Marsh Sightings

Unlike yesterday morning when I did not get out until late morning, today I was out walking at Sweet Marsh shortly after sunrise. The sky and marsh were filled with waterfowl as marsh mammals moved around on the still water. As I shot photos and hiked the dikes you could see…

Reasons Why

Back in May of 2024, as I was working in the far reaches of our yard, I heard a very soft, very weak, very sorrowful “meow” coming from our pollinator habitat. After a bit of searching I found the source - two young (so young) kittens that I wasn’t even sure if they were weaned. One kitten was calico-colored and one was black and white with a black heart on his white side. It is important to share that prior to the arrival of these kittens, I despised cats. These two though, were entirely dependent on Kristy and me. We could not let them starve.

Our intent was to limit these cats to mousing around the farm - living outside in the elements. Both did a good job with the female being far more effective than the male. After the vet removed his junk he became considerably more lazy and certainly a friendly cat.

We recognized an outside lifestyle posed risks to the cats. Passing vehicles, coyotes and foxes, and bald eagles were identified as the biggest threats. We were accepting of the risks, or so we thought.

This past fall another adult cat began stopping by. The female did not like that cat, but our male seemed to fall in love (even though he had nothing to work with). The wanderer led our male…

Observations On A Cold, Windy, Gray Day At Sweet Marsh

When it came time to go outside today I was hesitant. After warm days I could not get excited about getting chilled. Still, I went out for my walk at Sweet Marsh and saw plenty.

In the waterfowl category, most species have arrived. Some are present in impressive numbers while others have many in the area. As happens during migration, conditions change every day.

T-Max with Some Color

Back in the old days, when I was shooting film cameras, I would occasionally load a roll of Kodak T-Max film. T-Max was a popular black and white film with an interesting grain pattern. Shooting monochrome film challenged my “vision” and taught me how to “see” compositions differently - even with color in the scene.

During today’s eerie weather - warm, damp, fog that almost looked like blowing snow - triggered thoughts of T-Max and how my scenes might look without color. Following are some samples of my version of digital T-Max film.

Uncertainty

Today an alert motorist noticed this young trumpeter swan sitting on snow in a ditch in a rural area of the county. That person notified a county conservation staff member who called me to ask for assistance for the bird. Together we quickly had the swan captured and headed for Terese at Black Hawk Wildlife Rehabilitation Project. Once there a test for avian influenza was performed with a negative result. Sadly, the young swan’s posture suggests a spinal injury. The bird was found in the opposite ditch from power lines. Time will tell for this young swan.

Incoming!

Over the past couple of days many more avian visitors have arrived at Sweet Marsh. Of special interest this morning were scaup (greater scaup according to my app). Initially they did not stick around as I approached. Minutes later they were doing fly-bys with some landing.

Pre-emptive Mental Health Therapy

I have never hidden how nature/outdoor photography is my mental health therapy.

I shot this great blue heron picture early this morning, just before responsibility summoned. The picture is not good, but all that I got.

Tomorrow’s “Nature Fix” cannot come soon enough.

Thank you to the many good people I spent the day with. You mean much to me.

Winter Regulars on a Gray Day

Today’s drab, gray skies reduced my enthusiasm to get out with my camera. However, whether I like the cloudy skies or not, I did go exploring.

During my wandering I found…

Long Distance Views Of Early Arrivals

Our calendars show March 1, but what I saw at Sweet Marsh today suggested maybe we are later in the month since many bird species have arrived.

So far the following species have been documented at the marsh:

Spring Wildflowers and a Lucky Coyote

How ironic… within the past 10-days I looked for skunk cabbage and found none. Today I am sharing pics of the first wildflowers of the year (found today) as did a friend and fellow photographer who photographed his skunk cabbage elsewhere.

Skunk cabbage is a unique plant species. Skunk cabbage produce heat as they grow, sometimes their internal temperature is…

A Scream I Was Glad To Hear (A Positive Update!)

Back on February 17 I shared an image of a dead bald eagle in a ditch not far from an active eagle nest. My concern was the close proximity of the deceased bird to a proven active bald eagle nest. My question was… “Was the bird associated with the nest nearby?” And if the eagle was connected to the nest, what might happen to that nest and any eggs that may be there?

For the past 10-days several of us have been watching that nest and nobody has seen certain activity. Since the dead eagle was found we have had cold temperatures and plenty of…

Story in the Snow

My plan was to hike the snow-covered timber, but all progress stopped when I came across these snowshoe tracks in the snow.

The tracks in snow were not made by “modern” snowshoes. If I had to guess, I think these were “Huron” style traditional wood and webbing snowshoe tracks. While the shoes may be new, the style is not. That was what made this snowy path stand out.

I wonder what the story was behind the tracks. Seeing the story in the snow made me think of old days, maybe even days of black and white photography and weathered explorers. Was that what happened? I can only imagine.

Winter on Quarter Section Run at Brandt Park

Enjoy relaxing moments in winter along Quarter Section Run at Brandt Park in Denver, Iowa.

Winter on Quarter Section Run at Brandt Park

Random Finds

During my outdoor explorations today I found a few birds of interest.

- The End Of The Watch - Waverly’s Old Cottonwood Tree

One of Waverly's oldest and largest cottonwood trees will be taken down very soon. The tree is suffering from very poor health.

This video and photos memorializes the tree that has stood watch along the Cedar River for many, many years.

Expanding My Skills (This is a photo-geek post)

Lately I have been reading and watching YouTube videos to learn how I can, with little or no cost, use “Focus Stacking” on appropriate images.

Focus stacking involves…

Embrace the White

I don’t know of too many people who would rather have a winter snowstorm rather than the unseasonably mild conditions we enjoyed early this past week. Since we can’t do anything about the weather, I opted to enjoy the fresh, bright white landscape rather than complain about it.

My first photo shows the snow sticking to the north side of the trees. According to what my mother-in-law told me, we have…

Pretty For a Second

As a family member and I were traveling back and forth from the healing spot to the north, I noticed how pretty the heavy snow on conifers was. Then reality hit as I reached the highway. Oh my, what awful, miserable conditions. The pretty was gone and was replaced with weather ugly.

Not ICM, But Similar

Some photographers are experimenting with a technique called “Intentional Camera Movement” or “ICM".” ICM involves taking a long exposure and moving your camera slightly to record lines or shapes, depending how you move your camera. Your base image is often somewhat recognizable behind the lines.

When I have practiced ICM I mount my camera on a tripod resulting in my movements being close to straight lines.

Today, while flying my drone, I noticed how so many distinct shadows of trees in a timber almost appeared like ICM. The final image is recognizable with an additional pattern - similar to iCM.

Random Observations

Knowing the weather is supposed to cool down to normal temps, I again went searching for an over-achieving wildflower. While I did not find blossoms, I did find leaves that I would expect may get frost-nipped in the next few days. The plant species was the…