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…

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) –

Last night’s northern light show was the best I (and many others) have ever seen. For many hours a palette of colors moved over the night sky as stars twinkled in the background. Every now and then a shooting star dashed overhead until it burned out forever.

I recorded more than 1,500 images that I then edited most of them into a time-lapse video. By shooting high resolution still images for the video, I then have the option of reviewing the night show frame-by-frame.

One image in particular caught my attention. In this photo you so many details from the aurora borealis show in one frame. We see the range of vivid colors and their varying intensities. We see the stars in the background and one of our spruce trees in the foreground. We see the pillars well defined in the colors.

Of particular interest to me were the white/green colors that appeared several hours into the lights. Their presence was a subtle lighting of the sky – you could see them with the naked eye, but they did not jump out as the bright reds, pinks, purples, and greens did. In fact, some may have missed them entirely – yet they were there.

According to predictions, tonight may be a repeat performance in the night sky. In fact, some are suggesting the show may be even more powerful. Clouds may move in to obscure the clear view, but hopefully we will still see some of the aurora.

My batteries are charged and I am ready. Let’s go Mother Nature. I would like a rerun of the best show I have seen in the night sky. And “Thank You!” for last night’s episode!

View the video at this link: Aurora Borealis

Working a Scene (and more)

When I was not able to find a photo subject I was looking for, I decided to go for a walk with a receptive spirit to photographing whatever I might find. It did not take long before I found a tree covered from the ground to twenty or thirty feet up with turkey tail fungi. How should I compose an image to…

Birds and Ice

Like it or not our temperatures are getting colder. Overnight lows brought the first skim of ice on the river - some of the ice thick enough that I did not want to swing hard into it with a paddle. Most ice though, was easily navigable. Some ice even presented with an artistic appearance.

Today’s Theme is “Texture”

When temperatures and wind - especially the wind - make it miserable to be outside too long, a person with a camera doesn’t spend time being unproductive. After last night’s low temperatures many more leaves dropped to the ground. It was looking down where I found images for today.

Color or No Color

While hiking the Luster Heights trails at the Yellow River State Forest I came upon what I thought was a composition that needed to be recorded. How the image would be preferred was not certain - with color or without? Older looking or more accurate to reality?

I like all styles and my preference will likely depend on my mood. How about you?

Going To Harbor Freight Now That I Learned By Watching

Once again today a family member and I went to the great healing place to the north for a day of activities and education. Much to my surprise, I was allowed to be in the room when a procedure was done to remove fluid from the space between the pleura and left lung.

Now that I have watched it at close range and talked to the team while it was being done, I know I can do this and save a trip north.

Needed from Harbor Freight:

• Some band-aids

• Gloves (to look like a doctor)

• Masks (to look even more like a doctor)

• One IV cap for marking the spot

• An alcohol wipe or two (unless I grab extra at a restaurant some time)

• One long needle for injecting Lidocaine

• A little doober or more of Lidocaine to numb the discomfort (I will make it quick!)

• One longer and bigger needle for puncturing between the ribs and entering the pleural space

• One or two containment bottles with negative pressure (but don’t tell the patient’s family so they think the patient has intense lung pressure)

• Flexible Tubing (I might have some gas line or oxygen tubing in the garage I could use)

• One Sonogram machine with a display (will need to buy or rent if Brother Darrell or Jason don’t have one in their shops)

• One willing patient

Seriously - I got to be a part of this and it was so interesting. It was fascinating to watch the lung begin to fill the space the fluid had occupied.

It was a good day!

A New Destination For Me

Today I hiked a “new to me” destination in Northeast Iowa - to the two overlooks at the Luster Heights Unit of the Yellow River State Forest.

Wow! More nice views of the Mississippi River valley from high above for those able to make the short hikes.

I will have many more photos to share, but for now I have these three ready.

Tale in the Leaves

As I followed a leaf-covered trail through the timber today I spotted color on the leaves that was out of place. I noticed drops of blood that began a challenge for me to unravel the mystery of the tale in the leaves.

Years ago, long before I ever dabbled seriously in outdoor photography, I spent countless hours hunting for squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, and deer. My tools of choice were rifles, shotguns, handguns, or a bow. During those many hunts I learned to follow blood trails in addition to noticing disturbances. I’ve lost count of how many times I have read the book “The Tracker” by…

Sadness on Pretty Day

While the day was very pretty, our mood has been somber. Our cat “Oreo” died.

I won’t go into details other than to say that Oreo and his sister changed my attitude about cats. Maybe it had something to do with Oreo following me like a dog. Maybe it was his “fainting” in front of my next step so I would pet him. I don’t know. What I do know is I am going to miss him.

Dang - for a guy who could not tolerate cats before these two showed up, my attitude has certainly changed.

Eight + Miles Done - I Am Not Running Away

Earlier this year I was told by my orthopedic specialist that I would never do wilderness canoe outings or backpacking trips again due to an injury and surgery complications. I sort of did a canoe trip, but not without considerable discomfort for the next few days. I did it, but it was not pretty. Today was a test for backpacking.

If details can be worked out I will hike with the fellow reclaiming the record for the oldest person to hike…

Two Versions of One Day

What a change we have had for this first day without Daylight Savings Time. We woke to calm, brisk conditions with a heavy coat of frost and even thicker fog. What began as a slow day for me, until I looked out the window, quickly transitioned to a photographically busy morning. I did not want to miss fog photos!

My Path To Another World

Fifteen years or so ago my friends at the Iowa Flood Center told me (and others in the audience) that our weather patterns would change from periodic rains to dry spells followed by heavy rain. Our overall annual rainfall would remain about the same, but the pattern would be dry/flood conditions. Like it or not, so far they have been right.

How this has affected me personally is that the river in front of our cabin is either terribly shallow or out of its banks. Where we used to see water skiing or where we pulled the kids on a tube behind our pontoon boat is now too shallow to run an outboard without churning up mud.

If I was a serious boating enthusiast I would be disappointed or…

For the beauty of the earth,  For the beauty of the skies…

As I paddled this morning on the Wapsipinicon River the first two verses of an old familiar hymn came to mind. “For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies…” seemed appropriate. From the golden oak leaves to the thousands of grackles calling and flying, to the wood ducks doing their best to…

Wild Life and Odd Weather

After this morning’s weather conditions I am not sure what to expect. First we had fog - plenty of fog. Then conditions cleared so I went out exploring. Under the clear conditions I found trumpeter swans and a lone ring-necked duck...

Thinking of Al (Kristy’s Dad)

Several decades ago my father-in-law took up trout fishing for a hobby. Al tied some flies and I am sure tossed them in the streams, but no matter what I cannot remember him ever catching any trout. I hope he experienced pulling a fighting trout in on a light line, but I do not remember him enjoying trout fishing success.

Today I decided to try my luck quietly dropping artificial insects at some of the streams where Al would go so many years ago. I am happy to say that my trout fishing story won’t…