look who blew in...

I believe this is a juvenile coopers hawk. It landed in our little dahoon holly tree in our Florida backyard. I think all of the winds have upset everyone including this little guy. He stayed for awhile, mostly looking to the sky, kind of in shock, as if he didn't know what just happened to him. After my experience with our great horned owls last season I am particularly sensitive to young birds. He sat in the crotch of the tree. When I went to find him later he was gone. 

happy to be here

We flew at 43,000 feet and thank heavens for that as we were in the blue so to speak, or is that in the pink.... Whatever. When we descended it was bumpy of course, we could see the remains of Sandy as it left the Florida coast to find it's way to the northeast. The sky was crowded with greys and whites and bits of blue.

But we landed uneventfully and I headed for the beach with my camera. I sat in the wet sand with leaves flying all around me and shorebirds everywhere.They had probably been waiting for the break in the wind to feed. I must have changed lens 4 times in the calm of the back seat of the car. It was wild out there, I was impressed with the waves. This image was taken with a fast shutter speed. I was trying to show the power of the ocean, can you feel it?

transitions

This image was taken last year on the west coast of Florida. I just found it in my files because it tells a story for me. We were meant to fly this morning but the winds were too strong for a safe landing so we have postponed until tomorrow. So today I went looking for the light and found this little gem. 

Apparently we are all in transition.

Luminosity

I'm going to be a light follower. This is my newest endeavor, where it goes I shall go. I'm going to let go of my own direction and go where this light takes me. This of course means that I'm going to be getting up earlier and staying out later and running after bad weather. I wish this light didn't affect me so profoundly because other wise I could just stay in bed later with my coffee and Tully in the morning.....

Having a berry good time

The sky was so blue and the red berries so juicy that the robins and the chipmunks were having a feast. 

But this guy is a mystery to me, do you know who he might be? At first I thought he might be a juvenile robin because the tree was inundated with robins. Now I'm guessing a European Starling. I think he is beautiful. 

Below is an image of our typical robin. They are master berry catchers. 

Getting ready

Check out the cheeks.

beautiful

Asters

at Planting Fields

A fallen dance

This is what I brought back from my walk this morning. My friend Elizabeth and I agree that it looks like a praying mantis dancing the rhumba with feathers. Do you see it?

hybiscus

Bringing in the last of the garden.

Happy Birthday

Grace turns four! Balloons and dolls are a wonderful way to celebrate life. 

black and white

Foggy morning, void of color, all about waiting and watching and composing.

a little tree and the woods

I love this image. It was taken at Cades Cove in the Smoky Mts. Our teacher, Bill Lea, helped us see the light.

 Later that morning we walked quietly in the woods without the camera. Although we were hoping to see black bear we joined a white tailed deer buck who was busy leaving his scent on the tree limbs. His antlers were impressive. It always feels wonderful to be in the quiet of the woods.

Daytime night herons

Another rainy foggy day. I drove to the Mill Neck Causeway to see the birds feeding in the muck of low tide. I was not disappointed. Lots of herons and ducks and egrets, just beautiful. Just before leaving the monochromatic tidal area I checked on the black crowned night herons who live in this tree. The juveniles were together under the tree where mom was sitting. I love the way they are tucked into all the fall color.

past prime

I worked pretty hard today on my computer, it was rainy and kind of depressing out there. Tully kept stretching herself on my chair begging for a break. Lots of intermittent walks to keep both of us awake. I took a walk in the garden and lifted the last of the nasturtiums in my hand. They were cold and beginning to fold upon themselves. I brought them into the warmth of the kitchen and recorded their last moments....

a little later

This was taken 10 minutes after the sunrise image on my previous blog entry. I just changed my point of view and saw this soft foggy flow moving through these beautiful mountains. It's not often that we get to stand above the mountain tops while the sun is finding it's way to us.

very early morning

It's been ten days of silence from me. My last post was a sunset so it seems appropriate to begin again with this sunrise. 

I have returned from a wonderful photography trip to the Savannah area and then the Smoky Mountains. You can guess where this was taken. I have been slightly overwhelmed with my images, as there are over 900 of them and I'm having a hard time deciding where to begin. I am continuing to study the light and this trip gave me lots of opportunities to experiment with it. Now it's time for post processing in Lightroom....