Another fine mess. Caught this female Ruddy Duck in a Colorado pond. Every time she made a dive she would return with pond weeds all over her back. I liked the shot but my hope was that sooner or later her head would have a few strands attached. It never happened. The plants you see did not prevent her from flying.

Tree Swallow.  We should change the name of these guys to Bluebird Box Swallows due to their nesting site choices. They are pretty in the sunshine.

A female Purple Martin coming at you.  P Martins are our largest Swallow.

Swainson’s Hawk, Wyoming. In the central west the Swainson’s are about as common as Red-tailed Hawks are in most of the country.  They are generally unconcerned with your presence.

Launch…… Red-tailed Hawk.

There is nothing more satisfying than when a wild animal completely accepts you.  This kit wandered around the rocks for a while, stopped, stared at me once, and fell asleep a few feet from me. Adult foxes usually will not stare us in the eyes, for fear that we will take that as an act of aggression, or a challenge.  Really young kits rarely stare because like most babies, they don’t even know what you are. Older kits like this one will occasionally focus on you.  Please note that I did not approach a fox that had laid down to sleep.  I photographed a fox that had decided to lay down close to me.

So far we have had some frost and a few flakes of snow here in Wisconsin.  Soon a hard frost or snow with a blue sky will appear, and photographers should be happy.

I was just sitting and thinking (and writing) about some of my great times in  nature. In 1975 my wife and I packed up the dogs, some food, and two sleeping bags and headed to the mountains. We had no idea where we would camp but went towards Rocky Mt. N.P.  We started to make the drive up the eastern slope coming out of Estes Park.  I found a small dirt road that dead ended just out of sight of Trail Ridge Road. We took a short hike along a breathtaking mountain creek.  Then we began to hear the sound that has always given me goose bumps. The sound of a waterfall far off in the forest. We immediately returned to the car and got our food and sleeping bags, which were not so neatly packed in our back packs. We hiked for about an hour before we finally came to the base of a waterfall.  It was several hundred feet high.  There are very few well-known waterfalls in Colorado, but there are thousands of unnamed falls in spring.  You might say that waterfalls are a “fluid” thing in Colorado. This spot looked like it provided a yearly event as the glaciers melted. We made camp (9 a.m.). I have never slept better than I did that night.  The sound of that water was hypnotic.  I have slept along many waterfalls and river rapids since that day. Everyone should experience this at least once in their life.  Thankfully no midnight visits by Mountain Lions or Black Bears occurred.

Sometimes we have to “just do it” in life. If we wait  for everything to be perfectly safe, a truck will run you over the next day.  I really am fortunate to have had a lot of adventures in my life despite the fact that I am not all that brave.

I am not suggesting that anyone reading this blog do anything foolish, or even anything that you find to be dangerous. I am only saying that a life that is neatly and safely tucked away, also has its perils.