Dreaming

So looking forward to my trip to South Carolina in April. The azaleas will be in bloom and all the flowering spring trees plus bird migration.......can't wait. My grand kids will be on spring break so we will do some things together. Hoping to get Allison out with her camera as well. Looking forward to the ocean and all the water fowl.......they are waiting for me to take their photograph.  ;-)

Winter Walk

I found this path that leads to the bird blind at the Overland Park Arboretum. It is a very downhill but fun walk. I saw a lot of birds from here...Jays and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. It's hard to tell from the picture but at the end of the path it drops straight down, one of those paths that you have to hang on to branches to keep your balance.

 Very interesting bark on this tree...looked in my tree books but couldn't ID it. My books are Michigan trees though.

Someone just told me this a Hackberry Tree

 I love this stand of trees and wish I could climb the elbow branch....what fun that would be!

 Osage Orange....don't know if we have these in Michigan. Didn't they name a movie after this?

 Love this stone culvert. Not much snow on the ground but cold enough for the water to freeze.

Ok, I was walking in this area and I heard a bird singing away. I didn't have my binoculars and couldn't spot the bird anywhere. So, I started talking aloud "Come on bird, show yourself. Where are you"? Then here comes some guy right behind me. I said to him "You must think I'm nuts talking to the birds" He laughed and said he did that sometimes too. Embarrassing moment.

Lovely sunny and cold day.

Squirrel Mischief

This guy worked for hours trying to get this suet feeder open but was unsuccessful. Finally I gave in and threw him a peanut butter sandwich. He's little devil. Every winter there is one squirrel that does get this open...ha, foiled at last!  ;-)

Photo Book

Spent all afternoon working on a Shutterfly photo book entitled "Barns". The most difficult part is choosing all the photos. Once that is done the rest is fun. I Love old barns and out buildings the more derelict the better. One barn that is on the Washtenaw County Barn Tour totally collapsed this winter. Someone posted a picture of it on face book and the roof fell in. Too bad.....
The barn above is one of my favorites and we have been there 3 times to photograph it. The owners were so nice to let us on their property but this is a working farm and in pretty good shape. Some of the folks in our camera class gave them prints that they took of the "red barn" as a thank you.

Hills and Dales

 Even though I grew up in a hilly area of northeast Ohio, I have live in southeast Michigan for almost 50 years and it is so flat, flat, flat here. So, these hills in Missouri were amazing to me. We would drive up the hill and then it would just drop off. It is too bad that everything is so gray...shades of gray, browns and tans...ugh!
I haven't been out anywhere with my camera since I got home...the weather is awful. I am just not about cold weather anymore. Thinking of where I can go to shoot inside. On the upside my camera class will be starting next month.

The Last Time I Went Birding

The funny Red-tailed Hawk

Bird blind at the arboretum

Male Northern Cardinal

Little Junco all puffed up like a rubber ball

"Look at the camera"

I think that my lens was freezing up or condensing