SkyWatch Friday

I have a lot of family living in Idaho. Both my mom and dad have roots in Idaho. So we tend to go up quite often to visit family and for reunions. Last summer we went up for a reunion of family members I don't know well. But mom wanted to go, so to give her some company Kim and I went along.

It was a short, one day trip. But the company was nice, and the scenery was beautiful and rustic.

Lots of fields of corn, hay, and alfalfa. Old barns. Silos. Clean air. That occasional farm aroma. I had the chance to meet some great-aunts and uncles that I had never met before. And of course, a beautiful sunset through the clouds.

To see other skies, visit SkyWatch Friday. You won't be sad you did.

Bird Photography Weekly

I am a bit late joining in this week, but better late than never, eh?

After last week's rain storms, we finally got some more snow, and that seemed to make the birds come out to the feeders en masse. One of our frequent visitors is the Black Billed Magpie. A lot of people really dislike this bird. They are loud, obnoxious, greedy, messy. But they really are quite pretty.

Enjoying a little nibble of suet.

Look at the tail on that beauty!

Magpies, along with a few other species, are also natural garbage collectors, and help keep the planet clean. So despite their obnoxiousness, I am rather fond of Magpies.

To see other birds from around the world, click on the link below. And you don't have to be a professional photographer (heaven knows I'm not) to join in. So if you have some images of birds, feel free to share them with the world!

Six Random Things

Mike, from The Feather and the Flower tagged me a while ago to do this meme. I've seen it around, have read several other bloggers random things, but this is my first tag to do it. Okay, I'll give it a shot. But I warn you, I am not always the best at thinking of random things...well, maybe that's not exactly true. I do think of very random things, but not usually about myself.

But first, the rules:

Here are the rules for Six Random Things:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

****

1. I often stop and say hello to the stars at night. Especially when a new season rolls around and I see a constellation I haven't seen all year. It's like meeting up with an old friend again.

2. I think hoodies are wonderful things. And when you wear them with a ball cap, the hood turns with your head, giving you your full field of view.

3. I enjoy singing. I'm not a great singer, but give me a random, silly song, and I can do wonders with it. I often include a cute, educational song in my programs and force the audience to sing along with me. They love it, I know they do.

4. I've biked (under my power, not a motorcycle) across Utah and across Montana. The bike ride across Utah was just me, my sister, a friend and my mom as the support staff. It took 4 days if I remember correctly. The ride across Montana was a huge fundraiser with Pallota Teamworks, and included almost 1200 riders, to raise money to find a cure for Aids. It took 5 days. That was a truly memorable event.

5. I get car sick very easily. If I'm not driving, I can't look down, or read, or do much of anything for any amount of time that takes my eyes off the road. It's tricky on trips when I have to be the map navigator. I have to navigate in spurts.

6. I've only been out of the country one time, for about 2 hours. I crossed the border into Mexico several years ago, just to say I had. Spent some money, and came back.

Now, there are people I'd like to tag with the little meme.

Marlo, from Life at the Lake.
Luann, from Everything Plaid.
Kim from Light and Fluffy
Kate from Oregonian Jefferies
Rachel from The Preslars

Phew. That's finally done.

My Power Bird

I am also submitting this as my post for Bird Photography Weekly. I have to admit, the Dove was not the bird I imagined as my power bird. Somehow...well, it just doesn't seem really powerful. But i guess it isn't supposed to be powerful, just reflective of my personal power.

Your Power Bird is a Dove

Deep and emotional, you can connect well with almost any living creature. You bring hope and optimism to any dire situation. You are both gentle and affectionate with everyone you love. Truly nurturing, most people consider you to be a mother figure.

What's Your Power Bird?

And if I really stop to think about it, I find that these descriptions fit my best self, and I am quite content to let them settle into my psyche.

I know I have included the Mourning Dove as my Bird Photography Weekly submission in the past, it just seemed fitting to do so again today in light of my recent power discoveries.


