several years, I drove by a stretch of land next to a railroad track that had a lot of thistles growing.  They looked so pretty, but it was never safe to stop there and take some pictures.  Today, I took the entrance to Eastwood by the lake, which is not where I normally go.  I was surprised to find thistle growing down by the lake, and in varying stages of blooming.  I would have been a happy camper just from getting those photos, but it got better!

I figured since I was close to the lake, I should probably get at least a couple of shots of it.  I'm glad I did.


Then, I drove around a little more before turning around to head back to the main road to the entrance I normally use.  As I was slowly driving along looking at the scenery (no other cars on that road), I saw a "new" bird and tried to stop so I could get a better look at it.  Unfortunately, all I know is that it had a black back and white underbelly; could be a whole lot of different birds.  Bummer.  But, it was still nice to have spotted it, even if I don't know what it was!


So, I resumed my drive out to the main road and on to the other entrance to the park.  I was about halfway to where I wanted to park, and I looked over toward the water and couldn't quite figure out what I saw, but hoped it was either a crane or heron (neither of which I'd seen before!).  So, I pulled onto the shoulder, turned the emergency flashers on, grabbed the camera, and ran across the lane (well, as close to running as I get).  As I got closer to the water, I slowed down and peeked around the foliage, and saw . . . 

 . . . a Great Blue Heron!  I'm not subjecting you to the numerous very similar shots I took, just a few.  Jenny @ I'd Rather Be Birding!, this is a HUGE first for me, and I have you to thank.  If you hadn't encouraged me to begin blogging, I wouldn't be making opportunities to stop at the parks to take photos.  You've pushed me to try different perspectives and styles that I might not have gotten around to for quite a while.  THANK YOU!

A baby Canada Goose (gosling) . . . loved the downy feathers!

An adult Canada Goose with some goslings.  With all of the "floaties" on the water, it looked kind of like twinkling lights. 

I love the bridges they have, at least to look at.  Today I went over them for the first time, and they are pretty steep.

There were a lot of mallard ducks, mostly males.  I think I saw a total of 3 females.  I wasn't sure I'd caught this guy in flight - I was moving and so was he!  What a thrill when I saw it.

The way these two guys were standing cracked me up - the way they both rested their bills on their chests . . . kind of a motionless strutting if that makes sense to anyone but me!

And the last few shots are more pics featuring reflection.  The rocks above made me wonder at first where the shore line was.

I felt like I saw double, double of the female duck . . . one of my favorites of the day.

When I saw this shot, it reminded me of the scenes in Mary Poppins that mixed animation with live shots.  The log and turtle seemed to come out of the "drawing" of the tree and sky . . . You're probably right to think I need to tone down the imagination a little (just not too much!).


All of this fun and creativity packed into about an hour.  I love catching these kind of images.  This needs to be my job.

Ducks and Serendipity . . .

I was going through some of my older pics today, and ran across some that were taken as a result of serendipity.  Yup, using that word again!  LOVE it.  The following nature shots were all taken at a park where my niece had a soccer tournament (in Middletown, OH).  I hadn't even seen this area the first two or three times because it was lower than the parking lot.  We all ate lunch up by the parking lot, then I wandered down to see what all else was in this park (it was a nice alternative to sweaty teenage girls who had a BAD case of the giggles).

I liked the way this tree branch had rotted out - I couldn't quite get the right angle to see from the main opening through the smaller opening on the right out onto the water . . . believe me, I tried!

I was absolutely thrilled when I saw how nicely the reflection turned out.  I'd tried it a couple of times before this shot, and none of them were decent.

I like watching the ducks, and I liked catching the ripples they created.

I couldn't decide if the one duck was being picked upon or not.  I finally decided (for my own peace of mind) that they were involved in some sort of duck synchronized swimming performance.

As  you can see, the "beach" area was not quite litter free, but it did provide nice contrast for me to see this beauty.

This duck was just kind of scary; I loved the colors, but he was kind of mean to the other ducks.  I kept a very wide path between us!

This one cracked me up.  It seems to be trying to claim to be shy . . .

I think the only way I would have liked this photo better was if I'd caught it from the front, not a profile view.  I wasn't sure as I was clicking away what I would end up with.  I was VERY happy.

Nobody in the family was surprised when I posted the soccer photos on the team photo site and these (and several more) photos of the flora and fauna were included.  The girls didn't know I was going to include them and thought I was nuts.  They may be right, I may be crazy . . . but I'm entertaining, and they loved the soccer photos, so they put up with me.

It's kind of funny that so many of the photos I've taken and loved the most are those that were not planned.  Not just these, but most of the nature shots are ones I've just happened upon.  There are a few where I waited and waited and waited for a bird to show up, but those are very atypical.  Even my favorite pictures of people are the candid pictures - not the least bit posed.  I prefer everything be open and honest, without artifice.  Who needs artificial when the natural is beautiful in its own right?