I always looked at any day out with a camera in hand as a blessing. I do not believe I have ever walked through nature with camera and tripod, without coming back with something that was usable or at least sharable in my camera. It begins with looking, and ends with seeing.

I caught this female Red-winged Blackbird with dinner in her mouth many moons ago. It seems to me although I cannot remember for sure, that she flew away with that dinner She likely used it to feed the little ones.

Dancing for sex? Yes, this male Sharp-tailed Grouse is attempting to please his wife so she will mate with him.

Oh sweet song. At sunset no less.

American Bittern.

Great-horned Owlets. In the wild and up pretty close.

Caspian Tern with lunch

Prairie Dog checking out the prairie.

The leopard of the amphibian world. A close-up of a Leopard Frog.

Clean & Simple. A wet gull feather on a Lake Michigan beach.

The very edge of the waterfall.

West Texas.

Photography as first a hobby, then a vocation, and then a way of life, has meant much to me.

Great friends like Ron, Darlene, Kristen, Phil, Loyd, and Celeste made marching through a marsh or getting to the top of that mountain, something to share on the spot, while it happened, rather than later via imagery. Phil and Loyd passed several years ago. It saddens me that they no longer walk nature’s path. Maybe in Heaven there are new journeys to travel.

I give thanks to all of you who have hiked that path alongside of me.

May I wish all military veterans a happy Veterans Day on Monday. A day which is set aside for you. It is precious little for what you have done for all of us. I would suspect that some of us would not be here but for your bravery and service to our nation.

Many, many years ago, I visited an Air Force recriuter to take a test so I would not wind up in an Army infantry unit marching with a rifle in hand. Two days before I was to go in and sign up and get my “marching orders” if you will, the new draft was posted nation wide and I had a very high number. I never went back to the Air Force recrutor beacause I knew my number was too high for me to be drafted. I was provided an easy way out, and I took it. I thank God for all those who went and did the job at hand while I stayed home.

May God Bless each and everyone reading this, and may God Bless America. We have just began what will likely be a better path than we were on.

Very few issues of violence have arrived since the election and that is outstanding.

What is that old song from the 70s, I believe it says Give Peace a Chance.

We live today in a “llook at me” society. Lots of ego but little effort. The internet gave birth to that several decades ago. We all are stars and experts now on everything.

There are both blessings and curses to almost everything we do.

The truth is, on a good day I get my shoes on properly and remember where I put my pants. Sometimes I can even find my glasses.

As always, I travel my own road, win, lose, or draw. That way in the end, I have God to thank for what works, and only myself to blame when I fail.

Wayne