• animals,  landscape,  snow,  winter scenes

    A Cold Winter Day

    December 26, 2012
    Animal Tracks

    Christmas day was cold out here. The high only reached 15 degrees. The sun came out in the early afternoon, offering glimpse of blue sky, so I drove out east looking for winter scenes. I had a location and scene in mind but it did not offer me what I wanted. With the attitude of not giving up I found these animal tracks interesting. I was not the only one looking at animal tracks as it seemed like there was a hawk or falcon perched in a tree every mile or two. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

    Read More
  • animals,  coffee shops,  Documentary/Street

    Morning Java

    July 24, 2012
    Relaxing with an early morning coffee.

    Seems everyone has a phone and many of those are smart phones. For example at lunch the other day all six of us in the restaurant were on our smart phones either texting, emailing or checking our blogs. (I’m in the later category).  CNNTech article states that , “45% of cell phone owners said that their phone is a smartphone. Also, 49% of cell phone owners said that their phone operates on a smartphone platform common to the U.S. — which includes BlackBerry.” And, most of those are owned by adults. I have one. They said in an article that the biggest growth in smartphone ownership was among adults aged 18 to 24 (up 18%); the next highest growth was among those aged 45 to 54 (16%). Other demographic segments with high growth in smartphone use include whites (15%); those with some college education (14%); and women, rural dwellers and those aged 25-34 (13% each). The article also stated “The slowest growth in smartphone use was among people aged 65” which means I have 3 more years to go before I have to put mine away. Of course by then I probably will be using the next generation of whatever it is. So, this morning I was doing as this young man, enjoying a mocha latte and checking your blogs.

    Read More
  • animals

    Eye Contact

    February 6, 2012
    Watching

    Ever wonder what an animal is thinking as they make eye contact and stare? In this case I assume he is not thinking about the political debates, his taxes, his 401k, or who won the Super-bowl. His focus is on the world around him, which includes us. This world is where he finds shelter and food, the necessities of sustaining life. He is part of nature. He stares at me trying to determine if I’m a  predator or abserver, a danger or not. However, I do smile as it doesn’t look like he’s that worried about eating. 🙂

    Read More
  • animals,  landscape,  trees

    To my enjoyment ….

    December 2, 2011
    The Farmers Two Trees

    On Wednesday it started snowing sometime after 11:00 pm and continued until midday. The silence of a snowfall during the night allows us to awake to a new world, one covered in a blanket of white. For me watching a snowfall is a thing of beauty but there is something special when a silent snowfall surprises you in the morning. And, I accept, that along with all this beauty in nature comes the cold and wet, which is its way of sustaining this world of ours.

    Read More
  • animals

    Barking a Warning

    November 23, 2011
    Barking a Warning

    “One is never alone in the forest. One is never unobserved.”

    A Far-Off Place by Laurens van der Post

    In my experience it is seldom that a prairie dog will allow humans to come very close. But, for some reason this little one let me closer than usual. His hole was located along the outer edge of the prairie dog town. They can detect predators from a far distance and then alert other prairie dogs to the danger with their special, high-pitched call. They are considered a keystone spicies, which means they have a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. They provide food source the many prairie animals such as the fox, coyotes, raptors, badger, and snakes. They are definitely a pest for farmers and ranchers due to the towns they build. Anyway, this little one was letting me know I was being closely observed.

    Read More