FAVORITES OF 2019

The end of the year is a time for looking back, as well as looking ahead.  Every year I look over my collection of the year's images and choose my favorites.  Here are my favorites of 2019 and why I chose them.

I enjoyed seeing and photographing the Native American artwork displayed in the Clinch Park Tunnel.  This one of a wolf was especially engaging to me.

I was fascinated by the stories of the Boardman River dams being destroyed to allow the river to return to its historic channels.  This image is of the river's new route after the Sabin Dam was taken down.

I had many fall color pictures to choose from, but I like this one best, against a blue sky and cut cornfields.

One of the heralds of spring is the Red-Winged Blackbird.  I love how much energy this bird puts into its vocalization.

I can't choose my favorites without a picture of Gracie.  I chose this one for my 2019 Christmas card as it symbolizes how settled we are feeling after a whole year in our new home.

I love seeing Bald Eagles, and getting to photograph this one as it zoomed in on some deer carcasses was especially exciting.

This sunset image was taken from a turnout along Center Road on Old Mission Peninsula.  Still learning where to take sunset pictures after moving to Traverse City from the Leelanau.

The Great Blue Heron is one of the birds I enjoy watching and photographing.  I was lucky to catch this one fishing along a farmland pond with its reflection vivid in the water.

I loved seeing this family of Sandhill Cranes with its two juveniles.  While the female crane often lays two eggs, it is rare that both survive.  It was delightful watching them grow and learn pair-bonding dances. 

I have hundreds of Snowy Owl images from last winter, but ones of this particular owl were especially memorable.  She perched on a neighborhood rooftop and literally performed for me over a span of a few days.  She was one I will not forget, and I wonder if she'll be back this winter.