Songs of Autumn
The sky is a busy highway with Sandhill Cranes flying from pond to pond, same with the geese. Seems all of the creatures are scurrying around getting ready for winter.
I took a walk through the meadows now that the biting bugs have all gone.
All that is left is tall grass swaying in the breeze and red-winged blackbirds swarming, swooping, and singing the songs of autumn.
The meadows will be full of cattle once we bring them home from the mountains this week. I love fall time in Wyoming.
Pheasant Friend
I got a call the other day about this pheasant that has taken up residence on a nearby ranch. He always greets them when they are headed out to the pasture to cut hay.
But it isn’t really a greeting. He is actually protecting his hen and baby chicks. He will chase you down and peck you if he can get close enough- like when you have to close a gate. Yeow!
He is a beautiful bird and I hope he and his family will continue to be safe.
Where Did the Time Go?
I completely missed the month of November here at Uprooted Magnolia. I’ve missed you, to say the least. But all is well here. Actually, it’s wonderful. My calendar booked up with amazing new and former clients and I’ve had a joyful time with each and every portrait session and wedding. And it just keeps getting better. I am excited to see what the future holds with new and exciting projects on the horizon.
We brought the cattle home from summer pasture and good ole Gray is happy to have everyone back so he can boss them around the meadows.
Fall arrived in all it’s colorful glory and stuck around, extending the portrait season. Then all of the sudden, it turned to winter.
We had a cold snap that turned from chilly to downright freezing last week. Whoa, I hadn’t gotten myself mentally or physically prepared and the air hurt my face. I swear my eyeballs froze. Fortunately the river didn’t freeze completely so we didn’t have to break ice for the cows to get a drink.
Hello winter. And Hi everyone, I hope to be more regular again. ttfn. 🙂
Roadside Fog
It’s that time of year for those misty, cool mornings that slowly introduce us to autumn. So of course, my camera and I rolled out for an adventure with some roadside fog on one of those mornings.
Next door neighbor, a longhorn cow, having her breakfast.
Field of sugar beets.
Red Angus are grazing in the background. They weren’t visible when I set up for this shot. So I waited for them to get a little closer.
This road runs alongside an already harvested corn field.
Flock of blackbirds “swimming” in the thick fog.
Sunflowers started blooming early this summer and are still popping up in our yard. They are a bright spot on such a gray day.
Intersection on the way home. Our mailboxes are enveloped in the dense fog up ahead.
These views are seen daily from the windshield of our cars and trucks but it looks completely different when it’s underneath a heavy fog.
Taking time to notice our everyday surroundings can be very soothing and even inspiring. I encourage you to the same. Hope you’ve enjoyed these images and may they bring some peace and quiet to your busy day.
Cheers!
Tetons Roundup
Needless to say, it was an amazing adventure in the northwest section of Wyoming. Yellowstone and Tetons are both a sight to see.
Pelicans and geese float the lake. A clear sign that the fishing is probably pretty good!
A western meadowlark grabbed up some yummy breakfast!
Moulton Barn on Mormon Row. One of the most photographed scenes in the world. I put my own spin on it with a delicate spiderweb in the foreground. I’m sure I’m not the first but hey, here it is.
Bison in a field of dandelions. We stayed here a moment and looked through our tour guide’s spotting scope. We saw a brand new bison calf getting used to it’s long legs. So cute!
If the mosquitoes weren’t so bad, I could have watched this swan until dark.
This pond is in Jackson not far from the elk refuge.
We took this trip in late May, early June. I will be heading back to Jackson in September to photograph a wedding with the Tetons as the backdrop. I am excited to see how it looks as autumn begins.
Cheers!
Tetons: Schwabachers Landing
In the Tetons, we saw some amazing species of water fowl at Schwabachers Landing. Schwabachers Landing is a boat landing located a few miles south of Snake River Overlook, along the east shore of the Snake River.
We also saw a lot of little baby ground squirrels. They were everywhere and weren’t all that shy.
I wish I knew the official names of the water fowl that we saw but I don’t recall. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but I didn’t retain the names of them. Dad may have written notes on them so I’ll check with him. If you know, feel free to name them in the comments!
Yellowstone: Wildlife from the Window
Thank you for your kind comments yesterday. I always enjoy hearing from you guys. While I was typing replies and looking over the shots from yesterday, I realized that some of them just didn’t have anything to help with scale. I mean, I’m sure you get it that it’s a large hot spring because the name is Mammoth Hot Springs, but my close-ups and detail shots may not have really shown that.
So in this image above, on the left and beyond the trees, you can see the boardwalk and people. Not only is it huge, it’s high. It was definitely a climb.
Pretty darn impressive.
As I said yesterday, since we didn’t make it to Old Faithful, we sought out landscapes and wildlife in other areas of the park.
One creature that isn’t shy in the daylight or at any time of day in fact is the Raven. They are HUGE! Much larger than the crow that we have at home.
Not only is the size difference a way to determine a raven from a crow, the fluffy feathers around the head and neck is a feature of the raven.
Tower Fall. One of the several waterfalls we visited along the way.
I rolled the window down to get this rumble between two bull bison. The drama didn’t last long.
This coyote casually ran past the bison fight and trotted along with a mission. Not sure where he was going but I thought since he was close, I’d keep the window down for a quick portrait.
