A favorite of every backyard birder, the Black-capped Chickadee.

In the middle of winter it can be hard to realize just how difficult summer can be on wild animals.  I was making pictures of this Whitetail Deer and then I realized just how nasty those mosquitoes were being.  I have known photographers who would pass this image up.  Who wants a picture of a deer with bugs all over its face?  I do and so should you. When you can find an unusual component to an ordinary photo you have found something good.

One of the most common subjects on most spring/summer days at Horicon Marsh NWR.  This Black-crowned Night Heron was a mature adult “mostly” in breeding plumage.

I have photographed Sandhill Cranes a lot of different positions. For a shot like this I think that closer is better.

One of my favorite woodpeckers the Red-bellied.  They are great subjects for bird feeding stations.  Suet, seed, oranges you name it. Then if you have a nice tree near-by they will make a trip or two along the bark.

Yet another Red Fox photo.

It is indeed winter in Wisconsin.  A wonderful time of year.

I just recently took a tour through this very blog.  I decided I would clean it up a bit.  I was going to delete maybe 100 of the 400+ posts on Earth Images. I am referring to my own articles not Ron’s. There are only about 10 of the older blog posts that  get a consistent weekly viewing, and many have never been viewed after the first two days that they were published.  I’m not whining as I never look at them either. Within ten minutes the task became daunting and I just left everything the way it is.  I did however read a sampling of my own work and I came to the conclusion that many of you who have been with me from the beginning must think that I am schizophrenic (not meant with meanness, only to describe my own writings).  In one post I seem to be a Cristian preacher, and the next it sounds like I am an advocate of “sex, drugs and rock and roll”.  I think sometimes I would do better to explain my personal journey or evolution, than just publish everything I write.  I believe each of us is on a journey…and I am no different.  There are twists and turns, and no shortage of crossroads. What to leave in and what to leave out.  Apologies to Bob Seeger for that last line. The point is that when I write, whether it is about photography or something else, I give you whatever is on my mind at the moment, often excluding earlier portions of my life. If that makes my journey of life look like a series of zigs and zags, well that is just what it has been, as it is for all of us.  There are many paths to the desired location.

I enjoyed spending some time on Facebook over the past few days, and surely will stop in every once in a while.  It was truly special to reunite with the many nice people on BirdForum.  I have been absent for five years and will remain active here for the near future.

When I look at what I have written in the above paragraph it sounds as if I travel physically to the headquarters of Facebook and BirdForum.  An arduous journey.

I want to take a second to thank all of the friends, some who I have not seen or heard from in a long while, for wishing me a Merry Christmas. It touched my heart and you are all blessed.  I am equally grateful to all of you newer friends who took a moment out of your busy days to wish me well.  There are a lot of great people in the world.

“There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of facts.”
– Mark Twain in “Life on the Mississippi.”

Science is a wonderful thing when you understand where it lies in the scheme of things.

Have a great day,  Wayne