• Documentary/Street,  Holiday Seasons,  moon,  street photography

    Old Town lights and crescent moon

    December 25, 2025

    When I left this morning for coffee, it was 35 degrees with overcast skies. I was gifted with a beautiful sunrise on the eastern horizon for the entire ride. As I stepped out the door of my condo I immediately noticed the quiet all around me. There was no traffic hum in the distance that many accept as normal and never notice. It was again an awareness of how much noise pollution our vehicles make. It also reminded me of when we first went into covid shutdown and the quiet that descended upon us for several weeks. On my bicycle ride home from coffee it had warmed up to 41 degrees but still overcast and cold. I stopped to observe a majestic bald eagle and held eye contact with them for several minutes along Spring Creek Trail. We just watched one another, no spoken words were necessary. What a gift that we shared.

    Old Town lights and the Crescent Moon

    The above image was taken last night when I went to Old Town to get some photographs of their Christmas lights and to watch people. It is a 14 second exposure so most of the people are blurred out. But, I want to share a special gift I received while watching a family of five. It looked to be mom and dad, grandpa and grandma, and a young girl who was in the spirit of the season and singing Jingle Bells, over and over. Everyone within hearing distance was her captivated audience! I don’t believe any person around me did not have a smile on their face as she sang. And, I wonder how many joined in, even silently. I did! And what’s interesting to me is that she may be offering this gift of song freely with no expectations of receiving in return. If only our world was focused on giving rather than receiving. Today I will cook up a chicken thigh with petite potatoes and baby carrots in my new Ninja Crispi air fryer. May you have a wonderful day, enjoy family time if possible and hopefully consume some chocolate today or at least think about it.

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  • landscape,  Poudre River,  winter scenes

    A Morning Walk

    January 3, 2025
    Winter colors along the Poudre River at the Environmental Learning Center
    A pair of Bald Eagles near Arapaho Bend Natural Area
    Blue sky and fog over Beaver Pond at Arapaho Bend Natural Area
    The bleakness of the Environmental Learning Center
    A whitetail doe framed and staring me down at the Environmental Learning Center

    I had an invigorating ride in the fog this morning to meet Jeff for coffee. About 10:00 am I drove to the Arapaho Bend Natural Area and then over to the Environmental Learning Center. I needed to take my camera for a walk and did that at the ELC. I had not been to the ELC in a while and was shocked. Everything seemed so bleak to me, dead trees were down everywhere. It’s usually lush, green and vibrant. The last time I was there was there in June of 2023. I settled in for a walk of the Wilcox Trail, about 1.5 mile loop. By the time I headed home for lunch, I had seen seven eagles, two hawks, and a dozen whitetail deer. So I enjoyed my bicycle ride, my mocha, my conversation with Jeff and my walk in nature.

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  • Avian

    Today’s Visitor

    February 23, 2023

    While having my second iron infusion today I received a message from my neighbor, Kristin, that a bald eagle was hanging around the cottonwood tree just outside our front door. They were still there when I returned. I assume they are here because we have several bird carcasses located around the city ponds due to the avian flu and we have 3-4 carcasses on the ice of our ponds now. Bald Eagles will hunt just about anything they can catch, including mammals, such as rabbits and squirrels; birds like ducks, geese and coots; reptiles, including turtles; and amphibians; even carrion. Kristin said she saw them pick at one the carcasses. Sure don’t want this bird to die of the avian flu. Love these birds even though they look unhappy. I love to watch them fly!

    It was a bitter cold, -12 degrees at 6:00 am. Brrr! Don’t think we got above 10 degrees. Brrrr! My infusion went well and again, no side effects. I see where those of you in the southeast have been experiencing summer type weather. Enjoy!

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  • Avian,  National Parks,  Yellowstone National Park

    A Day in Yellowstone Park

    September 2, 2022
    Bald Eagle in Lamar Valley

    Monday was a 12 hour day spent in Yellowstone Park. We were able to get a pass into Lamar Valley as it is closed at the Northeast Entrance. They are limiting the amount of traffic while they repair roads. The pass only gave us access from Tower Junction to Slough Creek. That was enough for us to get photos of bison, antelope, this eagle and the beauty of of the park. Here is a link to a map and video of the damage to the roads within the park from the floods in June.

