BIRDS, SKY AND BROWN COLORS

click on pictures to enlarge

Flocks of cardinals gathered in the trees.  They flitted through and between the branches like little ruby beams of light.

I could see this would be a bird kind of day.  I'm not real good at bird identification but, I'll try.  I do know some of the more common ones.

I always have a subconscious smirk or, rather a grin on my face when I watch him.  I guess it's because I enjoy watching him have fun.  He waits for me daily to return to the habitat after work and he has to be enduring boredom.  I know that dogs live for the moment but, an all week wait is a long moment.  Douglas, Shade and Happy had the entire day to enjoy doing what they enjoy most.

The sky was the most vivid blue!  No filter was needed on the camera lens.  Simply spectacular!  I've never seen such bright blues.   I had to photograph the sky.   Well, it was a pretty sky.

We walked across the fields today.  The feeling was great to move unencumbered across the meadow.  A wooded area at the edge of the field presented an enticing destination.  Actually the wooded area was not much more than trees bordering the meadow.  Beyond lay the lake. 

I carry my camera lenses in a photography backpack.  It is sort of like a regular hiking backpack accept the interior is designed to hold camera and lenses with associated equipment.  We had walked approximately two miles to this spot and I decided to take that thing off and sit down awhile to watch the dogs.  It was then that I noticed another little bird flitting about on the upper tree trunks.  There were many of them moving from tree to tree investigating the spaces under the loose pieces of bark.  They were Downy woodpeckers.  What a beautiful little guy.

Downy's can be confused with hairy woodpeckers and I make that mistake all the time.  They have the same markings accept that the face of the Downy's is covered with a more prominent mask.  I hope I've identified this bird correctly.  I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong.

This bird is becoming very prominent today.  I've never seen so many of them at one time.

It felt good to lay back and put my head against the backpack.  I was hoping the dogs would stay back in the fields and away from me for awhile.  Birds won't come close with the dogs nearby.  Now, here's a cute little fellow.

OK;  I'll take a guess.  yellow rumped warbler

I'm not sure.  Flycatcher, maybe?

These shots will have to be enlarged to see these little guys.  Just click on the picture.  They should enlarge.

I'll stick with yellow rumped warbler.  If any of you know different;  please put it in the comment box at the end of the entry.

The wind is starting to take the body heat away and its time to start walking again.  These fields are beautiful even in the color brown.  I love to see the change to green in the Spring but, these brown colors catch the light and have their own glamorous look.

An old silo projects prominently from the thicket, a testament to folks who made their lives whole by living on this land.  The farm long gone but, remnants of those days can still be found if one looks.

The breeze causes the golden stalks to sway back and forth and reflect the sunlight from their feathery tops.  Some areas of the field appear to Eb and flow as if they were a body of water.  The grasses on high ridges bend in one direction with the wind, the sun reflected off their stalks rather than the tops.  "Shade;  Come!"

Douglas blends into the willowy grass.  Sometimes I have to watch the top of the grasses in the fields to know where he is.  What a wonderful pal.

Thats my boy.

Well;  its late and the wind is making the air very cold.  We better move back toward the truck.  I dedicated this day to my kids..  They used it wisely and enjoyed every minute.  I hope this place stays out of the land speculator's vision forever.  "Come on guys;  lets go.  Douglas;  come."

"Good Boy."

It's back to work tomorrow so, until next outing;  be kind to a dog.  They need your help.....