"I am at home among trees." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
Trail walking with my camera is my hobby...one that can take up many hours each day if I let it, and it is a hobby that has many advantages. It motivates me to take a walk in a park five or six days each week. It's a great way to get exercise. I've met many wonderful people …
Intending to take a photo walk in the park this morning, I discovered I didn't have to leave home. I simply opened the kitchen window, stuck the lens of my Nikon through the opening, and snapped away. I never made it to the park, but I got lots of great pictures because some colorful migratory …
http://skip220.smugmug.com/2013today/Places/Spring-in-Chagrin-River-park/i-3p5ZFfp/A In the past few days we've gone from winter jacket weather to shorts and sunglasses. After waiting for an interminably long time, it seems that spring has finally arrived. Three cheers for warm, sunny, blue-sky weather. The Baltimore orioles (the birds, not the baseball team) are my most thrilling sightings this week, but there …
http://skip220.smugmug.com/2013today/Places/HoldenSpring-wildflowers/i-JTMM8Ck/0/L/2014_04_23_Holden_092-L.jpg However, it doesn't FEEL much like spring! Well, except for the raindrops that were falling on my head during my walk in the park this morning. I am reminded of a spring some years back when cold and wet suddenly, actually overnight, became sunny and 90 degrees, and we went from complaining about the …
http://skip220.smugmug.com/2013today/Places/Spring-in-Chagrin-River-park/i-nCMmVXD/0/XL/2014_04_24_Chagrin%20River%20Park_059-XL.jpg Red-bellied woodpeckers are my favorite birds to photograph. Besides being sharp-looking birds, they have ATTITUDE! Tracking them in hopes of a photo op is just plain fun, and they are so darn photogenic! Then there this little bird...the brown creeper. http://skip220.smugmug.com/2013today/Places/Spring-in-Chagrin-River-park/i-f28VRR7/0/XL/2014_04_24_Chagrin%20River%20Park_023-XL.jpg A lot of luck and not a little dexterity is required to capture his photo. …
http://skip220.smugmug.com/Photo-galleries/Nature-galleries/Wildlife-seen-on-my-photo-walk/i-SmhJrbk/0/XL/2014_04_09_Chagrin%20River%20Park_024-XL.jpg What time is it? It's nest building time! That means it must be spring. Never mind the fact that it snowed yesterday. The calendar says today is April 16th, and the blue jay is ready to go into nest building mode! Yay for spring! One of these days the temperature will warm up (above this morning's …
When one of these beautiful birds flies in for a photo op, it always makes me smile! It posed happily and wasn't the least intimidated by my presence. Almanac After temperatures of nearly 80 degrees on Sunday, spring deserted us. On Tuesday night snow fell. Only about an inch and a half, but snow is …
I ran into Cobra and Jack when I was in the park earlier looking for a stranger who would be willing to participate in my Friday Faces project. Jack was standing near the pedestrian bridge in Chagrin River Park in conversation with Rich. Cobra was hanging around at their feet, probably waiting for the chitchat …
I visited Holden Arboretum this morning. To the dismay of the Canada geese flying overhead, there was no water for them to land in. They were complaining with loud honks of consternation as they searched for some open water. Some eventually tried ice skating (goose style), but they obviously weren't happy about it. The next …
I'm making an effort to learn something about black and white photography. With digital cameras, it is so much easier than it used to be with film, but there are still things to be learned about processing mono images to bring out the various tones to their fullest effect. There is definitely a learning curve …
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 
