A Heron Sighting

I have some photos of a very cool bird to show you guys. Now, I'm still not entirely sure what kind of bird it is, but my best guess so far is a Blue Heron. There are just a few a details that are different from the Blue Herons I've seen photos of online. But I'm still pretty sure this is a Heron of some type. I took these photos on the same day I took those November walk photos in the last blog post.

I took a ton of photos because this bird kept changing its neck and head in new ways. Plus, how many chances am I going to get to photograph one of these?

This photo is my computer wallpaper right now. I loved the way that these different birds were coexisting. If you can make this photo any larger, you'll see that the duck was looking at me. Her mate was swimming nearby. At this point, I think the heron was entirely focused on fishing.

Again, if you can close in, take a look at this bird's yellow eye. I thought there was a sweet look to the eyes, unlike the eyes of some other herons I've seen pictures of online. 

Here it looks almost like a swan.

Look how they can scrunch up their necks.

Can you spot the heron in this pic? Without its reflection, it might be hard to spot.

A close view of its fluffy, feathery back:

And a look at its legs. The knees are something. They look almost like they can bend back. If you guys could have seen how this bird was slooooowly stalking through the water, you'd be fascinated too!

There's her mate. They were so cute. 

And what a wonderful nature preserve for all these birds to hang out in! We saw a muskrat swimming around this area last summer. There are probably all kinds of birds and animals attracted to this water.

I like this photo because the water is nearly invisible. The plants just look they're floating. It was one of those days where the sky matches the water perfectly and it all blends into this light grayish-blue.

I'm going to add a few photos of what was left of the flowers in this area. I'm not sure what these little powder puffs are. 

There are some very bright trees in the park that I am yet to identify. It's tempting to say they're pine, but they're so soft. And I haven't seen any pinecones or anything remotely like one on the ground. Any ideas?  

Here's another one:

This thistle looks like some kind of creature with outstretched arms in this stage. There are even spikes on those "arms".

Little Aster Daisies or Michaelmas Daisies:

It's hard to remember what some of these plants looked like in summer. I ended up googling Goldenrod seeds, because I remembered Goldenrod growing around that area. I'm pretty sure I was right and that's what this is!

This post seems like a good one to end on with winter on its way. These photos look like the end of a season. Happy Thanksgiving! 🍁

 

A November walk through the subtle and subdued

After the colors of October in the last blog post, we transition into the quieter tones of November. I took these photos a few days ago, on November 17. I walked around a small local park and through some tree-lined neighborhood streets looking for something beautiful in the fading November nature. 

I like the challenge of taking nature pictures at this time because what we mostly see is what I call "plant skeletons". There is beauty in just the shape or structure of a plant when it's missing its petals and all that is left is a seed pod. Without the distraction of color, you can really see the framework.

If any of you can help me identify some of these plants, that would be great! We can start with this one. I was tempted to say these were wild grapes, but they're not. They're not on a vine and the leaves aren't a fit. These were actually part of a massive shrub. 

The light was mellow that day, because I went out right after it had rained. Actually, I was being lightly rained on at the time. The sky is a milky white to gray in these, which I like for November photos. I can really see the outlines of the leaves. This is the top of a Ginkgo tree. 

This photo turned out spookier than expected. I think Tim Burton would dig this tree. It's a super massive Oak. 

Here is an up-close view of its bark. 

I rooted around under the tree, finding all different types of leaves. As much as I love the fresh and bright October leaves, I also find the thick and leathery November leaves pretty cool. These two leaves were so huge. I'd say they were slightly larger than my hand, outstretched. 

I think this is a nut after a squirrel got to it. The more I look at this, the more I notice.

These next few photos were taken in the "Children's Garden" that I've mentioned before. Any idea which plant these leaves belong to? They were part of a long vine.

The giant pumpkins they grew in the garden are still in great shape.

Any idea what this is the remnant of? I rubbed one of the leaves and it smelled nice and lemony. I know it isn't lemon balm. Maybe some form of lemon sage or mint? 

This looks like Red Yarrow to me. I know it looks too big for that here, but I closed in. I just looked up some images of Red Yarrow leaves, and they look like this. So that's what I'm sticking with. 

I may have shared this birdhouse creature before. Isn't it fun?

This is a close-up view of the top of a tree stump. I like photographing things that look plain at first, but then seem very detailed later. 

