How Can This Happen? (And positive stuff)

Early today I was notified of a possible swan that was down for unknown reasons. (I cannot disclose the location or further details at this time.)

My first concern was avian influenza had reared its ugly head again in our area, but no, that does not appear to be the case. After seeing a picture it appeared the swan was not afflicted with an illness, but was suffering from several injuries. Once on scene more injuries were visible but not included here. This young-of-the year swan appears to have been…

SSo Many Questions, Few Answers - Call Me, Call Someone

Late yesterday afternoon and early evening so many people attended the visitation of a friend to many. That we were all in the same place for the same reason delivered an unspoken message - we cared.

We gathered as friends and as family - all with a common bond. Each of us was there to grieve with family and friends and to say goodbye to a friend.

Questions… there are so many questions with…

Hunting With Glass

Since I was carrying my Nikon and not my Remington I hunted this rooster pheasant with glass. It is a good thing the camera could see the bird. The bright snow burned my rods and cones after a few frames were recorded.

I’ll add this not so good view of a horned lark in flight.

Not Often Seen Scenes

Yesterday I shared my first horned lark images for the winter of 2025-2026. In the text I mentioned I would watch for Lapland longspurs and snow buntings that sometimes are found with the horned larks. Today I studied more horned larks and found Lapland longspurs in the mix. This one allowed for a couple of photos.

For those wondering - horned larks, Lapland longspurs, and snow buntings are the little brown birds (LBBs) typically seen in winter months, along gravel roads, and away from housing/structures. They tend to thrive in…

Challenging Weather Conditions Make For Easier Horned Lark Images

As has happened many times, the worse the weather conditions the more likely I will come home with horned lark images. Today followed the trend with a ready supply of horned larks to attempt to get close enough for photos. I managed a few as shown here.

The Seeker Becomes the Hunted - And Dead Swan

For another year some of our family migrated (with apparently thousands of others) to the Wapsie Pines Christmas Tree Farm in Southeast Bremer County. As we have done many times, some of the grandkids played “Hide and Seek” with Gramps.

This year was different as Gramps was able to stay out of view long enough the kids resorted to calling with their cell phone to listen for my duck call ring tone. They called using their phones as taking advantage of their resources. Gramps thinks it was cheating. For Rounds 2 and 3 Gramps was the clear winner. In fact, even though I was supposed to be the “hunted” (the hider), I turned things around and hunted them hunting me. When I showed them I was close enough to take pictures of them it spooked them. We really did have fun and came home with Christmas trees for the homes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristy and I wish each of you a “Happy Thanksgiving” on this special day. Some days are easier than others to find something to be thankful for, but each day is worthy of gratitude - large or small.

For those wondering - temperatures did not get low enough overnight to cover larger areas with ice. Hard water is starting to form and based on the forecast, ice may be just a day or two away. For now all I could find was some ice along the edges of the river.

Not ICM, But ISM

Every now and then I dabble in "ICM” (Intentional Camera Movement). ICM involves a photographer moving the camera ever so slightly during a long exposure. Sometimes ICM works, sometimes…

Under The Right Lighting

Under the right lighting even ordinary scenes or photo subjects can look special. Such was the case this morning when I photographed geese, mallards, and a landscape scene.

Should I Be A Deckhand on the Lansing Ferry?

Yesterday Kristy and I explored along the Mississippi River again, including a trip across the river and back on the Cassville Ferry that has moved to Lansing. The trip to Wisconsin does not take long and ours was uneventful.

As I rode on the ferry I thought how interesting (and fun) it might be to work a shift or a day on the ferry. I may give the operators a call to see what might be possible. What do you think… should I?

By the way, today I photographed fog and more fog. Rather than deviate from my Lansing work, I will stick to photos from yesterday that have not yet been shared.

To view the video, click on this link:

Should I Be A Deckhand on the Lansing Ferry?

Not What I Was Expecting

Along an isolated gravel road I noticed a red-tailed hawk that I was hoping would tolerate a photo or two being made. In the background was an ideal sky - not white, not gray, not bright blue - instead that darker color that presents when the clouds and sun cannot decide what they want to do.

As I often do, I began shooting pictures from some distance away. The hawk had no plans on…

Not Following Rules

If you study photography rules or guidelines, a photographer might want to have foreground, middle ground, and background objects to show depth. Photographers also should not often put their horizon line (or in this case the river bank line) in the middle of the frame - instead moving to the upper or lower third area.

For my photo today I went contrary to the guidelines for an image that I can visualize framed and hanging on a wall in my mother’s living room. I composed with the river bank line in the center of the frame and there are no foreground or middle ground objects. Instead I am letting the trees and their reflections draw viewers into the frame.

