Wild Rose and Pine Forest

The skies were gray today and there was a light rain coming down throughout the day. Perfect for getting under the forest canopy and making some images of wildflowers!

Above image: Water droplets on a blade of grass after a rainy night. Shot with a Canon EF 100mm macro lens.

Spring Evening at High Falls

Grand Portage State Park, MN. The water level at High Falls right now is perfect for doing long exposures and capturing many layers of water. Get there and visit the falls now while the water conditions are optimum for this kind of shot!

These photos were taken a few days ago at Grand Portage State Park in Northeast Minnesota. After the ice broke up on the river this year, the water level was initially at a level of 3.5 feet. A few days after the ice-out, the river level was at 8 feet. Since then, the river level dropped a bit to just over 5 feet, but it is now on the rise again. With more moisture in the forecast for the next day or two, it may reach 8 feet again (or more!). This weekend is shaping up to be another great one to view the falls... come out and see it while the water is high!

Sunsets

One of the surprising aspects of the wet start to the year has been the number of spectacular sunsets that have appeared. In truth, I've missed most of them by virtue of not having a camera handy at the time, but those I have captured reveal an often ignored side of this type of climate.
In other news, I have to admit that my inspiration for writing blog posts wanes a little at this point. The ride reports will continue of course, but the other things don't seem to hold the same interest. It's almost as if just about every aspect of cycling has been argued, discussed and analysed so many times over that there really seems little left to argue about. I'm sure the inspiration will return when something manages to annoy me, but right now, it just isn't there.

Cause and effect

The chain of events:

Early one morning, an otter is caught red-handed, gnawing on a freshly killed grass carp.

Attempts at closer otter photography only serve to scare him away.

Late the same afternoon, a juvenile Bald Eagle shows up, for the first time ever.

He flies over the fish several times,

before roosting nearby.

The next morning he's there again, and appears to be eyeing the fish. Harassed by hawks, he leaves before getting too close to the fish.

Later in the day, the cleanup crew arrives.

Jasmine has issues with them off and on throughout the day.

Black Vultures are more aggressive than Turkey Vultures, and kept their kinder, gentler cousins away from the kill for most of the day. The frustrated TVs performed a lot of posturing.

I presume this means "I'm bad" in vulture language.
-----
Cast of players:
Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis), black-hearted fish-stealer
Grass Carp, aka White Amur (Ctenopharyngodon idella), triploid (sterile) pond-saver
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), American icon
American Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), raven-vulture clothed in black as for mourning
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), misunderstood purifying one
Jasmine the Wonder Dog (Canis lupus familiaris), a Great Pyrenees
-----
American Black Vultures are the ones with white just at the tips of their wings. Turkey Vultures have white all along the bottom underside.
Internet searches agree that Black Vultures are the more aggressive, but seem to say that the wing-spreading is only for warmth. That did not appear to be the case in these birds. It looked more like dominance behavior among the birds who had not been allowed to eat.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas! Happy Yule! Happy Holiday!





I very much appreciate each and every one of you - including the 'secret readers'.





George and I would also like to wish a Very Merry Christmas to the boys in Kazakhstan.





A special greeting to you, Jonny. I hope your holiday in Thailand is going well. Everyone from home, plus several people from the village send you their love.

Big hugs and lots of love from your Mum.xxx





I still have a couple of gifts to wrap and an old film to watch.





So, Goodbye for now,





Elaine

x

THERE'S A WALLABY BOUNCING ROUND THE GRAVEYARD...

The wallaby is bouncing around in the graveyard, opposite the pub! Dawn (landlady of the Railway Tavern) has just rung me for the phone number of the watermill. It is blowing a gale here, the rain has started and it is pitch black out there. Silly boy should have picked his time a bit better than that.





Today was special asI managed to get my wellies on for the first time in two and a half weeks. Very fortunate really because the weather forecast is pretty wet and horrible for the next few days.





I walked Toby and the cats round the wood - Pip refused to come out as she had already been round with George. It is looking beautiful at the moment - especially when I compare it to how dreadful it was when we first took it over. All that hard work is really paying off.





The cats loved it, they were especially playful and crazy because the wind was blowing hard, the leaves make a crisp, crunchy sound which they seem to like -and they are young and energetic cats anyway.

They ran up trees, down trees, chased Toby, chased one another, stalked the hens, and had a great time. It was a tonic to watch them.

the owl box doesn't seem to have any residents of any kind that I can spot.

Perhaps we will have more luck next year.

I took a quick tour of the garden





There are still some lovely flowers to be found.





Tomorrow we have to take the Aged Aunt to Grimsby to do a few things, then we'll take her for a bite to eat before taking her home - this means that I may not get time to do a post Jonny -, but if I do have the time (and more importantly, the energy) then I am hoping to do it about the truly exciting subject of the drainage system.





I know, I can hardly wait! Just joking. Your Pa wants me to show you the work he has been doing and he has taken photos as he has gone along so that you will know what is what and where it is located.





Lots of love,





Mum

xxx

Mother's Day - Cairngorms style

If you live beside the Cairngorm mountains, you probably do covet a Mother's Day gift of...climbing thingies. Perhaps a climber among my readers can tell me exactly what they are.

Today is Mother's Day in the UK, and this was the seasonal decor in the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore yesterday. The cafe was packed - people queuing up on the stairs to get in - so my photo-framing opportunities were limited. Still, I brazened it out, to the sound of husbandly eye-rolling. (For daughterly eye-rolling, see St Andrews jewels)

Georgia History Begins in Savannah

Darcie and I spent Thursday night of last week at a B&B called The Azalea Inn in Savannah; wonderful place if you ever get the chance.
Originally booked as a 35th anniversary get-away for dear husband and myself, he said that if he's only going to be an hour away from home, he'd rather stay in his own bed. "Fine," says I. "I'll just take Darcie." And I did. I showed him.
We're learning Georgia History this year, so I thought this would be a great time and place to start.
Unfortunately, newly-turned-thirteen-year-old daughter doesn't like history. The travesty. I think she's adopted. I love history. Adore it even. Sigh....
So, my plan of attack was to walk through the historic district holding the shopping carrot over her; history first...shopping second. It pretty much worked.
This was the first time I've walked from one end of the historic district to the other. It's only about a mile one way. I do that all the time. But walking on uneven bricks and cobblestones, dodging traffic, taking endless photos, reading the map, etc. is pretty physically draining.
We just scratched the surface. Wait till she goes to Fort Jackson, Fort Pulaski, Fort Sumter, Fort Sunbury, etc. I may have to promise her unlimited use of my Visa!

Strawberries, anyone?

Along the banks of the River Tay, Scotland's strawberry fields are gearing up for an early crop.

This area has always been famed for its soft fruit, but the season now is vastly expanded by the use of polytunnels and horticultural fleece. In my childhood strawberries didn't appear until the end of June. My father always used to visit the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh around the 23rd of June (he was a grain merchant, and this was - and is - the main social gathering of the farming world). He would return with a couple of punnets of precious early strawberries, at least a week before our northern berries in Moray were ripe.
Below, the tunnel doors are closed to increase the heat. I think the plants in these tunnels are growing in raised beds, to make picking easier. Meantime my own plants at the allotment are sitting thinking about putting forth a few new leaves. We'll be having traditionally-timed strawberries in June.

A Drive to Deadwood

The weather looks like it will be decent so we brave a drive up to Deadwood via Spearfish Canyon.







We take some time to Stop at the Rochford Mall - touted as the smallest Mall in America

But then all roads seem to lead to Rochford

We grabbed a bite to eat at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon.

We arrive in Deadwood

Wild Bill Hickock was shot to death in Deadwood. He was in a card game at Saloon No. 10 and had his back to the door he was shot by Jack McCall - he was holdinga pairaces and and a pair of 8's now known as the Deadman's hand





They do live re-enactmentson the Streets and in some of the Historic Buildings all during the day.

If you like gambling this is the town for you - there are 8-10 large Casinos and up to 80 gaming places with Slots. We are not the gambling type so we go to the Adams Museum instead.from there we decide to drive up Boot Hill. Gary spots an ornate house in the distance so we drive by - it turns out to be the Historic Adams House so we stop and do the tour. The Historic Adams House was built in 1892 by Harris and Anna Franklin. Described as "the grandest house west of the Mississippi."Harris and Anna Franklin’s son Nathan bought the house for $1 in 1905. In 1920, Nathan Franklin sold the house to W.E. and Alice Adams for $8,500. Adams' second wife Mary closed up the house in 1936, two years after W.E.'s death, leaving the contents and furnishings intact. It sat vacant for 51 yearswhenin 1987Mary sold the mansion to a couple who renovated the house and operated it as a bed and breakfast inn until 1992 . They sold the home to the City of Deadwood’s Historic Preservation Commission. All of Mary's furniture, personal belongings, toiletries and even a jar of cookies were still inside!

While touring the House another couple asks if we've been to Spearfish, we say it's next on our list and they tell us not to miss the Fish Hatchery. Well we try to follow other's suggestions - especially if they're free!So off we go!

Established in 1896, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives, formerly Spearfish National Fish Hatchery, is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in the country dedicated to fish culture and resource management. The hatchery was constructed to propagate, stock, and establish trout populations in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.

There's an underground viewing station

The original Hatchery and fish runs

a Replica of one of the original Fish Train Carsused to transport the fish to the Ponds

There is also the historic caretaker's house and a Museum in the Old Hatchery



Agreat little hidden treasure. Time to head home and we pass a beautiful waterfall along the way.

Further down the road we see a large brown animal in the road which at firs looks like a statue as we get closer we realize it is an Elk - by the time I get the camera out and on they disappear into the woods but I managed to get a shot though it's not very clear. Now the only animals we haven't seen are the Mt.Lion and Big Horn Sheep!