Piney Z Lake at Dusk:Part II

I was eager to get to Piney Z lake today at dusk which means I can't have dinner with mom and dad so I begged off to go kayaking. I am beginning to figure out how to use light and to set my camera so I can get the lighting I want. But it has taken me a long time without any lessons...

I thought that egrets would be flocking on the lake on Saturday and when I arrived I was delighted to find this was the case. At dusk... egrets, woodstorks, cormorants, anhingas, and ibises fly in to roost.

A fisherman enjoys the last of the day.

I think the aerodynamics of the woodstork make for dramatic shots. they look so primitive yet modern and sleek when they take off and fly. The flapping of their wings is unique.

The foliage on PineyZ is turning now.

Goodbye to this little gem of a lake just a hop, skip, and jump from my home.

Thanksgiving day on a spring fed river

I've taken this shot before but it is such a pretty part of the river right now that I took another one.

This egret snagged a delicious Thanksgiving treat. There are a great number of birds on the river now including many great egrets, cormorants, redshouldered hawks, turkeys, warblers, kingfishers, yellowlegs, and of course pileated woodpeckers. I spotted two turkeys gobbling near Blue Spring...thankful to have outfoxed the hunters...I also ran into Shug Parnell again with his pretty dog. He had been to Perry to get his turkey breast and to visit his friend and an ex-wife in facilities there. He told me that some hunters were now getting turkeys and carving the breast out and throwing away the rest of the bird: too lazy to use it all up. He agreed with his cousin Mallory Horne or "Horne" as he calls him, that if you hunt turkeys you should use the entire bird and do the plucking and dressing yourself. Shug is about eighty six years old.

One of these days I am going to figure out how to upload my photos in the order in which they are shot...I've been so busy with my obligations I have spent too little time on the river. I expect to get out again very soon.

Veteran's Day Salute to my Dad

Butterflies and Bees