California Quail

This morning I was out on the ranch. Last week they trimmed the apple trees around the pasture where I photograph. I piled up all the cuttings and the quail seem to really like the resulting brush pile.Now every time I arrive at the blind I'm greeted by some quail.They all take off but work there way back later. This has given me the added bonus of some opportunities to photograph some quail.

God's blessings to all,

chris

First Goldfinch of the Year

The Goldfinches have begun arriving. I even saw an American Goldfinch in breeding colors that came to the feeder just once today. Hopefully that will be a sign of things to come this spring. Here is the best Goldfinch image from today.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Now We're Talking Turkey

There is a rafter (group or flock)of turkeys that regularly visit my bird feeders. Typically they come right around ten o'clock.Yesterday when I was restocking the feeders I noticed that one of them left a calling card on the ground.Naturally I was drawn to creating an image of it.

God's love and blessings to all of you,

chris

Going Post (al)

Yesterday I spent a great morning in the photography blind. For my set up I placed two mossy posts next to the feeders for the birds to land on when they came into the feeder. I had plenty of House Finches and Nuthatches and Juncos come in for for some seed to eat.Here are a few samples from the many images I created.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Something to Get excited About

I spent a good part of the morning setting up a new photography blind out on the Burris Ranch in the Little Lake Valley. After it was set up naturally I wanted to give it a try. Less than a minute after I zipped the door shut a Starling came into the feeder. Starlings aren't exactly uncommon but they sure are beautiful close up.

It was great to sit in the blind today. The sun was out and I could hear a small waterfall on the creek near the blind. The Red Shouldered Hawks were making there presence know by calling out periodically and their shadow flitting across my field of view made their presence known to all the small birds in the area as well as they dove for cover.

Quite a variety of birds came into the feeders today. When I was packing up the first Goldfinches I have seen for awhile came to the feeder. I'll have to photograph them next time around. It was a beautiful day to be out.

God's light and love to all,

chris

Living Up to Its Namesake

The clouds cleared for a short time yesterday afternoon giving me a clear view of the Mendocino Mountain Range. The range lies to the east of where I live west of Willits, California. Some of the peaks Anthony Peak and Mount San Hedrin rise over 6,000 feet with Snow Mountain climbing to over 7,000 feet to an elevation of 7,043 feet. Yesterday evening Snow Mountain lived up to its namesake as it was covered in a layer of beautiful snow.

God's precious love and blessings to all,

chris

Let Sleeping Cats Lie

Today I had grandiose plans to do some bird photography.But first I had three or four things on my to do list to take care of. When I dragged myself out of bed this morning I thought to myself, "This shouldn't take too long..." Roughly eight hours later I was still at it and it was almost time to pick up the kids from school.I just gave up on the idea and went and photographed the cat sleeping. He seemed rather annoyed by it.

God's love and blessings to everyone,

chris