We drove for a bit and saw cars pulled off and people out with their cameras just snapping away. Three bull elk were grazing. The one farthest away is a young bull. The two older ones would stomp and chase him away but he’d always come back to graze with them. It’s typical behavior between the young and old. Competition at it’s finest.
I’d like to say that we stayed in the car to get our shots of these guys but we didn’t. We stepped out to get a closer look and we became the average tourist taking a risk to get “the shot”. It’s not a smart thing to do. This is not Disney or a petting zoo. These are wild animals and at anytime, they could look up and see that they are surrounded by a threatening presence of humans. And out of that fear of threat, they could injure any one of us. All I can say is that they are more than likely used to humans ogling at them but if anything were to spook them, we’d be in danger.
Fortunately on this day, these guys were pretty docile and were mostly interested in grazing the bright green grass. I shot this with a telephoto once back in the van. Must be nice to have an impressive rack to scratch that itch.
Mother Goose, Mother Nature
We have two sets of resident geese. One pair stays at the west side of our property, the other at the complete opposite end.
Whenever I walk up to the edge of the river, they take off squawking and kicking and it spooks me so bad, similar to when a sage grouse pops out of the sage grass spooking the heck out of your horse while gathering cattle on the Laramie Plains. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about.
The river is high and rapid in some parts but it doesn’t bother them much.
While looking for newborn calves I quietly photographed this little family hiding as best as they could. I only see two babies here. Looks as though our resident owl has possibly been snatching these babies up for their own enjoyment. Oh the beauty and heartache mother nature gives us. Those fuzzy babies are so cute.
Red-winged Blackbirds at Dusk
These guys chirp, blirp and fly down the road with me down to the meadows. I know it’s because there is a nest somewhere close by but I like to thing they are just leading me in the right direction. 🙂
Before the Wind
I climbed to the top of the driveway today. I wanted to take in this view before the wind picks up. A ground blizzard is predicted for later today into tomorrow. But for now, I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet of our snow blanket.
Owl Watching 2015: Three of a Kind
I started off the work week with owls so I thought I would end it with this…Momma owl and her THREE owlets! I finally got them all in one shot! I hope I’m not driving you crazy with these but I just had to share. Hope it makes you smile. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Owl Watching 2015: Update
I’ve counted three owlets lately. It’s hard to tell in the photos but I’ve seen them with my own eyes and binoculars. I thought one was a goner but it turns out it was just asleep.
Momma is pretty protective and sits on them a lot.
They are getting bolder. This one stood out on the edge for a while.
I know you only see two here but I know I’ve counted three. I don’t know how far back that cave goes but momma has found a very safe place to raise her young. I love those bright eyes!
Another Proud Momma
We had a little snow blow through here yesterday. Along with checking cattle several times a day, I’ve also been checking the nest in the bluffs where my folks and I witnessed a horned owl and her owlet for the first time last year. Lo and behold, she’s back. I count two baby owls in this shot but there could be as many as 6 in a clutch. There was only the one last year. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to see them. Let Owl Watching 2015 commence! 🙂
Have a Good Friday everyone. Be well.
Snow Adorable
Once again, we have found ourselves in a snowstorm. It’s pretty magical out there.
These little birds are so cute jumping from blade to blade looking for breakfast. Besides hearing the snow under my boots, all I hear is the softest “chirp chirp” from these adorable gals.
This storm is supposed to move out this afternoon and then warm up the rest of the week.
Happy Hump Day!!
Crow in the Mist
On my peaceful walk yesterday morning, the quiet was occasionally interrupted by this crow perched high on a cottonwood limb. It took me a while to locate him. Pretty spooky, eh?
Gilded Flicker
I saw two of these beautiful woodpeckers frolicking from limb to limb among the cottonwoods. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these before. I believe it’s a Gilded Flicker but if you think differently, let me know. They were rather large in size, especially compared to the downy woodpecker that I normally see out here.
Osprey on the Hunt
I spotted this osprey at Glendo State Park this summer. He sat still on this limb above the water looking for fish with those sharp, yellow eyes. Later that day, another osprey flew over the hood of the truck with a fish in his talons.
Feeling the Warmth of Morning Light
A cold front blew into Wyoming this weekend and will hang out with us for most of the week. Thank goodness I am done shooting my state parks project because it snowed yesterday in the Big Horn mountains. I wasn’t that far north but was close enough! I’m not ready for winter and I’m hoping we have a decent fall. But the planet Mars is already in it’s fall season so that means the cooler days of autumn aren’t far from us. I’m going to hang on to summer as long as I can and continue to enjoy early morning walks with the birds singing me along my way.
Happy Monday my friends! I’ve been buried in over a thousand images for the parks project and hundreds of portraits from some senior sessions. But I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel and hope to get back to our regular updates very soon.
Cheers!
Once a Nestling, Now a Young Owl
I took this image of the Great Horned Owl and her Nestling exactly three weeks ago. I’ve been checking on them every other day or so since then and they’ve been hanging out and stretching their wings. I guess momma has been teaching baby to fly for some time now. I knew the time was drawing near.
I’ve gone to the bluff every day this week.
The nest is empty. It has been quiet there all week. I’d say their timing is good because the river is up so high and is raging past the bluffs. The nestling is now a young owl and is flying the skies with ma and pa. I do hope they will come back and reuse this nest. Or at least stay around the area.
What an adventure it has been and I am delighted I got to share this with my folks and with you all. 🙂
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