Looking More Closely

My life since the last post has been a whirlwind.  My wife, Amy, is a candidate for Town Clerk in Burlington (see AmyForClerk.com).  Someone took out nomination papers to run against her 1/2 hour before the deadline last week.  That spun us up into action - there were people to call, websites to build, mailings to send and strategies to implement to meet the challenge.  Thankfully, the deadline for that person to return their signatures has passed, without them being returned, so life has returned to "normal".

It was incredibly quiet this morning at Great Meadows.  The temperature at sunrise was a balmy 10F.  Despite the lack of wind, that seemed to scare away all the people, and most of the animals.  The lack of wind blowing through the trees and reeds combined with the lack of birds singing made for an eerie silence.  The silence broken only by the sound of snow crunching beneath my feet.

The extreme quiet was the perfect antidote to my crazy week.  The camera felt strange in my hands.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to shoot.   Stopping at the bridge over the outlet between the upper and lower impoundments, I stopped to photograph the interplay between ice and water.  







After a while I started to notice the hoar frost on the plants & surfaces surrounding the water.  Today, I seemed to be drawn to details.





Continuing on, I was enticed to photograph the lotus seed pods embedded in the snow.  One was inverted looking like a witches hat, resting on a bed of white.





Then I started noticing the trees are starting to bud, a sign that spring was soon coming.  One tree had a wonderful reddish brown bark on the new growth.  Like that moment in the Wizard of Oz, I could start to feel the monochromatic world of winter starting to thaw.  Down by the boat ramp, one tree was full of red buds.







The temperature started to rise.  Walking in the sun, on the west side of the impoundments, I rapidly started to bask in its warmth.  Funny how back in November, mid-thirties seemed so cold; after months of winter, it now seems so warm.  Down by the holt, the Concord River has started to thaw.  I wonder how long it will be before there will be geese back swimming.  Soon the coyotes easy passage up, down and across the river will  be no more.



Groups of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice flew from branch to branch in the upper reaches of the trees.  On the far side of the lower impoundment, I saw a flock of 6 Blue Jays, flying into the woods squawking the whole time, sort of like an avian Hells Angels gang invading the still of the Timber Trail.

Back near the parking lot, the squirrels were quite active.  Many territory disputes were in progress as they chased each other leaping from tree to tree..  I'm not entirely sure, but there may have even been romance in the air.  I'll have to read more about the mating habits of squirrels, but I think I may have accidentally captured an intimate moment, and the resulting post coital bliss....or it may have just been some good clean squirrel play.

Quiet Anticipation

It was a solitary day at Great Meadows this morning.  Spring must be coming, because I saw the first intrepid jogger of the season, carefully picking her way along the icy path.

Even the animals were subdued.  I encountered  the "usual suspects" Black-capped Chickadees, some crows, and Downy  Woodpecker as I carefully circumnavigated the lower impoundment.












I had been bouyed by the weather forecast that predicted a high of 40F, but warm temperatures were slow in arriving.  There was a cool breeze blowing from the west, which made me wish I had dressed more warmly.

It's interesting the changes that can happen in a week and a half.  Last visit, the impoundments were full of deep snow.  Now they are ice covered.  Like some sort of CSI episode all the footprints and activity of the coyotes, and the duck box repair are now preserved in ice.






The paths, previously non-existant are now hard packed, covered with a light icy glaze.  I was appreciative that I had my Yak Tracks on.  The river is still ice packed and intact.  It won't be too long before the ice breaks as the snow melts and the river rises.



The ice around the impoundment bridges has started to melt.  Though there weren't any animals at these watering holes, it was fun photographing the ever changing scene as ice, water and air interact.







On the walk back to the car, I notice my first buds.  Spring will soon be here.  Winter will be a memory.  Soon we'll be standing behind curtains of cattails, yearning for the wide scenic vistas of winter.   Until then we all anticipate its coming.

Gotcha!

Tempted by Friday's sighting of coyotes, I was drawn back to Great Meadows early Saturday morning ahead of the pending storm.  This time I was brought my 50-500 lens.

Unfortunately, the title of this post, isn't referring to the great coyote photos I took, but instead the Great Blue Heron photos I finally got.  During the summer there are usually a few Great Blue Herons around, and though skittish, often one will cooperate photographically.  This winter there is one Great Blue that has decided not to head to warmer climes, but to hang around and feed at the two bits of open water at the refuge.  This one has frustrated me.  It is even more skittish than your typical Great Blue Heron.  It often has hid out in a place obstructed by reeds or trees, or just decided to be somewhere other than where I was looking for it at the moment.

Today that all changed.  I managed to catch it feeding by the dike bridge.  Due to the weather there were only a couple of other people walking the paths.  When they crossed the bridge they would scared it away, but it soon returned.









When I first arrived at GMNWR, I could see one of the coyotes near the dike, but it was moving quickly away.  Afraid that it would disappear before I could get setup, I wandered up the tower and tried to get a few shots, hand held.  Unfortunately, someone else arrived & started walking onto the dike, which scared the coyotes into the woods by the river.

One wandered back couple times over the course of the morning, but it was very skittish.  The closest it got was in the reeds next to the under bush near the tower.  But as soon at it saw me, it boogied away, later showing up on the fas side of the lower impoundment.  So even though I had my longer lens, the coyote photos are not as good as Friday's.









While waiting for the coyotes to come back, I entertained myself by shooting a group of squirrels near the road that were busily running around, retrieving nuts from their caches.  That resulted in a couple of cute images with snow on their noses.  There must have been 6 to 8 squirrels in this one area.





I assume it's only a matter of time before the red tail hawk decides that this would be a wonderful place to visit.  Hope I'm there then to get the shot.