Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) Shot from the front porch (range approx. 25 yards), hand held using a a Canon T3 mounted with a Sigma 150-500MM Optically Stabilized lens.
Rainy Day House Finch
I was puttering around in the yard when a sudden rain shower swept through and I took shelter in our backyard shed. This little guy, a male House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), landed on a nearby branch and I managed to shoot a few frames (My camera bag is ALWAYS close at hand!) before he spotted me and decided to find a more private branch to wait out the storm.
Flora and Fauna
Rainy weather, memory foam cushions in my new La-Z-Boy and a general lack of get up & go have all conspired to keep my cameras idle for the most part but I have snapped a few frames.
These 3 wandered out of the tree line behind the house just as the light was fading yesterday evening. The one on the left is a doe and the other two are yearling bucks.
These guys changed from their winter gray coat to summer red awfully fast. It’s said that the redder the coat the hotter the summer ahead. Looks like we’re in for a scorcher!
The rain has knocked almost all the blossoms off the Granny’s Bonnets but there are plenty of buds ready to bloom at any moment.
Buddy, Lunatic Lab #1, “helping out” with the photography.
Doesn’t that look on Molly’s face just scream “I’m not doing anything….honest!” ?
Gotta have a burd in the mix. Now, to catch up on the backlog of blogs I’ve missed while unconscious sawing logs testing my new recliner.
A Different Kind of Burd
Even though I’m mesmerized by THE BOSS’s Old maid’s Bonnets I didn’t start out to shoot them this afternoon. That said, I couldn’t resist getting a few frames.
Frankie spotted a new visitor to our feeders yesterday, a male Red Breasted Grosbeak, and I was soon at the window trying to shoot a few frames without spooking him. What I managed to get just weren’t good enough to post but I’ll keep trying.
When the grosbeak returned this afternoon, accompanied by a Red Bellied Woodpecker, I grabbed the cameras and slipped out the front door as quietly as I could. I didn’t make it into position without spooking them both but decided to sit quietly at the picnic table out back in the hopes they’d return.
The burds didn’t return while I was out there but I did manage to shoot several frames of another flying critter. I hope you like them as much as I enjoyed shooting them. These were all shot handheld with my Sigma 150-500MM optically stabilized lens from about 15 feet.
Backyard Color
As the sun was setting this evening:
Seed pods in our maple waiting to join the billion or so already carpeting the lawn. When I was a kid we called these thing whirlybirds because of the spinning motion when they fall through the air. Those on the ground will really be spinning tomorrow when I run them over with the Dandelion Destroyer!
Mourning Dove on a power line
THE BOSS’s home world The moon
A Brown Shirted Ticket Scribbler (one of Wythe County’s finest) on the Idiot Strip
Frankie’s Old Maid’s Bonnets are growing like mad!
We interrupt our programming…….
…..to bring you the following public service announcement.
I hereby declare winter to be officially over.
Yep, sunny and 75!
If a broke down old geezer like me can get out and mow the lawn….
Hold on a sec…….I need to wet my whistle…….
Now where was I? Oh yes……if a beat up old fat boy like me can get out and do yard w….w….w…. mow the lawn you healthy folks ain’t got no excuse. Now turn off the computer, get outside and enjoy the nice weather. If the weather’s not nice where you are what better excuse for a road trip than to enjoy springtime in Virginia?
P.S. I haven’t been online much the past few days because I’ve been as messed up as a soup sammich. My back has been giving me fits!
P.P.S. I probably won’t be online at least the rest of the day because the engine vibration from riding the Dandelion Destroyer around the yard triggered my back and THE BOSS just gave me a dose of pain meds. The cartoons in my head should begin any minute now.
P.P.P.S. The preceding is all THE BOSS’s fault. She knows I can’t be left at home without adult supervision. At least she got some good pictures of the crotchety old bear she’s been putting up with for the past 25 years! (That would be me.)
I wonder what’s taking the rescue squad so long. THE BOSS said she called them to come haul me off to the emergency room. Sure hope they get here soon. After dark the critters come out and the last thing I need is to get dragged off into the woods by a gang of raccoons………again!
American Robin
Our weather forecast is calling for scattered snow showers Sunday and Monday. I’m hoping the weather guessers are operating at their usual efficiency because I usually don’t notice these guys until after I’ve mowed the lawn and they flock in to hunt for insects. Here’s to signs of good things to come!
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
I got some nice shots of a pair of Mourning Doves, as well. Those will be on my Virginia Through My Lens page as soon as I can get them posted.