These were taken through the window, so aren't the best, but I love that second picture... eyes closed, looking so peaceful and content.

For views of other birds, click the link below.

Bird Photography Weekly

Mourning Dove

Just sitting out on my front porch, enjoying the day, this fella came along and just hung around the edge of my yard. I love their mournful cry, and am happy to share my space with them.

For other birds from around the world, click the link below:

Bird Photography Weekly - Wild Turkeys

Last week I talked about holding a wild turkey program in the park. The weather was beautiful on Saturday. I had 13 participants. On Friday I went in search of the turkeys within the park and found them without any problem. I watched and followed them for a little while. And was hopeful they would be around the same area the next day.

The kids all made a home-made turkey call out of yarn, beads, stirring straws and feathers. They had fun practicing the cluck of the female.

We saw their scat (male), and a lot of tracks; one kid found a feather. But no turkeys. They were smarter than we were that day. Of course, that's not so hard to achieve.

But in celebration of the coming holiday, I have included two pictures of the turkeys in the park. My goal is to one day capture one strutting, with his big tail fanned out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Click the link below for other great birds!

Bird Photography Weekly

Spotted Sandpiper

It was a rare treat to have one of these stop by for a few hours earlier this summer. Shore birds don't generally find our little pond in the middle of the mountains. There are two very large reservoirs both north and south of here, so I imagine it was just passing through on its way to or from one of them. I'm glad it stopped.

Take a look at other birds by clicking on the link below.

Bird Photography Weekly

Do you ever just go through times when things are going just fine, but you don't really have anything to say, or talk about, or write about? This past week has been that for me. Nothing is really out of the ordinary, things are going well, but every time I sit down to blog, nothing comes to mind.

So I apologize for my lack of presence. I have been reading other's blogs and I always enjoy that. So thanks.

To reflect my state of unknown thoughts, for this week's Bird Photography Weekly I have decided to post a picture of a bird which I am fairly sure is an empid, but beyond that I have no clue.

It's a pretty little thing amongst all that green. This was taken earlier this summer of course, because we certainly don't have any color in the trees anymore.

Visit other blogs and their bird postings by clicking on the link below.

SkyWatch Friday

I missed SkyWatch last Friday. So I am including several images from a quiet little walk I took around Silver Lake, in Big Cottonwood Canyon earlier this week. It was a beautiful, cool morning. Only a few people out and about. The aspens were golden, the sky was blue. And the air. What can I say about the smell and feel of the air? It just makes you want to breathe deeply.

The boardwalk heading around the lake

Golden aspens and deep blue sky

Sky's reflection

Aspens and blue sky

"Sun dog" and aspen

Final aspen and blue sky

SkyWatch Friday

It seems I've got a thing for sunsets lately. I love this sky. I was just heading out the door, on my way home from work, and this is the scene that met me. So I stuck around a little longer, enjoying the sunset, and the shifting clouds.

Even though pictures are nice, they generally don't do natural beauty justice. So get out there and enjoy some natural beauty. And then come back inside and explore the sky all over the world by visiting SkyWatch. You won't be disappointed.

Bird Photography Weekly

Again from my little local lake - an American White Pelican.

These are very cool birds - so huge, and amazing seeing them lift off the water, or soar overhead. As often as I see them, I never tire of watching them.

Join in with your bird photography. Check it out here.

6 Word Memoir Meme

I was tagged by Bevson from Behind the Bins to do this little meme. I'll admit, it was a bit tricky for me to think this deeply and profoundly. But if I can do it, you can too.

Time in nature lifts my soul.

I'm going to tag:

Average American

Light & Fluffy

The Preslars

Everything Plaid

Routine Maintenance

If you want to play here are the rules:

1. Write a six word memoir and post it on your blog with an illustration if you’d like.

2. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

3. Tag 5 more blogs with links.

4. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.