Camp Taylor will be rehabilitated for over-night camping.
I took this shot of a great blue heron a few days ago down at the ponds … it was a beautiful image but it needed a little quiet time added to the image
I got this shot of a drake Widgeon just touching down at Bubbling Ponds this afternoon; wings extended and flattened to reduce lifting forces and swinging them down and forward to use as air brakes which along with the friction of the water gets him down into the water and at a stop fast.
Snack time ... nope, not another hawk eats quail shot or bobcat eats squirrel shot … just a simple squirrel in the peach tree out back having an afternoon snack mid-September of this year.
Ordinarily you will see ducks and other winged creatures come in for beautiful landings even in crowded conditions.
Two names ... … one bird … Sparrow Hawk or American Kestrel … both refer to our smallest falcon in North American.
I'm late this week because yesterday was harvest day. (Non-meat eaters should skip the rest of this paragraph.) Ten ducks, all twenty-four of my full-grown and startlingly heavy Red Ranger chickens, plus six more chickens for a friend. I started around dawn. My ranch manager/farm assistant Christina, bless her, joined me later to learn the process.
Four forests ... one atmosphere ... and the one atmosphere is all we get and because of the well meaning efforts put into place by the Four Forests Restoration Initiative, overseen by Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership and with a whole host of environmental organizations and agencies, we are coming to the moment when it must be acknowledged that more harm is being done than good.
Not all days are productive and there are days when I just shoot for the sake of shooting something … this hen dove is one such example.
In this place of golden silence as a great blue heron slips quietly across calm waters at sunset
Stealth Mode: … this Black Hawk has his wings fully extended, max glide ratio and closing in on an unsuspecting target … food for the day soon to be added to his shopping cart.
… I got this shot over the weekend of one of my favorite predators launching an attack on a Gambel’s quail.
When I took off this morning the smoke was pretty intense, so I pointed the nose up and to the north.
There are few things that can bring a smile to my face more than watching the squirrels in our neighborhood as they bounce their way across the grass … I caught this one in midflight as the back feet have just left the ground and the front are reaching for the next landing spot.
It was an exciting encounter and lasted a total of two or three seconds.
Not long ago I resumed my evening walks and have started getting some shots I like again. I took this one of a javelina who was also on his evening walk … taken up near the green on the 11th hole as I was walking back home down the fairway.
Down the hatch … among humans a way of toasting or celebrating by throwing a drink down your throat ...
Yesterday I spent about an hour and a half photographing House Mountain, an ancient shield volcano in the Sedona area.
A shot I took of a grebe at Willow Lake a few weeks ago and he seems to have a look of incredulity about him … or curiosity perhaps … ornery?
I have always enjoyed this image and usually shoot a few new ones every year … it is a reminder of this date (April 15th) during my working years as this is usually how I felt.
Talking … to me? Or to someone or something else? In any case our blue heron friend was proclaiming something of which I was clueless … he was a beautiful subject for this shot though and I like that you can see both of his wings in this image.
I took this shot a few years ago on a morning flight up to and over the Colorado Plateau. There were numerous storm cells drifting around the area, some large blue holes with the sun coming through and in general all seemed well with the world.
Dreams … daffodils or simply a field of great beauty where you can spend time and let your mind wander in a scene of intense beauty. This is a shot from the daffodil fields at Filoli and the field and apple trees were in full bloom.
… I have been doing aerial shooting of fall colors on the plateau since 2007 and 2018 was the best ever …
This rock serves as a great reminder to have a cup of coffee … or my preferred espresso shots.