Redbird
It was another nice day, sunny and mild, so I was out enjoying the fresh air and looking for something to shoot. There were plenty of birds chirping behind me but that was to the west, looking directly into the sun. Suddenly a flicker of motion in the trees caught my attention and I snapped this shot of a male cardinal using a 55-150MM zoom lens at about 55MM.
Switching to the other camera, which was already mounted with my long lens, I got much closer without moving and spooking him. This shot is at about 350MM.
This one is at 500MM, maximum zoom for this lens.
About 400MM just before he darted off into the trees.
I’ve spent a little time scouting the woods behind the house and have picked out a couple of likely places for shooting from a ground blind. Both are relatively open, easy to get in and out of quietly and not too far from 2 intersecting game trails a den tree with a large, active squirrel nest and several nearby trees with bird nests in the upper branches.
As spring approaches I’ll be getting my hunting gear ready, including a large spray bottle of odorless insect repellant. I hunt with a camera instead of a gun these days but the principles are the same; equipment, scouting, set up and most of all, patience. It’s too bad they don’t make Frontline Plus for humans……it works great at repelling fleas, ticks and other nasty critters on the dogs!
I spent this evening reorganizing my medium size camera backpack and making sure everything, especially my tripod, is ready to grab and go. Now all that’s left is to pick up a box of snake shot shells for my hand cannon and e-mail my wish list to THE BOSS and Mini-Boss. My birthday and Father’s Day are right around the corner and I have my eye on a pop up bow hunter’s blind and a new scent lock camouflage shirt and pair of pants!
THE BOSS!
You’ve probably heard me refer to THE BOSS, SHE WHO SHALL BE OBEYED, my better half, the woman who has put up with me for the past 25 years. You may have even seen a photo or two of her winding up to whack me on the headbone with her trusty cast iron skillet. Sometimes I even deserve it but if she happens to read that last sentence I’ll deny any knowledge on the grounds that all that BANGY!, BANGY! on my delicate head has caused severe brain damage.
BANGY! BANGY!
Today’s post is my attempt to prod her into processing her own shots and getting into blogging.
Last Christmas I gave her a point and shoot to carry around in her purse and she actually takes it out and uses it from time to time.
She’s also been known to take one of my DSLRs away from me on occasion and has captured some fine shots with it. I’m afraid that one of these days she’ll refuse to give it back, just as she did when she got over the fear of driving Godzilla, my beloved Ford Expedition. Now I’m lucky if she let’s me drive it a couple of times a month!
I have to be careful because that cast iron frying pan isn’t the only hardware she’s been known to have access to. I’m convinced that any day now the authorities are going to kick down the door and tear the house apart looking for that 16 inch shell she found when we toured the USS Wisconsin last summer. That’s no pea shooter shell…..THE BOSS is 5 feet tall and that’s just the projectile she’s posing with.
But I digress.
These are a few of the shots I found on the memory card in her point and shoot and I thought you might enjoy them. Oh yes, the watermark. Frankie was born and raised about 15 miles from here in a little mountain town in the New River Valley, or NRV to locals, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, hence the NRVGirl tag.
From the minute Molly laid eyes on Frankie she decided she belonged to Mama. She’s also my baby girl. Buddy, who adopted me from day one, has been replaced as my chair warmer.
At nearly 100 lbs. she’s a little large for a lap dog but you can’t convince her of that.
She sill allows Buddy to lay on the floor beside my chair and get his ears scratched.
When she’s not keeping my chair or my lap warm she likes to guard my side of the bed.
THE BOSS has also been known to take some outdoor shots. She especially likes sunsets.
THE BOSS says I’ve spent enough time fooling around online so it’s back to kitchen duty for me. Anyone know a good remedy for dishpan hands?
Doh dee doh dee doh dee doh………
That’s the tune that plays inside my head while I’m out wandering the roads with dogs in the backseat and a camera or two in my lap……..at least until I remember to turn the radio on.
We had the first, and most likely the last, real snow storm of the winter yesterday. The official total accumulation for Wytheville is 7 to 9 inches. On the ridge where we live, just west of town, we’re at a higher elevation and usually get a little more than the community college in the east end of town where the official measurement is taken. I didn’t measure the depth but I do know for sure that being too lazy to completely lace up and tie one’s 16 inch insulated hunting boots before venturing out our front door will soon produce cold, wet feet. You may quote me on that.
Anyhoo…….this is what my world looked like around 7:30 this morning:
Those spots on the pavement that appear wet are not. That’s what’s known as black ice during the night time hours. During daylight it’s just regular old ice.
