There’s no real method to my madness with today’s selection of images.  I randomly chose some bird pix as well as other things with wings.  Then in keeping with my everything in nature philosophy, I have added a few other subjects.  No real rhyme or reason.

Enough clichés?

I didn’t ID the dragonflies in today’s post.  I often manage to slip up on dragons and get the male/female thing wrong so I just put them up naked, so to speak.

Wings

Female Northern Harrier hunting.

Osprey

Male Bufflehead Duck

Male Goldeneye Duck

Western Grebe in winter plumage.

Eared Grebe

Horned Grebes

Snowy Egret

Nest building….Great-blue Heron

Make Pine Grosbeak

White-crowned Sparrow

Buckeye Butterfly & Purple Coneflower

Pearl Crescent Butterfly

Wood Nymph Butterfly

Mud Dauber Wasp

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Things

I made this picture in 2007 in a Colorado mountain meadow.  I was getting the itch to walk in the mountains and so I did.  I carried equipment for picture making but this was really about making one last hike in the Rocky Mountains.  I am not sure just how far my trek was, but 8 to 10 miles round trip seems about right. I admit that I only came home with a few good pictures from the adventure.  I really didn’t mind.  I made a few fairly powerful images of flower covered meadows with mountains in the background, and a few more common photos like this one of a meadow only.  It might seem like that wasn’t much to show for an arduous hike in the mountains, but every once in a while the experience is even more important than pictures.

Believe it or not…..a shot ( top image) of Wisconsin’s Morgan Falls that I have never shown before. The second image, or one just like it, has previously been shown. I have made pictures here at least a dozen times and this place is on my list of my sacred locations.  Both the nature lover and the photographer inside of me love Morgan Falls.  In the many years that I have created pictures here I only saw one other person and that on my final visit.  That person was another photographer and while I enjoyed meeting him, I took it as a sign it was time for me to leave for good.

Depending on the time of year and the actual year that I was there, I have found everything from volumes of water spilling over the cliff in every direction, to one small trickle taking the 80 foot dive.

Morgan Falls now has heavier visitation than when I went and I would not be shocked to find paved trails and a bridge across the river.  That is enough for me to be glad that I went when I did.  I am sort of happy that she was selfishly my own personal friend over the years.  No sharing her except for images.

I will miss her gentle elegance.  I will miss tip toeing across the rocks with 50 pounds of camera gear, and slipping into the water with one foot.  The trip back to the car with one soaked foot, was something I came to look forward to.  Sort of a tradition. Goodbye old friend.

Have a great day,                                                                                                                                   Wayne