Sixty-seven years, oh Lord, to look at the clouds, the trees in deep, moist summer, daisies and morning glories opening every morning their small, ecstatic faces— Or maybe I should just say how I wish I had a voice like the meadowlark’s, sweet, clear, and reliably slurring all day long from the fencepost, or the long grass where it lives in a tiny but adequate grass hut beside the mullein and the everlasting, the faint-pink roses that have never been improved, but come to bud then open like little soft sighs under the meadowlark’s whistle, its breath-praise, its thrill-song, its anthem, its thanks, its alleluia. Alleluia, oh Lord.
patient fisherman focus is on the present misses tries again
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I watched this Great Blue Heron for several minutes as it slowly moved along in stealth mode. They fish without a lure but wade slowly while stalking their prey in shallow water or flooded meadows, and will strike using their neck to throw their sharp, dagger like bill at their prey. On this morning they actually had a three for three success rate for small fish while I watched. An adult heron can easily consume up to 1 lb of fish per day. Their diet consists mostly of fish, but also frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, birds.
Since I’m learning to identify more birds I am giving you my best guess at what each one is. This is one of those guesses. Some birds it’s no problem but these birds are all so related, hang out in the same family, sound alike, fly similarly and look just like their cousin. Anyway if this is not a spotted towhee, forgive me. 😁 Have a great weekend!
If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.
Unknown to me, White-faced Ibises wander through our area during the warmer months of breeding. I do not know that I’ve ever seen them before simply because I pay more attention to this book of nature now. In fact I enjoy reading it. I just sat and watched them with wonder. I found these birds along Weld County Road 13 in a marshy area with no name on any map I could find. Both images from Saturday afternoon.
I’ve had for 20 plus years two pairs of binoculars that I seldom pickup because they are a pain in the a$$ to use. I’ve carried one pair in the car and keep the other in my condo. Since I’m spending more time in nature, I am wanting a closer look at this world around me. So, a couple weeks ago I did some research on birding binoculars and learned why these binoculars I have are such a hassle to use.
I learned most birders prefer using 8×42 binoculars. The ones I have are 10×24, which makes them small and lightweight but difficult to use. The first number is the magnification and and the second number is the diameter of the glass. The larger magnification causes a lot of shake while the smaller glass reduced the amount of light and field of view.
The most recommended pair in my price range was the Nikon Prostaff S3 8×42. I made a visit to Jax Surplus to look at a pair, liked what I saw and made the purchase, knowing I could return them if they did not work for me. Wow, what a difference. These binoculars weigh in at 19.9 ounces, are rated at 377 ft/1,000 yd Field Of View, and are waterproof and fogproof. It is interesting to use them in tracking a bird in flight, something impossible previously. I’ve even taken them for walks without my camera because I enjoy just watching/studying the birds. Or, as I’ve read, “Studying the book of nature.” Yep, new optics! 😁
