We had heard that the aspens were beginning to turn up at Flagstaff, so we headed up there yesterday to see what we could see. As you can tell from the photo, there are signs that Fall is on its way, but we will have to make a return trip to see the aspens in all their glory. Have I mentioned that Fall is my favorite season?
After the rains, Watson Lake looked like it might have before the dawn of man- except it’s a man-made lake (and that’s a cormorant, not a pteradactyl. . . )!
It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.
Rainer Maria Rilke
On Christmas Day, we went for a leisurely walk at Willow Lake and watched a heron and egret fishing for an hour. We are used to seeing the heron slowly wade through the shallows looking for fish- an example of patience and perseverance. The egrets are normally farther away, but this day we were lucky to be able to watch one close to where we were walking. It was less patient (maybe more hungry) than the heron and was constantly moving along the shore, eventually ending up in a little area by the rocks. This photo was taken as he spotted a fish, which he caught a moment later.
A variation on theme
Isn’t this a happy scene? This photo pretty much just took itself.
We drove over to Granite Basin Lake a tiny lake at the base of Granite Mountain here in Prescott and walked around for awhile, enjoying the scenery and taking a few photos. We spotted some dragonflies and dozens of butterflies, but only one single bird, a hummingbird. We are talking about going over again and bringing our lunch.
the swans! It was such a treat to see them in the wild- hope to go back before they fly off somewhere.
Friday night, we learned from Facebook that there were swans out at Willow Lake! We are accustomed to seeing ducks, geese, eagles, hawks, herons, egrets etc.- but this is the first we’ve heard of swans. So on Saturday morning we headed over to see what we could see. This would be my first walk in nature since my knee surgery, so I was pretty excited- so excited, in fact, that when we spotted the swans, I realized I had left my zoom lens on the kitchen counter! And what was on my camera, you ask? My macro lens! So I watched the swans as a hawk perched above them in a tree and a heron stood intently searching the water for his breakfast and tried to content myself with occasional macro shots.
After my genealogy meeting in the afternoon, we drove over again. The swans were starting to tuck their heads under their wings, but eventually all four swam around where we could see them in the late afternoon light. I haven’t gone through all the photos yet, but here is a shot of three of them.
Everywhere you look you see this GREEN! We were there only a few weeks ago, but I imagine that there are spots of fall color already. Summer is short and INTENSE!
The light shining through the pine needles was what caused me to snap this photo; it looks like fall, but was just golden light.
Just a peek over the reeds at Watson Pond
Like every other photographer, I’m drawn to reflections. This one caught my eye at the Eagle River Nature Center in Alaska. I loved the contrast between the bits poking above the surface of the water and the watercolor swirls beneath.
Observed practicing a one-legged standing pose (yes, he did have 2 legs)
Another apache plume for today- I love their inherent messiness!
These apache plume seed heads weren’t really blowing in the wind, but they look that way to me.
melinda anderson photography 