Currently the second most prolific bird in the backyard.  White-crowned Sparrow.

As some of you may know, you can buy hanging baskets full of appropriate small bird nesting material.  I enjoyed an hour of watching and photographing a series of House Sparrows as they attempted (successfully) to remove said materials.

American Goldfinch

You will note than on those rare occasions when I make some backyard bird photos I rarely (anymore) make an attempt to make sure my subjects are away from manmade objects like feeders, fences, bird baths and so forth.  I put in many years accomplishing that and I rarely try to do it anymore.  The birds and I are both in the backyard and that is just what I will show in my pictures.  In the 1980s turning pro in nature photography had its rewards.   In 2010/2011 turning amateur also has some rewards.

When I choose pictures for my daily blog, it is generally quite a dilemma for me.  Do I re-show pictures that I ave shown many times before?  Should I search my files for images that I have never shown before?  When I make a few pictures like I did yesterday, my problem has been solved.  Or has it?  The three species that I am showing today are of birds I have photographed many, many times before.  Those newer pictures that I have shown this spring of Cardinals and such, are still photos of bird species that I have shown many times.  Other birds that are visiting the feeders include Chipping Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Chickadees, Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.  Some pretty cool birds but still old hat.  I am toying with the idea of, until I finally stop blogging, only writing articles and not including pictures.  There will not likely be any more killer shots of interesting wildlife.  It is even less likely there will be any spectacular landscapes.  Are words more powerful than pictures or is it true that a picture is worth a thousand words?  Words only?

Words Mean Things

Words can be the affirmation we need to carry on.  Words can be so powerful that we are reduced to tears.  Or anger.  Or joy.  Or laughter. Or inspiration. They can build us up, and tear us down. They can be divine or evil.

Just the opposite of most people I listen intently to what politicians say.  Yes they do lie but there is always a sliver of truth hidden between the lies.  That is what tells me what they really mean.  Much the same with lawyers. Used car salespeople. The truth is in there somewhere.  Words do mean things.

Some people are incredibly straightforward and to the point.  I can be that way when I am angry or short on time.  When I write non how-to articles I would much rather use metaphors and allow the readers to immerse themselves as deep as necessary into my words to find out what I really mean.  Reading should be an adventure.  I guess to me everything should be an adventure.  You should anticipate every turn in the road.  You should wonder what is on the other side of that “hill of words”.

Still in the end it will not be words that will define who we were.  It will be how we lived and what we did.