It was at this point that I realized the unusually loud voice in my head telling me I should pull over and shoot pictures because I couldn’t stop in the middle of the road was actually coming from the car behind me…….the one with the blue lights on the roof. At least the lights weren’t flashing and he didn’t follow me when I took the next left turn. Maybe he was tired after helping to deal with the 350+ accidents reported in the county overnight.
When I we got home I turned the dogs loose and thought about clearing my burd watching chair off and shooting some burd photos.
I didn’t think about it for long because my left foot was turning into an ice cube so I took another picture of my burd watching chair and went back inside where it’s warm. The livestock thought that was a good idea, too.
Man, these dry socks feel great!
I sure hope my boots dry out before I have to go pick THE BOSS up from work.
New River Geese
What a way to beat cabin fever, especially after nearly 2 months battling a mean virus! We drove over to Foster Falls in the New River Trail State Park and spent a while sitting on a bench watching the Canada Geese.
Still no luck getting any shots of the Bald Eagles nesting across the river but we’ve spotted the nest and we will be back!
Back Behind the Lens
Still recovering from the nasty bug I’ve had for the past couple of months I finally managed to get out to shoot a few frames. These were made on a trip to town with THE BOSS and the livestock. I don’t know who was more excited to get out of the house, me or the dogs.
Can You See Me Now?
How many deer can you find in this first shot?
It gets a little easier as they graze their way out of the tree line.
No matter how many times I see it I’m always amazed at how effective natural camouflage is.
While I’m still battling this seemingly never ending virus I am feeling some better. At least I have something right outside my back door to keep me entertained . These were shot hand held at a range of about 50 yards using a Sigma 150-500M image stabilized lens.
Cardinals Stocking Up
The first serious cold snap of the season is bringing us a little snow and sub-zero wind chills so the cardinals are stocking up.
I guess this is the bird version of running to the store to stock up on bread and milk.
Outside My Window
Taking advantage of what may be one of the last warm days this year the dogs and I spent some time outdoors watching the local wildlife at my wife’s feeders.
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
I was about to put the cameras away after doing some much needed cleaning, especially the sensor on the camera mounted with my long lens, when Frankie called me to the bedroom where Molly was laying on the foot of the bed intently studying something outside the window. The sun was setting fast but there was just enough light to get a few frames of these whitetails grazing in the back yard.
Tufted Titmouse
The undisputed Boss of Burd Town, the Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is always the first to arrive at the feeders.
They are loud and fearless, often landing within 5 or 6 feet when I’m filling the feeders and never shy about telling me to hurry up and get out of the way. On several occasions I’ve seen several of them gang up to chase a much larger Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) away from the feeders.
I shot these frames from less than 10 feet while standing on the picnic table behind the house. This little guy tolerated my presence for a while but was soon sounding off at the top of his little lungs.
P.S. Around our house standing on the picnic table to get close to the burds will also cause THE BOSS to yell “If you fall off and break your neck I’m not driving you to the hospital, you big dummy!” More on that here.
Cardinals
No, my lenses aren’t dirty, that’s snow falling past the window.
I’ve seen large numbers of birds flocking around the feeders when bad weather is moving in but never more than one or two cardinals at a time. Yesterday afternoon there were at least a dozen at one time.
This male seems to have gotten his belly full and debating whether to stay or go home.
This female is in bird heaven, sitting in a pile of feed under the metal roof on this feeder.
The ground is still fairly warm so the scattered snow showers didn’t leave much on the ground but all of the birds took advantage of the recently filled feeders, just in case.
Around the Feeders Today
Individual images from the slide show can be found below the slide show.
Clicking the thumbnails will bring up the full size original.
Nuthatch Posing for the Camera
Two more shot through the bedroom window as the residual meds in my system none to politely pointed out that they’re not quite finished with me yet.
However, I’m getting back to what passes for normal in my world so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The voices in my head, especially the one who sounds like Elmer Fudd, are starting to make sense and that’s never a good thing……but the results are usually pretty funny.
Male Downy Woodpecker
Male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) captured at the feeder outside our bedroom window.
Random Backyard Burdz
Just a few shots from this morning as the dogs and I enjoyed some fresh air and sunshine. All images in the slideshow can be found in the gallery below. Clicking on any frame will bring up the full size image.
The Neighbors Come Calling
This is a mature 6 point whitetail buck and he’s absolutely HUGE! I have a 42” chest and this guy is every bit as broad across the chest as I am.
Oh, wait……..ever since we moved here people have been telling me there ain’t no deer on Pine Ridge. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the world’s largest squirrel!
I’m tellin’ ya, sometimes ya just get lucky!