A “Fungi” Kind of a Day

After several days of dark, dreary, and damp weather, I decided conditions were right for fungi to be found so I went looking. Not only did I find fungi, but also lichen and a few other picture compositions. I did find one…

The Mechanics of Taking Flight

As I was watching juncos at our bird feeders today I did not realize a juvenile bald eagle was watching me. Eventually I looked around and noticed the large, intimidating bird sitting on the top…

Commonalities with Dolores

One day last week a close friend of mine made me aware of a children’s book written by the daughter of my new friend (as of this morning). The story was about the excitement of capturing a large snake and…

Rooster Ring-necked Pheasant Calling

As I drove down a gravel road I noticed two rooster ring-necked pheasants along the road. I stopped to watch them, shoot pictures, and record video.

Check out the video here: Rooster Ring-necked Pheasant Calling‍

Please excuse the wind noise and focus searching. I did not have time to get set up.

Observing Without Seeing… Until…

Not every day in the outdoors with a camera results in wildlife images. Sometimes time is invested - intentionally or by default when wildlife cannot be found - scouting by visual observations.

Frequently over the past few weeks I have observed a lone great blue heron “fishing” in shallow waters of the Wapsipinicon River. This morning I searched for the heron but just could not locate the bird.

Eventually I made an observation that told me I was getting closer, at least to where the heron had been. A generous display of fresh great blue heron whitewash told a telling story of the bird’s presence. The challenge would be for me to see it.

After a couple of hours of searching I opted to call it quits, accepting that somedays you observe and other days you see. A person can only do so much - if the target species….

Stability in Chaos

Tonight, before I did a presentation for the Friends of the Heery Woods Nature Center, I stopped on the north side of Heery Woods State Park near the dam. Light levels had already dropped below the focusing capabilities of my camera requiring full manual operations for any images recorded. Initially I was considering a composition that included the dam in its entirety. It quickly became evident that I might be able to compose an image with a single rock surrounded by moving water - a much different idea.

With a long exposure the moving water in the resulting image was rendered smooth while the jagged edges of the rock were well defined. The combination reminded me that even though our world often seems to be running rampant and chaotic (the moving water), we still have some stability (the rock). I will let each of you decide what you consider the stability in your life.

Believe it or not, the image seemed calming to me.

And, the presentation and discussion was quite enjoyable… a good bunch of folks! Thanks for the invitation!

Channeling Bob Ross

Early this morning my attention was drawn to what I considered a “Bob Ross Moment.” An island I have photographed a time or thee in the past was being nicely lit by a rising sun. As I was composing my image four Canada geese flew toward the island and broke up the sky. The birds also added…

The Greatest Oaks Have Been Little Acorns

During a discussion with a cabin neighbor - a good fellow I might add - opinions on several important topics were shared. Agreement was quick on one theme, something that poses challenges for each of us.

Our discussion began when I was asked if I had read anything by Aldo Leopold. Immediately Leopold’s book “A Sand County Almanac” came to mind. Our thoughts of Leopold and what he did for conservation encouraged the question… “Who is going to carry on caring for the land when we are gone?”

I do not want to insinuate that only a few of us care for the outdoors. That is not the case as there are many folks with a passion similar to ours. However, when you look at the ages of those deeply involved in outdoor concerns and/or activities, we are not seeing too many young people. From what I have observed, we have not one, but at least two generations of people disconnected from the outdoors.

What does that mean? Folks disconnected from nature have not enjoyed paddling a canoe (or kayak), hiking through the woods on an autumn morning, shuffled across ice on a frozen pond, or hooted for owls as evening darkness is settling in.

Why is this? What caused this lack of outdoor connection? From what I have observed we - each of us - have too many things pulling at us. Look at your calendar… how many free days do you have? How many weekends are not spoken for? How about the young people in your life. How many activities are they involved in? What is their “free time quota?”

Rather than looking to place blame, let’s consider what we can do to rectify this situation. This is where each of us with enthusiasm for the outdoors can make a difference.

Please, if you enjoy the outdoors, set a goal to share your passion with a younger person. Younger could be a kid or a kid’s parent. Take a kid and their parent fishing, or hunting. Share with them a hike in the woods or walking along a river bank. Expose them to what you appreciate so they too develop a fondness for the outdoors. Plant a seed of outdoor concern that will grow and mature. As the folks you expose to the outdoors become more involved in nature, their concern will follow. Eventually their increasing thrill with the outdoors will…