Nature walk

I took a little nature walk with my friend Marti after supper. and our timing was great for getting some good light and several critters in North Chagrin Reservation. Walking across the boardwalk through the marsh, we stopped when someone said, “Did you see that frog?” And there it was, sitting on a lily pad.

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We also saw a lazy little gosling sitting beside the marsh while Mama, Papa, and the siblings took an evening swim.

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We searched for a heron that we heard was standing close to the shore…”Closer than we’ve seen it in a while,” according to two walkers, but it had vanished. Camera shy, maybe. The last animal we saw was a snake. We would have missed it without the help of a little girl who first asked us where it was, then discovered it herself and called us over to see it. It was pretty big, but hopefully harmless. A black rat snake maybe? It was happily napping and didn’t pay any attention to the excitement it was causing among the walkers.

That’s all the animals that posed for photo opps on this evening’s walk. I did photograph a wildflower, a definite contrast to the snake and frog, but we never saw the heron!

That’s it for tonight from the north coast of Ohio. Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Carolyn aka Skip

May 19, 2012 8

“Bird lady”…

That’s what two walkers said when they saw a downy woodpecker take a peanut from my hand…”You must be the bird lady! How do you do that?” the man asked. All I could reply was, “They like peanut chips!”

I don’t make a habit of feeding the critters in the park. After all, they are wild creatures, and, for the most part, except during extremely cold and snowy winters, they are self-sufficient. However, I do sometimes entice the chickadees, cardinals, titmice, and woodpeckers with a small serving of peanut chips. These are bite-sized little tidbits that create no mess, and don’t do any harm to the environment, and I consider them payment for the many photo opportunities they provide for me. Chickadees and titmice are friendly little birds, and they don’t need too much persuasion to take a peanut chip or two from my hand, but this was the first time a downy woodpecker had ever attempted it. I was as amazed as the couple who happened to walk by. It was evening, and time for me to head for home, but first I captured a few pictures to share so you can enjoy the beauty of the birds, just as I do.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my corner of Ohio. See you soon!

Carolyn aka Skip

May 14, 2012 0

A glorious spring morning

Had I ordered today’s weather, the day would have dawned just as it did. It was one of those rare spring mornings when just about everything is perfect. I headed to the park for a short walk, but ended up staying much longer than I meant to. Mondays are great! Most of the weekend warriors return to work. The kids go back to school, and I pretty much have the park to myself. Not entirely, you understand, but enough to leave me with the illusion that the whole place belongs to me and the happy knowledge that retirement is great.

I went in search of a Baltimore oriole and a rose-breasted grosbeak. The orioles were in seclusion, but I spotted a grosbeak…just not close enough to snap a picture. Another day! I was surprised to discover a turtle, smack in the middle of the intersection of two trails. Unfortunately for him, he was headed away from the bog and there was no water in the direction he was going, so after taking his picture, I lifted him from the trail and set him down in the grass much closer to the bog. Then I hung around for a while, and sure enough, he got turned around in the right direction. I didn’t know turtles could move so fast!

It was time to go home, and I hadn’t gotten pictures of many birds, but that’s okay with me. Instead I captured photos of a chipmunk, a turtle, a mama mallard and her little one, an adorable Border terrier, and one bird…the ever-present cardinal that follows me from tree to tree to tree. I never know what I will find in the park, and the anticipation is part of the fun. Enjoy the slide show:

By the time I got home, it was time for lunch, followed by an afternoon of catching up on my blog posts. Last week was so busy, I am way behind. Today I am intent on catching up, which means posting several days worth of photos in one afternoon. Sorry about doing that! I will try to keep on top of things in the future.

Thanks for stopping by today. See you soon.
Carolyn aka Skip

May 14, 2012 0

Mating on the mind?

I don’t know much about the mating rituals of tree swallows, actually, I don’t know anything, but I have seen their territorial disputes, complete with angry squawks and frantic dive-bombing. This doesn’t look anything like that, so I am going to assume these birds had mating on their minds. If anyone has information contrary to that, please share it via the comments. Whatever they were up to, it involved approaching, landing, flying away, and more of the same. Watching them was fascinating (Click on the first picture to scroll through the gallery).

Should this be R-rated? What do you think?

Spring is in the air, and lots of things are happening in the park.

Thanks for stopping by.
Carolyn aka Skip

May 14, 2012 3

Mothers’ Day

We were graced with beautiful weather for Mothers’ Day this year. An after church brunch at Corky and Lenny’s with our middle daughter’s family and a creamy dark chocolate ice cream cone in Chagrin Falls with our youngest’s daughter’s family made the day extra special. As it happened, I wasn’t in photography mode, being more focused (pun not intended) on family, but I pulled my pocket camera out and captured these shots of the falls.

An afternoon wander in Chagrin Falls is a very good thing. Take some family or friends along, and it is even more special. On a Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people will be strolling by the river, window shopping, dog walking, and hiking down the stairs to view the falls. Don’t forget to take your camera and be sure to enjoy an ice cream cone while you are there.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Carolyn aka Skip

May 14, 2012 0

Quick post today

That’s it for today. I hope you like them. I would write more, but I have to get to a meeting and supper comes first. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your visits and comments are always welcome too.

Carolyn aka Skip

May 7, 2012 0

Quick post today

Carolyn aka Skip

May 7, 2012 2

Migratory birds and more

Hopefully this will be the first of several posts with pictures of migratory birds, baby animals, and all the wonders of spring. We are blessed with a glorious creation to enjoy, and here in Ohio, spring has been both unusual and special. Here are a few photos for a start. Click on any picture to bring up a slide show that you can click through at your own speed.

I photographed the baby foxes yesterday in the backyard of a friend who lives in the country. The covered bridge is one of numerous covered bridges in Ashtabula County, just east of us in Ohio. This one is the Harpersfield bridge. I took a first picture from closer in, showing only the bridge, and then spotted these little blue flowers, backed off, and took a second shot to include them. I like it better than the first one. The other photos were taken in my neighborhood park.

That’s it for today from the south shore of Lake Erie. Thanks for stopping by!

Carolyn aka Skip

May 4, 2012 3

Serendipity

Another sudden change in the weather has brought on a day that is sunny, hot, and MUGGY! I like it all but the muggy part, but it is what it is, and I’m not complaining. A walk in the park around mid-day captured several photos that made me happy.

First, a red admiral butterfly. They are far from rare, in fact this spring we seem to be overrun with them, but he posed for me on the greenery, so there you are!

Second in the series is a palm warbler. Although I am no expert on migratory birds, it was identified by another photographer I met in the park. The quality of the image isn’t what makes me happy. It’s not the best. What makes me happy is that I spotted and captured a reasonably good picture of a warbler. They are such flighty little things (pun intended of course).

I’ve always called the little purple flowers violets (below), but they may have another name. I liked the way it was “posing”, nestled against the decaying log. The colors caught my eye.

The redwing blackbird is very common in these parts, but even though they are all over the place, calling out and flashing their red and yellow wing bars, it is not all that easy to capture a good photo of one…for me at least…and this is my second this week.

The last bird is a wading bird, but I don’t know what it is. When I have a few minutes, I will look it up, but that won’t be today. If anyone knows, please leave a comment about it. I captured two good shots of him and one of them will be my “blip” for today.

That’s my gallery for today. Thanks for stopping by my park in northeast Ohio when the annual migration seems to be in full spring. Maybe I will capture more warblers in the next week or so. Spring is an exciting time to go photo walking.

Carolyn aka Skip

May 2, 2012 4

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