Where to begin . . . Moved and living in Southern Merry Land now. Big change.
I've been here for some time now. I realized, the other day, that I've been using FaceBook during this time as my Blog. In doing that, I was saturating my feed with ALL my shots and, really, it was too much for that venue.
So I pulled up my Big-Boy Pants and came back to where it all started . . . Smilin' Jack's Most Excellent and Always Terse (Circumspect Even) Blog. And so, I'm back.
And I've got birds.
Like this happy couple . . . Mr. & Mrs. House Finch.
And, yeah, this guy knows how to dress it up.
I was sitting out on a cool and definitely windy morning enjoying my coffee, working a crossword and watching the world go around me. And I spotted this bushy-tailed rat.
ARGH!!
I really hate when these guys come sniffin' round my bird feeders.
I need to find a cone for these poles. And, also, I need to buy me another Red Ryder BB Rifle so I can pepper his ass and keep him away from my feeders.
Soon, Senor Squirrel. Soon!!
Ah, puzzles. Love'em. A great way to pass the time and divert the mind. Joe and family sent me this fun puzzle. Mickey and Minnie kickin' it in Hawaii!!
Ok, to my next diversion . . . my walk. I am doing a walking regimen every other day. My feet can't take a daily walk but I can rock the heck out of an EOD walking routine.
And I always bring my camera with me. Always!!
Hahaha, remembering Smilin' Jack's firm rule for shooting on overcast and ugly days, I shot down. Besides, its where my eye has been leading me lately. I've developed an appreciation for the small beauties we call weeds. There is something about them that is intriguing.
This is what the day looked like. All. Day.
And so I set off for the Sandpiper Pond to see what I could see.
And I'd gotten down the road a bit when I turned and saw a line-of-sight picture of the old house across the street from my place.
Hahaha, you're right. I shot it. And I like it.
It's an interesting detail of this old home. I liked the lines the ivy made as it grew.
Walking along, I saw activity up in osprey nest. I'm wondering when there eggs will hatch. But that's about all the looking up I did. Gray skies.
And so I looked down . . . and found a whole secret world.
Coming up out of Leonard's Grant, there's woods on both sides of the woods. I know there are pictures in there.
I keep trying. With B&W.
On my way over to the Sandpiper Pond, I discovered this. What a surprise!!
And, naturally, I went over to see what I could see.
And what I saw were Canada Geese I've seen so many Canada Geese that I rarely photograph them anymore but, to my delight, for the first time ever, I saw a family of CG.
Ka-Pow!! There were goslings!! I had not thought much about it but, y'know, this was the first time I've ever seen them. And they're not new-borns, either!!
Mom and Dad saw me and immediately herded the kids along to the brush alongside the pond. I figured that would be the last I saw of them.
Uh-uh!! They went through the brush and into the pond.
Coolio!!
Canada Geese are herbivores eating grass and other plants. In the water they graze on the aquatic plants.
Hahaha, I was enjoying my first meeting with these little guys.
These goslings learn to swim about 24 hours after they're hatched. And they can dive 25-30 feet!! There's more to these pesky critters than I thought.
OK, moving on. And flowers.
I'm enjoying these guys. Glad they're back in Merry Land. I was beginning to think there weren't that many out here.
All of these are in the yards of private homes.
Now here's another bird that I've grown blasé about. The Ol' Red-Winged Blackbird. But this guy and the way he unhinges his jaws. Wow!!
So after some more hiking I finally arrived at the Sandpiper Pond. And enjoyed the lovely skies.
OK, still basking in the glow of having seen my first set of CG Goslings, I was totally gob-smacked when I got to the Sandpiper Pond and saw not one, but TWO more CG families!!
WTH!?!
Now they're everywhere!!
Hahaha, and just as picture-worthy as the other ones!!
OK, enough. For now.
And then I spotted the star of the show, the Sandpiper. But I've shot so many pictures of this guy lately that I didn't spend much time with him. Besides, I had goslings to shoot!!
Here's the second family. They were grazing on grass on a slope by the pond.
Amazing!!
I'd already shot maybe a hundred or so pics of the other goose families so I didn't spend much time with these guys.
But, as I worked my back, I continued to see my world.
And it's a wondrous thing.
I've really spent some time with leaves lately. These were on a small bush near a play center. I shot just the one pic, kind of an experiment.
I like it. The colors and the disarray.
And the roses. Que bonita.
I'm so glad people have planted so many flowers in their yards with all this extra COVID quarantine time.
And the road. I think next time I'll stand in the center of the road to get this shot.
And the small world at our feet. These little fellows would all fit on a dime and then one or two more.
Lovin' it!!
I had visited this flower display two days before and took a lot of small detail shots of the flowers. But I didn't get an overall shot. So I made a point of stopping by on my way back.
It was a neat display. Well done!!
And sweet simplicity.
And we'll end this edition where it began, at the old house. I was looking at this view of the place as I walked up the street and, finally, decided I'd get a shot. I tried to frame it a bit with the tree and deliberately included the tree truck for that same effect.
It was a good walk on a slightly skewed Quarantine Day. These days are beginning to wear on me even though they're nothing that task me.
I didn't do a lot before the Quarantine, but at least I did something.
Argh!!
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