A few more pictures

as promised - here you go

                                                                     Black Duck

                                                             Canvasback Duck

                                                             Pair of Green Winged Teal

                                                  Eastern Bluebird

                                                          Bald Eagle

                                                                 Osprey

                                                              Snowy Egret

Still alive and kicking. Well - alive at least

As I look back over the past decade, i realize that I go through a metamorphosis of sorts every couple of years.  I dive into something - fossilling, for example - go at it hard, and sort of burn out then pick up something different.  A few things in life - most notably, fishing , remain as constants.

Well, my new OCD focus has been getting, or trying to get, photos of birds.  Its not as easy as it sounds.  And I'm trying to do it with equipment that, while decent, is certainly not of the quality the professional photographers use.  I'm not interested in dumping $15,000 bucks into a lens to get the perfect picture - I'll make do with what I have.  But I can still aspire to shoot some nice stuff.

So - here's a couple mediocre examples of what I've been doing for the past 6 months.  Oh yeah - I just got back from a day and a half at Dale Hollow last week, and actually caught a couple of decent fish, too.

The good photos are at home on that computer - I'll post more of those photos over the weekend.

                                                                     Palm Warbler

                                                                           White Eyed Vireo

                                                    A couple of nice smallmouth from Dale Hollow

A Slice of Heaven

All you bloggers located in the Rockies know how fortunate you are to live there.  Those of us who only get out there occasionally are constantly stunned by its beauty.  Although I've been going out to RMNP for over 25 years it continues to captivate me.   I got a chance to do a little fishing with my brother a few weeks ago, and the following are some of the pictures.

And, in an interesting quirk of fate, the final evening we were out there, we stayed with teh aunt and uncle of my brother's wife.  Drove there  via GPS instructions, so I had some idea of where we were on the Front Range, but not really.  As we were getting ready to call it a night, with an early AM flight, I asked our hosts  "Are we anywhere near Superior?"  Ken looked at me with a surprised look and said "yeah - about 2 miles that way", pointing west.  Our hosts live on what used to be Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville.

Sorry Howard - next time I'll know better!!!

still kicking

Sorry for the seemingly forever time-out

I've been catching a few fish

Finding a few fossils

And taking a few pictures

I'll have more to show soon.

Waiting for the next storm, and a pretty cool goose

The next in the seemingly endless progression of storms to roll up the East Coast this winter is set to hit us tonite and tomorrow.    This one looks like (for those of us in So. MD) a mix of sleet and snow, with 4-6" likely.  If you've ever had the horrifying experience of being on the road with the locals in a snow situation - it isn't much fun.  Many of them fail to realize that it takes longer to stop your moving vehicle in the snow than it does on dry ground. They must have missed that day in Science Class.

So - might as well make a short post.

I've been chasing the sea ducks that winter here from their summer haunts in the Arctic.  I never paid much attention to them before, but they are really cool birds.  And not very easy to get good photos of.  A recent sensation in our area - among the bird watchers - has been the sighting of a Ross' Goose among a flock of about 2,000 Canadas.  Now, a Ross' Goose in and of itself isn't really noteworthy, but it IS when it is in MD.  They normally migrate south to California and Nevada, not east of the Mississippi. AND certainly not as far east as Maryland.  So - the birders have been out in force, looking for this goose as well as hoping to see one of the Snowy Owls that have been sighted throughout the winter here  (I've blanked on the Snowy so far)

I got lucky over the weekend and found the Ross.  On Saturday I couldn't get a picture but I did get some on Sunday.  According to what one of the online birder folks tells me, this is the fist substantiated Ross Goose sighting for Calvert Co in MD.  So, from a Birders perspective - it's pretty cool

 Here's a few others from over the weekend.

Be safe in the snow and ice.

                                                     Bonaparte gull

                                                  Male Bufflehead in flight

                                                                         Canvasbacks

                                                     Female Red Breasted Merganser

New Year, New Post, New Pics, New Teeth

I figured it was about time to either pull the plug on this or resurrect it for the umpteenth time.  Something just won't let me kill it, although I am certainly giving it a long, slow death by ignoring it.  But enough nonsense.


Just got back from SHOT Show.  Highlight from the show - meeting Lisa Baron (aka the Writing Huntress, blogging as Lisa Jane)  I've admired her writing style for along time and, let me tell you - she is the real deal!  I hope things work out and I get to get out to North Dakota and hunt with her and her husband Mike next year.  Great people.


I am still loving the picture / photo thing.  Trying to get good shots of birds - particularly sea ducks -  is tough but occasionally rewarding.  The backyard types are easier.


My wife and I went out to the beach yesterday afternoon - first time looking for sharks teeth in about 6 months.  Bad tidal conditions but a beautiful day.  63 degrees in the end of January.  (Can't believe its a winter storm today, but it is)  Despite tough conditions and a lot of other people looking, she found our FIRST Megalodon from the local beach. Its a posterior tooth, but it's complete and, I think, awesome!  Also found 3 porpoise teeth, including out biggest ever.  And a possible croc tooth.  Not a bad day.


I'll post more often this year - I promise

As always, click on the picture for larger views

                                                         Male Downy Woodpecker

                                                             Red Bellied Woodpecker

                                                            Swan in Flight

                                                 Megalodon Tooth

                                                             3 Porpoise teeth, and a probable croc tooth

Wild Bird Wednesday

To see some REALLY NICE wild bird shots, click over to Paying Ready Attention each week for Wild Bird Wednesday.


                                                          "She's Not Listening"

Wild Bird Wednesday

It's Wild Bird Wednesday at Paying Ready Attention!

SkywatchFriday - a Photo Link Up

I'm making a concerted effort to participate in a bunch of Photo link ups around the web.  Here's my submission for Skywatch Friday.  Check out the other submissions HERE.

I'm back - more pictures

After another rather lengthy absence, I'm back.  Lots to do at work. (But - the work outlook has improved considerably.  The few of you out there who knew the work situation will understand!)

I've been taking tons of photos. I am really getting into the whole photography thing.  Can't wait to get back out west - RMNP will take on a whole new meaning now.

Here's a few recent attempts.  Hope you enjoy.  As always - click on the photo for a larger image.

First - a couple of photos from Urbino, Italy

 

 

 

Next, some local photos