BIRDS, BIRDS, CHEROKEE LAKE & SOME SNOW

Animal shots taken with Sigma 150-500 mm telephoto lens

I headed up to Cherokee Lake early to get a feel for the lay of the boat ramps.  Its been a year since I've been around that lake.  Now, I have 4 wheel drive and can launch the big boat in more places. 

Cherokee and Douglas Lakes are very different.  One big difference is that Cherokee has blue water.  Douglas has muddy water.  Cherokee is sprawling and big.  Douglas is reminiscent of a wide river.  Cherokee's nothing to write home about but, I always liked it better than Douglas with her mud.  Now, I have Cherokee with her rocks.  Its no big deal.
When I got home I decided to just sit on the porch step and do nothing for an hour.  There were birds everywhere.  I thought it might be a good time to practice photographing the smaller species of birds and give the eagles a break.  I took some quick shots of tufted titmice, a flycatcher or two, a red bellied woodpecker and carolina chickadees.  Not blacked capped chickadees but, carolina chickadees.  They're very close in looks.  

The bird feeders are across the yard at the edge of the woods and all these birds are on the opposite side.  Funny thing!

Look at the shot I could have had below if there would have been more light.  I attached the 500 mm lens to the camera today and was shooting these shots at great magnification.  The lens at maximum aperture has a limited depth of field so all the birds that would have been in the shot are not all in focus.  I could have selected a greater depth of field setting to shoot them and then cropped the shot larger in the computer but, there wasn't enough light to use the aperture required.  Telephotos can be tough at times.  Notice that I did crop the little bird in the above shot out of the picture below.  And, dats how ya do er.

I knew the shot directly above wouldn't work out.  It was taken on 1/300th of a second, I think.  I wanted to see what it would look like.  Probably shouldn't have put it up here.

Last night was neat.  It actually snowed.  I sat on the porch and drank coffee and watched Shade playing in the new snow.  

When I left this morning before sun up, the ground was white.  I wish I'd have taken a photograph of it.
The weather has been either wet with pouring rain or very cold and I still haven't made it to Chilhowee Lake and the old Scona Lodge burial site.  I'm going tomorrow unless some catastrophic weather blows in.  That does it for this little posting.  Its not much, I know, but Winter has put a damper on things.  If I still lived in the Cherokee National Forest - we'd be in the canoe on days like this.  Its just too far to go for a few hours on the water.  It will all be OK though.  Spring is in the air.  See ya...

A BLEMISH ON UGLY

Today is a sad, sad day.  Today marks the last day of this year that I will be working on  beautiful Douglas Lake.  It is with a sunken heart that I must bid farewell to this lake and all the fond memories it has bestowed upon me over the past twelve months.  I'd just like to stick a few pictures up here to serve as a reminder to myself of what I'll be missing in 2013.
The weather was particularly foul this morning with on and off rain, some heavy at times.  The wind is expected to hit 20 miles per hour this afternoon.  A quick run to the boat ramp indicated that fishermen decided to stay home this morning.

I stopped at two different parking areas and boat ramps to see if there'd be room to park my truck and trailer.  I found plenty of space.

This morning was going to be a bust as far as finding anyone fishing.  The New Year's holiday has started today and I guess thoughts are of family and friends and not fishing.  I thought I'd snap a couple pictures of the gorgeous lake just to have a reminder of what I'll be missing this Summer.

There's nothing that can compare to the pristine beauty of Douglas's crystal blue waters.  Gonna be tough to not be able to put  a boat in on this water.  I guess I could bring my personal boat on down for a ride.

Wow - just imagine all that mud covered with fifteen feet of great blue/green water.  Gotta use the ole imagination but, if one tries hard enough he can see how pretty this is, I mean, it could be.  Mud for as far as the eye can see.  Not to worry - it will be water in the summer, albeit, stained to sort of stained water.  There's nothing perfect in the world and Douglas Lake is no exception.  One has to imagine what it could look like with water in it to appreciate the grandeur of this body of water - I mean mud.

 The above shot is of the river at the Leadvale boat ramp.  Ah man -  this is great!  The piles of rocks were once piers that held up a railroad bridge.   TVA has knocked it down years ago and left the piers lay where they fell.  This was a blessing in disguise as it made a lot of fishermen better boaters.  They had to learn fast how to accomplish technical steering when negotiating these rocks.  Of course, once past the rocks they couldn't go up stream much further than a thousand yards until they hit rock shoals that cross the lake.  These old rock piles are like old friends.  Gonna hate to leave em.  Guess I'll learn to adjust.

I know what your thinking.  What a beautiful scene.  Normally all that mud is totally covered by water but, when ya think about it - mud is pretty.  Well, its - a - unique.

Wow - this is rough.  I can feel tears pushing against the backs of my eyes at the thought of leaving all this.  It can't be helped.  I've got to leave.  I'll just have to learn to deal with it.  Have you wondered where the title of this entry came from?

This is a really beautiful spot.  Its the prettiest spot on the entire Douglas Lake.  Its not a very big place and that says a lot about the rest of the lake.  It is pretty though.

I call this pretty spot "a blemish on ugly".

I hoped you smiled a bit reading this little, sarcastic entry.  Seriously though - this is the last day on Douglas Lake for me this year.  See ya in 2013.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR

   

A WINTER'S MORNING AT THE OFFICE

all photos taken with Sigma 120 - 400 mm telephoto lens

These are just some scenes from my office early this morning.  Cold, damp and dark, it was but, beautiful.  By the way - that isn't fog on that mountain.  Its snow.  Gorgeous!

Today was just a normal day on the water.  I thought I'd post a couple of photographs just to document the morning.

That water is 44 degrees.  How do they do it?  The gull above is a Ringed Bill Gull.  The one below a Bonaparte's gull.

Of course, no day on the lake would be complete without a couple Bald Eagle pictures.

An immature bald eagle appeared at a great distance.  I couldn't even make out his features.  The shots are cropped large and have lost crispness but, what the heck.  I got him..

Seems like a study in bald eagles.  I was kept busy with the job this morning.  No one showed early but they sure came out to the lake after 10 AM.  I enjoyed all the company.
I have the urge to get over to Chilhowee Lake and the Scona Lodge site.  Can't put it down.  I guess it will happen on the next day off if it doesn't pour rain.  Snow I don't mind but, rain is out.  See you soon.