STELLAR JAYS
RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING
Birds in the rain behave quite like us when soaking wet. A little melancholy, quietly miserable, and wishing for a sunnier day like this little American Goldfinch and the juvenile Red Winged Blackbird, reflecting on never-ending rain drops plopping on their heads.
BARREL BUDDIES - Whistling Ducks
“Wait," Honey said to herself, as she realized something amazing. "I’m already an excellent flyer. Maybe I can fight crime, too." ~Emlyn Chand
NATURE:
Birds
In a world where thrushes sing and willow trees are golden in the spring, boredom should have been included among the seven deadly sins.
~Elizabeth Goudge
What I saw was just one eye
In the dawn as I was going:
A bird can carry all the sky
In that little button glowing.
~Harold Monro, Collected Poems
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PATTERNS HIDING IN PLAIN SITE
Anhingas are so common in Florida, especially in the winter. Such a rare treat to marvel at the amazing patterns in the plumage so seldom seen. Only a camera can transform a fleeting glance into a marvel to be enjoyed in all its marvelous details for endless days to come.
The anhinga, sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird."
LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON
I looked out my back window one day to discover this feathered dandy in search of love. Over many bashful minutes, this jaunty fellow sauntered around the object of his affection as timidly as a gawky teen love struck for the very first time. After much hesitation, he courageously made his move, only to discover his paramour had a heart and topknot of clay.
LIMPKIN pair live in my garden.
FROM LIFE IN NATURE TO ARTFUL IMAGE:
Image of this Black-headed grosbeak in the forest underwent basic edits in LIghtroom Classic. Itd was then sent to Photoshop 2021 enhanced through layering on several textures and manipulating them with Blend Modes and varying opacity levels. Nikon 750. 1/5sec at f/18.195 mm, Nikkor 70/200 f/2.8 lens.
GREAT BLUE HERON
A humphy-backit heron
Nearly as big as me
Stands at the waterside
Fishin for his tea.
His skinnie-ma-linkie lang legs
Juist like reeds
Cheats aa the puddocks
Soomin mang the weeds,
Here’s ane comin,
Grup it by the leg!
It sticks in his thrapple
Then slides doun his craig.
Neist comes a rottan,
A rottan soomin past,
Oot gangs the lang neb
And has the rottan fast.
He jabs it, he stabs it,
Sune it’s in his wame,
Flip-flap in the air
Heron flees hame.
~J K Annand
BROWN PELICANS at Palmetto, FL pier
SIMPLE IMAGE EVOLVES:
I photographed this shore bird at tideline, Treasure Island, FL, and decided it would benefit from creative editing. I made basic edits in Lightroom (Crop, Sharpen, Contrast, Highlights/shadows,Clarity, Texture, Saturation, etc. Then sent image to Photoshop where I edited it with Topaz All Clear. Added Johnson's DT-Minimal 3 texture from one of her many artistic collections. Go to https://www.dailytexture.com/. Finally, stroke was added in PS using Rectangular Marquee Tool>Edit>Stroke.Bottom right of image begs for a saying about spirit and nature. Thanks Jai for amazing art products.
NICE LEGS!
Amorous male meets reluctant female with heart of cold-cast bronze. Another romance doomed to fail. I watched this inquisitive heron approach his intended paramour on the little wooden dock in front of my South Lake house. At first, he kept aloof, back rigid, feigning total indifference. Finally, the desire for love demanded he make a bold move. Regret followed...after a series of well-aimed pecks on her cast bronze back failed to arouse interest, he sadly flew away.
"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all
And sweetest in the Gale is heard
And sore must be the storm —
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm —
I've heard it in the chillest land —
And on the strangest Sea —
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb — of Me.
~Emily Dickinson
I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.
~Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre