Gulls in Flight!

These are images I took with my trusty ole digital camera out at Lake Winnipesaukee's Ellacoya State Park. We went out there to swim, but all we did was bob waves thanks to constant 25 mile per hour gusts. This normally placid waterfront was plagued with whitecaps and 5 foot waves that were a blast to dive into. Even more intriguing to me were the gulls. They hovered near head level, seemingly hovering as they flew into the wind. Enjoy!

Bird Watching with My New Camera

I don't have much to write today, just photos to share which I took today at Beaver Brook's Bird Blind. I'm still getting the hang of my new camera. Almost all of the photos I took below are from at least 15 feet away and required using the digital zoom, so the quality isn't pristine, but I think they came out pretty nice.

Woodpecker eating suet.

American Robin

White Breasted Nuthatch

Dark Eyed Junco

American Goldfinch (I never saw these in winter before!)

Some Winter Pics

As most of you know, I have a new camera now; an Olympus FE-46. It has a setting for everything, is rather complicated compared to my last digicam, and I'm obviously still figuring it out. I have to take repeated breaks to give my eyes time to cool off. lol Anyway, above is the first landscape shot I took with it. This is a forest in Hollis near Monson on a foggy afternoon. What do you think?

The next couple of pictures were the last ones taken by my old *sniff* camera. On Sunday, in the foggy morning light, I spotted these deer in Amherst. The one to the left is a doe keeping watch as her twin yearlings graze and play.

Scavengers

This past week I came across a couple of large birds in the wild; both scavengers. The first is no stranger to anyone. A seagull. During an excursion to the coast with my father and Janna, I decided to take pity on the seagulls at North Hampton Beach and feed them copious amounts of nutrigrain bar bits. This one seagull was by far the most feisty of his peers, thus warranting a photo.Next up! A few days later and much farther inland I came across this very tolerant Turkey Vulture. Typically, turkey vultures travel in pairs or families around here, but this one stood alone. And more importantly, they certainly take to flight well before you come this close to them! I was within 5-10 feet of this one before it cough/scrawked and nonchallantly went on its vulture way. :)

Warm Tones of Summer

This post is just as simplistic as the last because I have a few good pics and pretty much no tale to tell. All these photos were taken at Beaver Brook's Maple Farm Gardens. The above is a lovely lily from the "Shade Garden" - the bee was an unintentional interloper to the photo. :)

The next flower came from the "Magic Garden". I've heard of this herb before, but never have I seen it in bloom. This is bee balm and it looks extraterrestrial to me! It comprised of tall green stalks about 5 feet high with these red crowns tipping each stalk.


The tree is a Japanese Maple from the Shade Garden that caught the light just right and merited a photograph.

And lastly we have a lily I have dubbed the "Creamsicle Lily". I'm actually not a huge fan of lilies, but they photograph so well and grow everywhere!

The Nature of Water

This is a waterlily (lotus) that I photographed last year at Heald Pond in Wilton. Right now, lotuses are just buds on the water.

It is a warm and sunny Monday. I'm not a lover of heat so I was drawn to the watery habitats in the area - the brooks, ponds, swamps and wetlands (yes, there is a difference between the last two). I spent most of the late morning noting the best areas to find lotus blossoms for photographing in July, documenting hatchling turtles leaving the nest, and feeding Canadian goslings . Yes, I live a charmed life on occasion.

I started off looking for lotus buds. They look like little yellow and pink fishing bobbers on the ponds right now. I hunt for concentrations of them so I can go back to that spot for the couple of weeks in July when they will be in full healthy bloom. While walking a sandy bank to a swamp, I found a hole in the sand at my feet, just dug that morning. I followed tiny scrapings in the sand to the water's edge to find tiny painted turtles who were completely new to the sun and water world that they'll spend the rest of their lives in. Adorable, right?

And just to drive the 'adorable' home in your heart - here's some fluffy Canadian Goslings to take a *chuckle* GANDER at! Hehehehe Ok, that was a really bad pun and I'm sorry. :)
Now for some reason, I can't get the blog text to line up with the photos, so the next photo is below. This bullfrog needed a time in the limelight. He just chillaxed by my side as I took pictures of turtles and watersnakes. However, he's no William.

And to wrap up a picture of water life taken from the shoreline, I have a picture I took last year and is admittedly one of my favorites. This is a Northern Water Snake. These guys are not poisonous, but they do have anticoagulant in their fangs that makes a bite slow to heal. I handle them rarely because they are quick to strike and musk.

Sky Fire

I thought I'd put together a tribute to the sun with a collection of photos I took over the past year. The one above was taken at dawn last December from my balcony. I haven't touched the color at all, only shrunk the size of the image down. :) It always reminds me a bit of a painting. Oil on canvas - Janna, get on it! (after you paint me a turtle)

<-<- This is another dawn shot a few months later in March. In all my photos, I'm always trying to capture the lighting. With my little digicam, it's pretty difficult. I usually end up taking about a dozen shots only to find one good one.


I had about 15 of this rainbow ->->










<-<- This is the noon sun reflecting on a pond in Amherst. I was really out there to photograph great blue heron, but got bored and started photographing the sun on the water instead. :)

A motley mix of spring things

My Potted Pumpkin. I have a tiny pumpkin now in place of this flower.

I have a mish-mosh of photos today. This is mainly because I'm going to be overhauling my computer and want to get these up before I'm down for a few days.

First up! Those so-ugly-they're-cute mystery baby birds. I took the picture to the left on Saturday. There are really 5 birds there, but you'd never know it! The 5th bird has one bulgy, closed eye at the bottom of the photo.








To the right, you'll see the same birds as of yesterday. I really thought their eyes would be open by now. Instead, I found a show of prickly pinfeathers. All 5 managed to face the same direction, toward the rock wall.



On a completely random topic:

I felt inspired to post two photos here of a couple of my favorite herbs. To the left is Catmint aka Catnip. This is a healthy shrub from the wonderful Maple Hill Gardens in Hollis. Catmint makes a very delicate tincture and is great for mild headaches and relaxation.

To the left is my very own, home grown peppermint plant! Peppermint is one of my all-time faves. Any mint herb is really. It's calming for your stomach, relaxing and great for clearing your head. I need to drink it pretty often.

Mix these two wonderful herbs and you get a refreshing mint tea that is even better cold. And what inspired me to post these pics?

Thanks Charly! :D

A little blog on little birds

Out in the depths of Beaver Brook there is a trail that runs through the craggiest, hilliest portion of an otherwise tame forest. Here, boulders the size of small cottages are strewn on hill tops thanks to the receding glaciers eons ago. As I was making my sweltering way along these boulders (It was around 90 so a bit too hot for me) I noticed a mud ball against the crevice of such a boulder.


It doesn't look it, but it is about 6 feet up from the ground. So last week, I took my camera, reached up and took a blind snap.

And then again yesterday....

Aren't they so ugly that they're cute? I have no idea the kind of bird. Last year I followed the growth of a different nest and was lucky enough to spot the parents. This nest is atop a hill and the parents have ample warning that a huffing, puffing hiker is coming. :)

The American Toad

We get a great deal of these amazing toads in NH throughout the warm months. The american toad can range from the size of a thumbtack head to an obese sumo-like toad that surpasses your palm in girth. For the most part they are calm and this makes them great for photographs.

This little troll was trying her best to hide under a stick half her size on the Heald Tract Conservation Land in Wilton. She had just finished laying her eggs in an unseen vernal pool and was returning to her terrestrial life in the forest.




And I can't end my tiny tribute to the American Toad without sharing this image I took of my best friend Janna from the same trail taken last year.




No, it didn't work.