Marvelous Munchies

With the advent of spring we are getting some warmer days tossed in with some pretty chilly ones. On the warmer evenings the moths are starting to show up at our porch light. Moths are an extremely significant food source in spring for bats, owls and many, many birds. The bats, owls and birds feed upon the adult moths and in later spring the caterpillars from the moths make a up a major portion of many a baby birds diet. What many people think of as a pest is a very important link in our environment. Here is one I found just outside our front door this morning. It was very easy to photograph as it was pretty chilly out and it wasn't wanting to fly anywhere. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris Image created with a Canon 7D MkII and a 100mm macro lens. The camera was supported with a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 heavy duty ballhead. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1/40th of a sec.#TeamCanon

Watching Them Slowly Disappear

I moved away from the Front Range of Colorado in 1972. At that time there was quite a bit of open space in between the cities and towns along the I-25 corridor. Periodically over the years since leaving I have been making trips to visit friends and relatives in Colorado and Wyoming. At every visit I have watched those open spaces slowly start to shrink and close. It's a lot like watching a group of frogs in a pot of water very slowly heating up on a stove. Most of the frogs don't realize the water is suddenly boiling before it is much too late. Some of the frogs do feel the heat and they jump out. Similarly and luckily some city and county governments along the Front Range had foresight and established open space and parks for the people and wildlife to enjoy. Sadly that is not the case for the Prairie dogs pictured here. This Prairie dog colony on the east side of Loveland, Colorado near Denver Ave and East First Street is about to disappear. A couple of years ago when I visited there was a big for sale sign up on the property. When I visited this time in early September there was a sold sign and grade stakes had been set showing that they were getting it ready for construction. These images are most likely going to be the last Prairie Dog images that I will ever take here. It is so sad to see them disappear. We are stewards of the land that God has given us and we need to be mindful how we care for it. I can only hope that the company that now owns this property does the right thing and traps and relocates these Prairie Dogs and doesn't just bulldoze them under.BTW the survival rate for relocated Praire Dogs isn't that great. God bless, chris All images were photographed from my rental car with a Canon 7DmkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens #TeamCanon

Rain Birds

Thank you Lord for the rain today. With the rain came the Varied Thrush. They always seem to come out when it rains. Early this afternoon the thrushes came two and three at a time to the bird feeders. Unfortunately for me I really wasn't set up for photographing them so I ended up photographing them through the window which isn't the optimum method for photographing birds. Still I like the end result. it shows the thrushes pretty well in the damp environment in which they live. God's love and blessings to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 at 340 mm. Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 800, F5.6, Shutter speed 1/30th of a sec.

Gas Spill and Just Thinking

This morning was spent running errands to Ukiah in the rain. I had to stop and buy gas. When I hopped out of the car the first thing I noticed was all the rainbow colors from some spilled gas on the pavement.That looks pretty cool I thought and grabbed my camera. While my car was filling I created a few images of some redwood needles lying amidst the spill. When I was finished and returning the handle to the pump I spilled some gas!

While driving away I thought of a variety of thoughts. The first was that it was interesting that a small piece of a Redwood Tree ended up on the pavement next to the gas pump.I live in Redwood country so it's pretty easy for it to get there from being on a car or truck.Perhaps from its tires or the rain washed it off from the top of the vehicle. Then my mind went to the gas. Nationwide there are thousands of gas stations with little gas spills just like the one I just witnessed. Would I want to drink water that had gasoline in it? How much would I be willing to put up with? I pictured a lake and a hand dropping in gasoline from a container. Not the same thing but then end result is the same. Gas and other chemicals do end up in our water supplies.It's an added expense to put filtered drains around gas stations but that's what's required now.Where do we draw the line on how far we need to go to protect ourselves and the environment? How much are we willing to pay at the pump? How far do we go to legislate the control and protection of ourselves and our environment? Lot's of questions sprang to mind that I had no answers for. Just thinking...

God's love and blessings to all,

chris