Thursday, January 30, 2025

SHELF ICE

Shelf ice started forming along the bay with the frigid temperatures we’ve had recently.  It’s made me wonder whether the bay will freeze during this “real” winter.  The last time the bay froze was in February 2019.  While shelf ice is beautiful, walking on it is dangerous because it’s unstable and difficult to tell where the shoreline and water meet.







 





Monday, January 27, 2025

SINGING TREES

When I moved into my new Traverse City home in 2018, I planted four six-foot-tall spruce trees around my back deck as a privacy screen.  I hadn’t realized that they would become a habitat for my feeding birds when the wind blows, the snow flies, and the temperatures plummet.  I rarely get pictures of them inside the boughs but I can always hear their singing.













Thursday, January 23, 2025

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!!

 I ventured out in my car but stayed within the city.  It was almost too cold to roll down my window to take pictures.  Ice and snow were everywhere.  Even the Boardman-Ottaway River was thick with ice.  Stay safe and warm, friends.


















Monday, January 20, 2025

SECOND SNOWY OWL SIGHTING


Last week I had my second Snowy Owl sighting, this one on a rooftop in a neighborhood.  It was another female, though not as heavily barred as the one I saw in December.  The conditions were cold and blustery and the bird’s feathers ruffled with the wind.  It also protected its eyes by keeping its third eyelid up the whole time.  It appears that our cold winter is bringing in these beautiful owls.









Thursday, January 16, 2025

WINTER STICKS AROUND

 

I was out taking pictures late Monday morning.  Pristine scenes were all around me.  Then the weather turned squally and whiteout conditions sent me home.













Monday, January 13, 2025

MITCHELL CREEK MEADOWS GOATS

 

Ten goats make up the herd at Mitchell Creek Meadows Nature Preserve, not far from my neighborhood.  Originally from Idyll Farms in Northport, the goats help control stubborn invasive species and recycle spent Christmas trees.  These curious critters stay safe in their indoor and outdoor barn and are always fun to watch.  













Thursday, January 9, 2025

Monday, January 6, 2025

ANOTHER HAWK

 I spotted a red-tailed hawk on a power pole outside a subdivision.  It looked in one direction, then another, seeking prey.  It suddenly lifted, and I thought it was going to fly, but it had other business in mind.  Finally, it spotted something on the ground and took flight, giving me a full look at its beautiful red tail.












Thursday, January 2, 2025

FAVORITES FROM 2024

 

Happy New Year!  It’s a time to reminisce over the past year and look forward to what lies ahead.  Here are my favorite photographs from 2024.




#10:  Always up for a sunset, I photographed this one on a hot summer evening in Kingsley farm country.



#9:  Stunning fields of sunflowers along U.S. 31 on the way to Elk Rapids caused me to stop and take pictures of the scene.  I wasn’t the only one.




#8: Many memories were made when I visited my friends Phil and Patricia in Minnesota.  One of them was the chance to photograph Osprey for the first time.




#7:  Leelanau cherry blossoms always make for beautiful scenes.  The clouds that day only added to the picture.




#6:  I never tire of Sandhill Cranes and it was delightful seeing them arrive in droves at Logan’s Landing during the fall bird migration.




#5: In February, I visited my brother in Punta Gorda, Florida.  I especially loved the Venice Rookery, where egrets were in breeding plumage.  




#4:  One of my favorite places near my Traverse City home is the farmland west of Kingsley.  It is abundant in birds, wildlife, and beautiful scenery.




#3:  This past Christmas week, I photographed a beautiful Snow Owl as it took to flight.  I felt especially lucky because I hadn’t seen a single Snowy last winter, probably due to the warm weather.




#2:  A windy day often sends me to Frankfort to photograph the wind, waves, and dunes near the lighthouse.




#1:  My favorite picture this year was taken at Arcadia Marsh with good friends Don and Diana Burton.  It wasn’t sunny, but the grassland colors were just right.