    For those who are into numbers, I drove a total of 1,222 miles and averaged 29.8 miles to the gallon. And, for those who are into plays, we were able to see the musical Bright Star at a theater in West Yellowstone called The Play Mill Theatre on Saturday evening. One heck of a play!

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  • Avian,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Happy Sunday Morning

    May 15, 2022

    Good morning from Pineridge Natural Area. Clear skies and sunshine to start the day. Meadowlarks were sharing songs of joy with all the world. In fact birds were singing all around me. Over time I will come know them but for now I’ll just enjoy their music. This image shows how the rains from last week sure gave the meadow a touch of green.

    When I leave the natural area I need to turn north on Overland trail and drive by an open field that is a Frisbee golf course. About a half mile after I’d turned I noticed this eagle sitting in the open field. I stopped and watched for several minutes with binoculars. The bird seemed rather nervous so I kept my distance. I finally decided to see if it would stay long enough for me to get my camera out and put on the longer zoom lens. I was able to take about 20 images then put my camera gear away because I did not want to disturb the bird anymore than I already had. I then watched them for another couple minutes with binoculars before it lifted off. I was shocked to see in its talons a large fish. Now, that would have been the shot but alas… This is about a 100% crop so it’s not all that sharp.

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  • haiku,  Plants,  trees,  writing/reading

    Given a New Day

    March 26, 2021

    given a new day
    accepting the gift offered 
    feel special again

    ms

    If you look close you will see an eagle perched atop the tree on the left. A half dozen or more eagles have been hanging around these trees on the east side of town for the past few weeks. A large cement plant has been moved so there is now a large gravel pit partially drained which has allowed for the gift of easier fishing for the eagles. I wonder if this eagle feels special.

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  • Avian,  Family,  flowers,  leaves,  Plants,  Travel,  trees

    The Seattle Trip

    July 13, 2020
    View of Lake Washington from the deck of the VRBO
    Marcee and John going down The Hill
    We just don’t have ferns like this in Colorado
    Have no idea what these flowers are and can’t seem to find anything on them
    Fire pit on the patio because it did get cool at night
    These were in the garden at the apartment
    A Bald Eagle perched above us on one of our walks

    Here’s a little bit about the trip to Seattle. First off, the weather was wonderful, highs reached about 70 degrees and lows at night down to 55 degrees. No rain the whole time we were there. I ate too much.

    The Vacation Rental By Owner apartment Marcee and John were renting was sweet. It sat up on a hill with a great view of Lake Washington. We walked each day on a flat trail around the lake but the walk included climbing up “The Hill” on the way back. I walked about 12,000 steps each day. The Hill was steep and long enough that this older man had to stop and catch his breath three times to get home. You will see in the photo two orange cones marking holes in the road. I used them as rest stops on the way up.

    The walks along the lake were breathtaking for me. The area has such different and diverse plants than we have here in Colorado. The plants and density of them always amaze me. I experienced that when living in Ohio. I was always way behind everyone else because I had to stop so many times. 

    They had a small propane fire pit on the patio which did provide some warmth if the wind was not blowing. I actually thought it would be nice on my patio but  we cannot have grills due to insurance issues.

    I decided to only take the Fujifilm X-T3 and the XF35mm f2.0 lens. I was going for family time and did not want the extra weight and bother. It would also have distracted me from family time. So, this image is a major crop. Still not bad. I began to get more comfortable with the camera, its responsiveness and handling. The 30% increase in size and weight are no longer an issue.

    I really enjoyed the time with Marcee and John and Sheree. I was also able to see a nephew and niece I’d not seen in about 16 years. It was so. good to see them and their families. The trip was worth. Have a few more days of self-quarantine to where I will feel comfortable around others. But, it is good to be home, even though it’s hot.

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