Once in a Blue Moon

Here is tonight's "Blue Moon". I thought we were going to get fogged out as the fog started pouring in from the coast tonight just before moonrise.Then luckily it cleared! We ended up with a pretty "RED" moon due to the smoke from the forest fires and the reflection from the sunset. Many of you already know that the term "Blue Moon doesn't refer to the color of the moon. It just means that there are two full moons during a calendar month. This August we had a full moon on August first and now one on August Thirty first.

So here is your Blue Moon.

God bless,

chris

Branch, Birds and Squirrel

Yesterday after working out at the gym I headed home. I drove down our road looking for a good branch to do some photography with. Near the end of our road I found a fir branch covered in lichen. Perfect! I brought it back to the house and made a frame to support it. Then I set it up in front of my photoblind. Over the next couple of hours I photographed Bandtail Pigeons, Steller's Jays and one Western Gray Squirrel.





This morning I got up and gave it another go. It was pretty nippy out this morning and I needed a long sleeved shirt. Fall is just around the corner. I was happy to get some nice squirrel images.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Here is another Anna's Hummingbird image from yesterday for you to enjoy as well.This was created before the bees took over the feeder.

Hummingbird Silhouette

This morning I got up before sunrise to beat the bees that have been swarming my hummingbird feeders. I was lucky to get a few photographs taken of the hummers before the bees began arriving in large numbers taking over the hummingbird feeders once again. My biggest problem that ended up actually being a winner for me is that the batteries started dying on the flashes I use for my hummingbird photography. In a few images the flash went off for the background but not for the bird itself leaving me with a
bright,colorful and beautiful silhouette.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Late Summer

Late summer is one of the most difficult times to try and photograph hummingbirds at my house. The bees are stocking up on nectar for the upcoming winter. In the process they absolutely overwhelm my hummingbird feeders. This morning it was impossible for the hummingbirds to try and feed. In moving the feeders around I was surrounded by bees and a constant buzz. It felt like a beekeeper at the hives. I finally gave up and came back indoors.


I went up to my office and started looking through old files and I came across one of my favorite images.When we were in Bora Bora my kids began catching Hermit Crabs along the beach. They kept them for a little while and then let them go. The kids as well as myself found them to be fascinating creatures. I love this image it for its simplicity and the beautiful color combination. What a cool little creature!



God's precious love to all,

chris

Note: The bee image has only about half of the bees that were on it. When I lowered it down to photograph it about half of the bees fell off or took off before I photographed them.

Some Front Yard Locals

I love having a photoblind in my front yard. It's nice to be able to just walk a short distance out the door and be able to photograph wildlife in comfort.Today I went out and restocked the feeders,climbed into the photoblind sat back and waited. The forest was really quiet as everything had scattered when I had come out the door. Soon there were little sounds of bird wings as the Juncos fluttered in to feed on the ground. Then the raspy calls of the Jays as they got bold enough to move in and come to the feeder.


Later on I heard the scratchy sounds of claws on bark as a Douglas Tree Squirrel came slowly down the Douglas Fir Tree next to my photoblind. Soon I could hear it on the roof and then onto the sides of the blind as it searched for the scent of seeds. They have an amazing sense of smell. The Douglas Tree Squirrel took off at the chortling sound of Wild Turkeys feeding down our road as they came closer.

The turkeys stayed for almost half an hour scratching away at the dirt for whatever seed they could find that had fallen from the bird feeders. There was a young jake and a hen along with four poults.After they left the Douglas Tree Squirrel scampered back down the tree and went to the feeders for awhile later to be followed by a Western Gray Squirrel.




By then the lighting was starting to go so I called it quits and headed back into the house.I had a great time in the photoblind watching all these forest creatures from such a close distance.

God bless,
chris

A Few Birds

This morning before I went to work out at the gym I decided to do some bird photography out at the Burris Ranch. I figured enough days had passed since I restocked the feeders to make it active again.There were a few birds there when I arrived but after I refilled the feeders there wasn't a bird to be seen for almost half an hour, Finally little by little they began returning. This time of year the birds have lost those breeding colors and are going into plumages that are a lot less flashy and less likely to get them eaten or attract a mate.They are still cool just not as beautiful as they are in the spring.I photographed some House Finches,Gold Finches,Oak Titmouse, Juncos and some Nuthatches. A good time was had by all. Birds love free food.

God'as love and blessings,

chris

Anna's

Yesterday afternoon I played in the backyard with the humming birds. As usual there was one dominant humming bird that took over the feeder I was using. There was one male Anna's Hummingbird that was very successful in keeping everyone else away. He would sit on his little perch between feedings and bombard and then chase any other hummingbirds that came in for a drink. Here are a couple of images of the cheeky little guy.

Love and blessings to all,

chris

Magical Misty Morn

The fog and the smoke made for a beautiful image of the Little Lake Valley below me this morning. I was really drawn to the soft muted look and feel of it.I also loved all of the layers and textures that added interest to the image.

