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DAVE WROTE: Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. We have been exploring swamps and marshes in our upstate NY area. Many people consider swamps to be useless areas. They hold some very different and interesting birds. You have to work to find them but when you do there are often great birds. Here are some pictures of an American Bittern we found a few nights ago. Bitterns are members of the Heron family. They call and display in the spring to attract a mate and hold a territory. I’ve got some great Rail pictures also I’ll send you in a week  or so.  Dave

I WROTE: It is fun to play with PhotoShop to make Photo Art – Why? – I have no idea but I do spend a lot of fun-time doing it – I will show you here the steps I went through just having fun:

Dave Wrote:  Hi Jim, Here are some pictures of American Woodcock for the blog. Woodcock are a somewhat odd member of the shorebird family. They inhabit and nest in deciduous woods. In the spring the males find an open clearing near where they live. At dusk they display on the ground making a peent call. They fly up towering quite high. They descend to earth making a strange twittering sound with the end primary feathers of their wings. They are also called Timber doodles or Sky Dancers.  A little luck involved to get the bird just as it was taking flight.  Dave

MY QUOTE OF THE DAY – “Judge a person by their curiosity rather than their answers.”  

You all know I spend a lot of time outdoors.  I see many very interesting things but on this particular bike ride I saw animals and their curiosity:

Dave Wrote:    Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. Birds at our feeders during and after yesterday’s spring snow storm. We got 6 inches of heavy wet snow. The feeders were very active as to be expected with the snow. The Brown Thrasher was an unexpected treat as we don’t often get them here.   Dave

I have been playing around with PhotoShop to create art – 1.  A painted dog, and  2.  an abstract of stuff.

Dave Wrote:    Hi Jim, I was able to get out to my photo blind a few days ago. Here are some shots of Wood Ducks on the pond. Lots of action as the sun was going down so not the greatest light.  Dave

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, Greetings from the Rome, NY area. It is snowing here. My feeders are very active with the snowy weather. Here are a few birds at the feeders. A Fox Sparrow, a White-throated Sparrow, a male Cardinal.and the treat of the morning a male and a female Bluebird on the stub posts I put up near the feeders. Bluebirds don’t eat seeds at the feeders but birds attract birds. It is too cold and the water is too high to get out to my blind to shoot Wood Ducks. Supposed to warm up later in the week.  Dave

I love to see Dave’s birds in the snow – I want to show you a couple of my iPhone snaps of a “day-in-my-life” here in NO-SNOW-TGO:

I wrote:  Hope you are looking forward to seeing some pictures from Dave taken in upstate NY.  Dave told me that in a week or two he would send photos of Wood Ducks and more.

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. Our time here is growing short. We’ll be heading north in a week or so. I will be sending you pictures from our home area in upstate NY. Seems like we just got here and it is time to go. Dave

Now My Story:

There is an old adage about sitting on your hands at a meeting.  Somehow I forgot about it at our Photo Club meeting last Friday.

Members at the meeting were saying they felt many people in TGO were not aware of the excitement we members have for our club and the great things that it does for our TGO community.

Well, I raised my hand and now I am the new “Community Relations Officer” with the job of getting people in TGO to be aware of us.

You can help me – tell your friends and neighbors about our web sites, our wall displays, our meetings, and our photo trips.

But for now – I want to show you an iPhone photo of the sky I took a couple days ago:

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, We found a group of 100 plus White Pelicans out on the refuge this morning. I had too much lens on so I couldn’t get the whole flock on the water. Shooting with my 500 mm that worked great for some flying shots. I’m quite pleased with the flying shots. This is the most White Pelicans we’ve seen the whole season.   Dave

ON TO A NEW SUBJECT, GIVING THOUGHTS TO MY KIDS VIA WORDS AND DEEDS.

I am at the age where my kids are retiring and beginning to face, yipes, old age.  So, I tell them I have never really retired – I just do different things. 

I can not say I have started to do the things I enjoy doing.  I always really enjoyed, quote, working or should I call it playing?  Playing is what I always did at work.  But, now I do need to plan my work/play.  No boss is telling me what to do – I have to decide on my own.  To me, that is what hobbies are all about.  

For example, Dave Cesari has posted, here, some of the most great photos of those white Pelicans – I am sure no one told him to did it – I bet he enjoyed being out hunting for them and using his camera in a professional way to get those flying shots. And, I bet he planned the trip on his own – no boss told him to get up and do it! I call that a hobby.

Here is some stuff I read:  Hobbies provide seniors with an opportunity to socialize, a new experience, methods to improve physical health and relieve stress, a better sense of community and strong sense purpose. It is important for seniors to engage in rewarding activities that enhance wellbeing, self-esteem and individual satisfaction:

A hobby can be beneficial for you in more ways than one.

• Physical activity leads to better health. …
• It will sharpen your mind. …
• Productivity is good for those used to always going. …
• Social connection promotes happiness. …
• It will relieve some stress.

  

  

Dave wrote:  Hi Jm, Here are some pictures for the blog.  Eastern Meadowlarks. Meadowlarks and all the grass land birds are in serious trouble in the north eastern US. In Florida they are doing quite well on some of the large  interior cattle ranches.   Dave

Mary Oliver wrote -“ Meadowlark, when you sing it’s as if,  You lay your yellow breast upon mine and say,  Hello, hello and are we not of one family in our delight of life?”

I want to tell you, I had such great fun as a Photo Club member making 4 photos to hang in the porch of the Manor House.   All Photo Club members submitted what must be at least 35-40 photos to hang in that porch gallery – I urge you to go there and browse – You will enjoy. The Club volunteers spent hours hanging the photos and they will hold an open-house reception on March 5. THANKS TO THEM!

Here are three of mine they hung – I called them my “Sometimes…. Series”

After Dave’s owls, I posted a couple of my “out and about” iPhone street-photos – I enjoy looking at them after I snapped them – Tell me if you enjoy them too.

Dave wrote: Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. Screech Owls come in two color morphs red and gray.  This bird is a red morph Screech Owl. Morph is the correct term not color phase.   Dave

Now:  iPhone street-photos by me: