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A Winter Legend

I remember being about 12 years old and making my counselor laugh out loud with my unexpected answer to the question she asked me. She asked if I could be any animal, what would I be. I quickly answered, “a squirrel.” She said she had never had someone give that answer before and was curious why. I said because they are clever, playful, and often up to no good.

Today is my dad’s 78th birthday. We celebrated with him at the farm, and afterwards I took a winding drive through the woods along the Pere Marquette River. To my surprise, I saw a sandhill crane in the water. I grabbed my camera and big lens and climbed halfway down the steep bank. I waited until she walked into the clearing and her reflection showed in the calm river.

I grew up listening to the mourning doves on the farm. Today, they were fighting over dropped grain in our freezer beef field. I love the combination of sharpness in the sitting dove, and movement in the fluttering one.

I am fortunate to live in an area where it doesn’t take much to see wildlife around you. I am not sure what type of bird this is, but it sure is a beauty.

Bucks at Hydro Electric Plant

Butterfly Heaven

Butterfly and wildflowers at cabin

Field of Canada Golden Rod

When I look upon the heron rookery that Don and Mary Klemm told me I could find along US 10 west of Clare, all I can think is how eerily beautiful the scene looks. This great blue heron stood out among the many herons we watched. F4.0 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

I was sitting in one of my favorite blinds at Legends Ranch on a cool mid-September morning. The ground fog was so thick in dawn’s early light that I could barely make out the bottom half of some small pine trees a few hundred yards away. As the fog began to lift, I noticed a smaller tree or bush underneath the edge of one of the pines. As I was about to look elsewhere, the bush moved and then grew two to three times in width. It was then that I realized I was actually looking at one of the most magnificent whitetail bucks I had seen in the several years of stalking bucks at the world-renowned hunting ranch near Bitely, Michigan. He was pivoting his head in my direction. I decided to name him Christmas Tree Buck due to the tree he chose to bed down by and because of the size of his rack. This was one of my most memorable mornings of my life deer hunting with camera or rifle.

Snakes startle me sometimes but I appreciate their beauty. My brother Budde discovered this garter snake while we were mushroom hunting near our Pere Marquette River cabin with my nephew Ryan and his girlfriend Erica. F3.2 at 1/500, ISO 200, 105 mm lens at 105 mm

Color Coordinated

Eric Riggs bought this brown duck when it was only a few weeks old and released it into the wetlands near his home. The duck is technically a wild critter now, but he is very friendly and curious. Julia, Ethan, and I got a kick out of his honking abilities as well. F5.6 at 1/400, ISO 1000, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Brad and I are floating a stretch of the Pere Marquette River in avid fly fisherman Larry VonDrasek's drift boat when I spot an osprey perched in a treetop as we round a bend. Fortunately, I have my camera settings ready for "jump shots" because within seconds the osprey dives off the perch and soars right over our heads. I find the fast-flying bird in my viewfinder, swing with it like a duck hunter, and pull the trigger. My digital playback shows I was right on target.

This tom turkey displays its full regalia while strutting amongst a flock of turkeys in the morning light. How can a bird that often looks ugly look so magnificent looking when it wants to? I was glad to have shot him (with my camera) during turkey hunting season. F5.0 at 1/125, ISO 250, 80-200 mm lens at 165 mm

Dotties Delight

This is my first good photo of a Caspian tern. I have not seen many of these birds around West Michigan until recent years. They are beautiful, agile and incredibly nimble in the air. Just after I made this photo, the tern dove head first into the water and came out with a nice treat for dinner in its beak. F5.0 at 1/2000, ISO 640, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Do you see them? Look closely. Do you see them now? Two fawns lying in the wet leaves. I made this image in my Uncle Rod’s backyard. He had spotted them while standing on his deck. He called me and I came out and stood in the rain to make this image.

My kids aren’t afraid of anything! Often, I must ask what is in their hand before they open their “surprise” to show me. Today it was a salamander. It brought back many memories of when I was little, and always squealed with delight at finding them, and I too rushed to show my mom and dad.