God's precious love to all,

chris

SSSSHHH! Don't tell Anyone I'm Here

On my way home from town today I spotted this little Blacktail Deer fawn partially hidden in the weeds on the side of the road.

Wild Bandtails

This morning I went out into the front yard and sat in the photoblind just to see what I might see. A few Stellars Jays came by followed by a young Raven. Neither of these offered to have their portraits taken. I guess they just weren't in the mood. Later on a Douglas Tree Squirrel crawled around under the feeder avoiding my camera as well.
A Western Gray Squirrel did the same. I wasn't having much luck until a small group of wild Bandtail Pigeons came in. They climbed all over the perches giving me plenty of opportunities to photograph them. Bandtails are a gorgeous bird with their striking bills and feet.They are also exceptionally skittish. I made sure to keep all my movements with my lens to a bare minimum. I had a great time photographing them.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

On the Run

I went out to the ranch to restock the bird feeders today as I have been neglecting them. While I was there I thought to myself. Hmmnnn... might as well give it a try for awhile.It was a poor decision because not one single bird came to the feeders. Finally I made the decision to call it quits. As soon as I stepped out of the blind I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. A small pair of antlers were sticking up above the grass in the shade of the barn about twenty feet away. I slowly tried to raise my camera up but it took off as soon as I moved. Here is an image of him trotting away towards the fenceline.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Time in the Photoblind

I finally made the effort to spend some more time in the photoblind and it was totally worth it.We have had three ravens hanging around the house for the last week or so. Today I finally figured out why.They are the parents and one of their offspring.They have been hanging around keeping watch on their little one to try and keep it out of trouble.Today I set out some meat scraps for it by the bird feeder and it came by and greedily ate them up. Seeing it up close with its tattered plumage I recognized it as a very young raven.Pretty ratty looking but if it survives will grow into a beautiful adult.Soon after that a Bandtail Pigeon came for some seeds. Later just as I was getting ready to exit the blind a young hen turkey came by with her poults. What a great time in the photoblind.

God's love and blessings,

chris

Simple Forms

Once again we awoke to smoke in the air this morning as fires burn in the mountains to the east of us.I rose early to catch the sunrise and I captured some of the simple forms that caught my eye as the sun climbed into the sky.




I loved the shape of one of the trees below us silhouetted by the fog and dimmed by the smoke.The brightness of a jet contrail looked really cool as it was flying north to parts unknown to me. I really liked the rim of light on the horizon just before the sun started coming up.Finally I liked the simple sunsrise itself with not a cloud in the sky. Looks to be a promising day.

God bless,

chris

Bad Dogs and Bad jer

There have been some bad dogs among our friends lately. Our friends Curtis and Kelley's cute chocolate lab mix ate a whole batch of nicely frosted birthday cupcakes right off of the counter. We heard from Rhianna that their dog a beautiful golden retriever ate their lunch right off of the counter. In hearing of these episodes I felt rather smug as our dog Badger has never done anything like that. He has politely ignored food that is placed upon the counter.Yesterday I was looking forward to our dinner of take and bake pizza and salad. When I went to pick up Annika from volleyball practice Lenore asked me to take the pizza out of the fridge.(Your guessing what happened next) When I returned with Annika it was still there. I lay down on the couch to read for a few minutes when I heard Annika say. "Why is the pizza on the kitchen floor?" Further investigation revealed an uneatable mess of dough and cheese with all of the Canadian Bacon missing.Badger must have really enjoyed it!Our wonderful daughter volunteered to drive back downtown and with her own money bought us a new pizza. Ya gotta love her more than the dog for that.
This morning I captured him sitting in the soft morning sun just after sunrise. It was hard to picture him eating our pizza.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Who is That Looking at Me?

The dawn broke this morning with heavy smoke from the Wye and Pass fires in the Mendocino Range to the east of us. You could smell and taste the smoke in the air. This morning was different than all of the mornings for the past twelve years and not because of the smoke. Today was the first day of school that Jay wasn't here to help start it off as he is away at college starting his first day.I wish my son the best of luck. Lenore and Annika went off to school and I was left to an empty house. I puttered around and cleaned the kitchen but it felt kind of lonely today without all the hustle and bustle of an active household. I went out and restocked all of the bird feeders as they have been getting neglected these past few weeks. I photographed a few images of the sun and then I sat in my photo blind out front. Only one Western Gray Squirrel stopped by and it seemed a little startled by the sound of the shutter as it looked my way.Well time to move onto some more house cleaning.

God's precious love to all,

chris

Digging Into the Past

Today I was looking through my digital files and I ran across some of my very first images taken with a DSLR in 2004. At that point in time I was still shooting with both film and digital at the same time as I wasn't even sure how to market work with a digital camera.

We went to Death Valley to see the wildflowers bloom. They had the most rain they had in over a hundred years.It rained heavily off and on for the whole time we were there.Badwater was a huge lake. Many sections of the park were impassable.Between storms the clouds were spectacular.we had a great time and I slowly was learning to master my new camera.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris