The week 17 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Budding Spring with a total of 33 points.
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Category Archives: Photography
Just Another Monday
I got myself all excited in anticipation of yesterday. The weather folks said warm weather, no rain nor snow nor sleet. Temps mid 70’s maybe even 80 in some places. Oh yeah I am all worked up. Where will I go? What will I do with such a perfect day before me?
I was so excited I woke up at 4 am. The cats looked at me like I was nuts.
I peeked out the window at the pre dawn and saw…FOG! A thick gray blanket obscured everything. Ok back to bed. After all 4 am is almost the middle of the night.
4 hours later I hopped out of bed. It was pretty dark for 8 AM even with the curtains closed. I peeked out the window and it was still foggy. Not as thick as at 4 am but still a damper on the start of my day.
I got the cats fed, kitty litter cleaned, my breakfast done and shower out of the way in record time when my phone rang. I almost didn’t answer it but easier to just deal with it and get it out of the way. Turns out it was a work call. Oh well I was a good girl and took care of it.
Time now to take the trash out and decide where I’m headed with the camera. I was surprised by how windy it was. I had thought about going to the arboretum but with winds like this I decided to see if the ocean might be crashing…surfs up dude!
As I grabbed my camera the phone rang again. Another work call. What’s going on? No one ever calls me back! I took care of that one and headed out the door again.
I stopped at Oliver Mill first. There were car loads of people which as usual translates to no birds. Only 2 gulls and 1 Canada goose. I left the folks to wander the stream looking for fish and headed to Plymouth. Next stop Manomet Point.
By the time I got there the sun had completely disappeared behind the clouds. The wind was still blowing but there were only a few whitecaps, no “angry sea”, no seals. 🙁 Not to be discouraged I took out the big lens and attached it to the camera. I recently read an article about hand holding these big telephotos and I wanted to try it out.
I spotted a little bird’s head sticking up over a rock. I think it’s a cormorant. So here goes nothing. I hefted that big old lens up , focused and snap snap. I took 3 shots. 2 were only so- so but this one isn’t half bad for my first try.
I wrapped up my day by stopping by the park where the old Osprey nest is located. I had my binoculars today. And there is a osprey on the nest!
I may not have had the most successful picture day but it was a good day anyway.
All is Not Calm
Ahhh Springtime at the Pond. Not so peaceful really. The mating rituals seem to lead to a lot of grumpy behavior or maybe it’s the cold, rainy spring after the long winter.
Bring on the grumpiness!
The Canada Geese are especially temperamental.
They always seem to be rather grumpy anyway but this time of year the grumpiness goes up dramatically.
They don’t seem to get along whether on land or water.
Finally a Moment with Nature
Spring has been a long time coming this year. If it wasn’t snowing it was raining but finally on Monday, we had a brief respite.
As usual lately my days off are filled with errands. When did that happen? I needed to run to the grocery store, down to Walmat (which is the opposite side of town) and then in another direction to the pet store for filters for the pet fountain but I was determined to get some time with the camera. No cat picture today!
The sun was hiding behind a gray, overcast sky. Rain was predicted for the evening. My first stop was at Oliver Mills. It was crowded today. The herring have started running. You could stand by the fish ladder and see the little fish trying to make their way upstream. A few gulls braved the influx of humans but no Great Blue Herons. I watched from the car for a bit so when the gulls took flight, so did I.
I drove to Plymouth to check on a Osprey nest I found at the end of the season last year. When I got there I discovered that I couldn’t find my binoculars. The last time I had them (that I remember) was in Alaska. This nest is near a park and it was full today too so I didn’t linger there.
Getting to the Grist Mill Pond was a challenge. The main road was blocked for a funeral so I tackled the shore road down past the Mayflower.
That’s undergoing road work but passable. I skipped Brewster Gardens. Nothing appeared to be out and about, not even a duck or robin. But that wasn’t the case at the pond.
Here spring was in full swing with lots of courtship rituals going on…mallards, Canada geese, and Mr. Majestic, the mute swan.
After enjoying the antics here I made one more stop. I went searching for the “haul out” that I’d heard about for the seals. Usually I go to Chatham to view seals. Plymouth is closer but the seals aren’t necessarily any more accessible. I wasn’t sure I’d found them. Without binoculars I simple took pictures and crossed my fingers.
Once home I uploaded the images and sure enough…they were there. Next time I’m taking the BIG lens.
Nat Geo Wild
There’s a television station/ channel called Nat Geo Wild. I hate and love it at the same time. Does your cable provider supply it in your area? To me it’s the new Animal Planet. I remember when Animal Planet launched. It was the new kid on the block and everyone wanted it. If it wasn’t available in your area you lobbied your cable provider to carry it. Now it’s a staple in most cable lineups.
Nat Geo Wild is a joint venture of Fox Cable network and National Geographic. It first launched in Asia, Hong Kong actually in January of 2006. It slowly worked it’s way to toward the New World, United Kingdom, Turkey, Ireland, Romania, India, Vietnam, and Poland.
The channel finally launched in Latin America on November 1, 2009. It didn’t make it to the United States until 2010 when it arrived in High Definition Glory, a true member of the National Geographic Family, dedicated to animal related programming with National Geographic’s signature quality photography.
I love this channel. I love the animals, the stories and the amazing vistas from Canyonlands to Safaris in Africa.
So why do I hate the channel? I hate it because it is so real, especially in HD on a large screen TV. The locales and adventures call to my heart. I want to be in that sub at 500 ft. under the sea. I want to be on the boat off Maui watching the humpbacks breach in the azure water. I want to be scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
I want to climb aboard an airboat in the Everglades and kayak under the glaciers of Alaska. Maybe I’ll skip Antarctica but I’m not adverse to searching for komodo dragons on Indonesian Islands or visiting Galapagos.
It’s very possible that I can do some, if not all of these adventures… if I win the lottery. National Geographic offers vacations with their guides and photographers but like all things National Geographic, done to the max and with the price tag to match. They even have a “mentor” series where you travel to a location for training with their award winning photographers. Again $$$$.
So I dream on and torture myself with wishes. I take my little vacations and scratch the surface of these amazing locations. I enjoy my vacations but there’s a slight feeling that there should be more.
I watch Nat Geo Wild to see what I’m missing and keep my wanderlust fueled for my next adventure, and I keep dreaming. 🙂