This one was taken off a bridge I have mentioned earlier. I love standing on this little bridge and looking down at the creek moving. This is very close to that tree-lined area behind the backyard with all the spooky scarecrows. 

How twisty and turny is this bark? I'm not sure what kind of tree this is.

Looking at this next pic tells me that the bark probably belonged to a maple. 

I don't recognize these next seeds, do you?

These bright seed pods belong to the European Spindle. Every year I want to say that this is Bittersweet and then need to google it. 

I know this one is Burdock, though! These may not look it, but they're soft to the touch. I was holding some of them still to take my photos. 

Pine:

Only a few weeks ago, these trees were full of yellow leaves.

It's hard to express how tall this tree is. You'd just have to see it. I can't imagine how old it is. The more I look at this tree, the more I wonder what type it is. It fans out in a way I don't think I've seen anywhere else. 

Well, there's some November nature for you! Beautiful in its own way and mysterious in the way where I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Maybe some of you will be able to help me with that. 🍂

My favorite leaf photos from this autumn

Over the last several months, I have seen a lot of beautiful autumn leaves. If I happened to have my camera with me at the time, I'd photograph them. This amounted to a lot of leaf photos! Out of those many photos, these are my favorites. We'll start out with some stained glass leaves, at least that's what I call them. I just googled "stained glass leaves" and got some really pretty results. I am probably sending someone down a shopping rabbit hole with that search suggestion!

I feel like I can almost see the process of the leaves turning colors here. Red at top, yellow at middle, and green at bottom. I'm reminded of traffic lights.

 

These leaves are from an Ash tree:

How cool are these neon green shapes in the middle? I love when this happens. I don't know if it has something to do with a sudden shift in weather or if some Maple trees just have this color formation.

Refreshing green.

 

How perfect is this blue sky with the colors of this tree?

Ginkgo leaves soon after it rained:

 

 

Even the dry leaves on the ground are looking interesting. The ground in a local park was covered with these. Actually, it feels like every piece of ground around here is covered in dry leaves lately.

I had to display this red and black beauty somewhere it would show up. The other "leaves" around the bottom of the pumpkin are actually fake ones that are on a garland.

This is another photo taken in the park. What are the chances that there would be so many colors in one bunch? These were all low growing shrubs or vines. I think the red leaves in the middle were part of a wild grape vine.

Here's another one with bright green veins. The next several pics were other lucky finds with this pattern.

 

I saw a lot of Oak leaves this fall, yet I realized I didn't take many photos of them. These red ones seem unusual. There have been tons of brown Oak leaves around.

I'm not sure what this little saw-tooth leaf was.

This was a funny one to photograph, because each time I took a picture, the wind would flip it around. I felt like the leaf was saying "Get my good side" 😄 Isn't it interesting how this curvy leaf makes a perfect, circular shadow?

One thing I like about dry leaves is that they sometimes take on a leathery look. I thought this leathery leaf looked just right on a brick path.

I carried this whole leaf bouquet home.

 

This might be my favorite leaf vein photo I've ever taken. It looks like a map, like the kind you might see if you looked at the satellite view (from a far distance) on Google Maps. It also reminds me of the view from out the window of a plane. The more I stare at this, the more I see pieces of land. It helps that the leaf is green.

I took many photos through leaves that were stuck in the grass. It's a great way to capture the light going through them without having to hold the leaf.

I still remember which hill I was walking up when I saw this. I looked down and saw what looked like a spotlight on the leaves. There must have been some shadows from the trees. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough.

I'll end with some "Squirrel Vision" through a super vibrant leaf. I took a walk through this same park today and it was actually teeming with squirrels. They were leaping around in the leaves and jumping around in the trees. It was surround sound leaf crinkling and squirrel chirping.

Were any of these leaves new to you? I know there are some people who read this blog that aren't in my area of the U.S. or in the U.S. at all. I wonder how this time of year is looking for people outside my state. I know that we are lucky in the Midwest as far as colorful fall leaves go and I'm aware that there are some Eastern states that are lucky with this too. In fact, I heard recently that some Eastern states are having issues with too many people traveling there to take selfies with the leaves. These people are clogging up traffic, etc. I guess we're doubly lucky here then - all the great leaves without those pesky people in the way of them! 😉 We just have so many squirrels...