The Road Less Traveled

So how did YOU spend Valentine’s Day?

I spent it happily birding with a friend, and snapping a few photos of the stillness on Tillamook Bay.   In the morning, the clouds were very dramatic.  It made for some really striking photos.

The day was perfect.  Overcast, occasionally spitting rain, but for the most part, still and dry.   On the water, we saw Loons, Goldeneyes, and several other fun waterfowl (though I didn’t have my telephoto lens, so not photos to share of the birds…  I know, I’ll learn.)  A pair of Golden Eagles perched in the trees across the water in the above photo, before moving on in search of food.

It seemed that around every corner there was another striking view.

The water in the afternoon was really high, reaching all the way to the edge of the road, where in the past I’d seen wide mudflats (good for a different sort of bird.   This brought the birds in close.  At one point my friend and I were stumped by a duck we couldn’t identify – red bill, brownish back, a bit larger than other waterfowl, and remarkably still.  It was bouncing up and down with the water, but not diving, or preening or much of anything…  Finally we figured out it was a decoy.  (Can you tell I’m blushing?)

One other feature of the Bay that I found fascinating, was the relics of some dock pilings.  They were full of interesting forms and shadows.  The knots in the wood left interesting spikes sticking out, reminiscent of birds beaks.   I liked this shot, as the blue sky was such a cheerier look than the ominous gray of the same morning.

All in all, it was a really nice day, birding, shooting and hanging out with a friend.

I hope your Valentine’s Day was a good one too.

Quiet morning on Lake Daniells

This was taken on a nice quiet morning after a day spent painting the nearby Manson Nicholls Memorial Hut, a back country hut near Lewis Pass on the South Island of New Zealand.  It’s a good day walk into Lake Daniells for families and those who have simple ambitions when hiking, as it’s a pretty flat walk into the Lake.