It’s All in How You Look at It

Do you find this picture depressing?

Wait. Click on the image so you can see the full-size version before you answer.

Okay. Now, do you find this picture depressing?

At first glance, I did. I mean, it’s sort of dark. The trees look dead. The marsh grass is all brown.

But the more I looked at it, really looked, I found it sort of peaceful. It’s like a different world in a way. It’s certainly different than the world most of us live in. It’s a place where all you would be likely to hear is the sound of water lapping against the grass with the ebb and flow of the tides, the wind rustling the grass, birds calling, geese honking. Occasionally, you might hear the shrill scream of a hawk.

It’s not a place where you’d have to endure hurtful comments from complete strangers. If you don’t follow that link and read the blog post it takes you to, you won’t know why I so want to fly to Provo, Utah where I would hunt down and kick the ass of that stupid, STUPID woman who could be so completely insensitive and say such a thoughtless thing to one of my heroes. You don’t have to follow the link to know the stupid sort of stuff people can say.

We all have days when we feel down. Tired. Exhausted. Depressed. Pissed off. Whatever.

For me, yesterday was a pissed-off day. I’m thinking it’s mostly PMS. Exacerbated, of course, by various things I had to deal with throughout the day. I won’t bore you with the details. Just trust me when I say it wasn’t a happy day.

I woke up this morning optimistic. Hoping today would be better. Then I read NieNie’s blog (to which the aforementioned link leads). She’s such a beautiful person. And she always reminds me that I really have absolutely nothing to complain about.

But when I read what that idiotic cow of a woman said to her, it just pissed me off again. It really made me just want to scream. Jeez, people. Think about what you say before you say it.

I already know my day is going to be unpleasant. Mostly ’cause my job can sometimes be a real pain-in-the-ass. For a variety of reasons. I know you don’t want or need to know the reasons. I KNOW it could be way worse. I just had to throw out there that work is the primary source of my frustration. But, as Hubby says, it’s a necessary evil. (Not that hearing that helps the least little bit…)

Anyway… I’ll stop whining now, suck it up and move on. Maybe things will get better as the day progresses. Maybe. I don’t have high hopes, but one never knows what the day will bring.

I should add the following picture to my desktop…

I can’t look at that image and not smile…

A Glorious October Friday

Today was a glorious day. The weather wasn’t picture-perfect, but I wasn’t working, I finally got to visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, where I saw lots of cool critters, and I ended the day in Ocean City, Maryland with two former colleagues and a friend of theirs. We got to do some catching up over an Italian dinner that was way better than I’d ever expect for Ocean City. And tomorrow I’m going to do a 5k.

The weather not being perfect was actually a good thing. If it was a bright, sunny day, I wouldn’t have gotten as many cool pictures as I did. Too much bright light is bad. Especially in Fall, when leaves are past peak and the colors are all so darn warm. If the light were too harsh, the images would not have looked nearly as dramatic.

It’s late and I have a 5k to do tomorrow morning, so I am just posting a few of my favorite images without commentary.

Remember, if you want a better look, click on each image for a larger view.








Catch the Colors While You Can

It’s time again for Wordless Wednesday. What’s Wordless Wednesday? My excuse to remain wordless (almost) one day a week. You’re supposed to post an image or images that leaves the viewer speechless or requires little, if any, explanation. I think the latter is true this week…



Better Bird Pictures

Can you believe it? I had nothing better to do yesterday, so I went back to Conowingo and captured this picture.

Don’t believe it? Good. ‘Cause I am pulling your leg. This is a Bald Eagle in captivity, taken when Hubby and I visited the Alaska Raptor Center during our visit to Sitka, Alaska in 2008. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, unless you have a big, expensive camera lens or are very close to a bird, it’s hard to get good bird pictures. Here are a couple of their other captive birds.

This is a Peregrine Falcon.

And this is a Golden Eagle.

Don’t be sad that these birds are captive. They are only being held here because they couldn’t survive in the wild. The Alaska Raptor Center rehabilitates birds.

I didn’t explain in yesterday’s post why I went to Conowingo. I mean, I’ve lived in this area for 42 1/2 years and never knew eagles congregate at the dam during the winter. It just so happens that I read about it on a Flickr “friend’s” blog. I don’t know the guy really. I just like looking at his pictures, because he takes really good ones. His name is Jon, aka Nikographer, and I was introduced to his work by another Flickr “friend” — Alaska Dave — in Soldotna, Alaska. I met AKDave when researching our Alaska trip. Dave introduced me to Jon, which is sort of funny since Jon lives in Northern VA. Small world…

So, back to the why. It was through Nikographer Jon that I learned about the eagles at Conowingo. I also learned about a cool place called the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (BHNWR), in Smyrna, Delaware, through Jon. If you didn’t click on the BHNWR link, you missed some amazing Red Fox pictures. He is also the reason I went to Wheaton Regional Park where I captured a nice great blue heron photo.

I’ve mentioned all of this before, but in case you don’t remember, I had to explain again. If you missed my last discussion about these guys, you also missed a very cool Snow Geese video.

If all goes as planned, I may actually get to visit BHNWR on Friday. I’ll sort of be in the area since I’m doing a 5k on Saturday in Ocean City, MD. The plan is to detour through Smyrna on the way. Maybe I’ll get some good bird pics there. If not, that’s okay. Again, I really just want to see the Snow Geese. There’s just something magical about seeing the skies and fields full of Snow Geese and Canada Geese, not to mention hearing nothing but a cacophony of honking.

It’s a bit early in the year, so I might be disappointed. I’m hoping to get lucky though. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

On Wordless Wednesday, the Colors Speak

It’s time again for Wordless Wednesday. What’s Wordless Wednesday? My excuse to remain wordless (almost) one day a week. You’re supposed to post an image or images that leaves the viewer speechless or requires little, if any, explanation.



I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the splendor of nature while you can.