Month: February 2017

Sometimes you just have to take a detour.  One morning, as I was on my way to who knows where, I noticed heavy fog hanging low above the water at the lake.  I took a quick detour down to the water and shot a few pics with my iphone.  I still think that the photo quality from a phone is poor (and maybe that’s because I don’t know much about iphone photography), but it was all I had at the time.   You know the saying … ‘the best camera is the one that you have with you’ (Chase Jarvis) and it is so true!  Don’t ever miss the shot just because you don’t have the right camera or lens … just take the photo with whatever you have available!  I like how the outcropping of rocks mimics the shoreline in this shot – a repeating pattern of sorts.

There were several Eastern Bluebirds flitting around the trees near the Lake at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area when I last visited.  They were quite a distance away and nestled among the branches of the leafless trees.  It was hard not to notice their brown/orange breast and vivid blue head, back and tail feathers.  This was my first time ever photographing an Eastern Bluebird and though the setting wasn’t anywhere near ideal, it was fun to try and keep up with them as they moved throughout the brush.

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area offers opportunities to see more than just snow geese.  It’s one of the top birding locations in Pennsylvania and is home to many other species.  I was driving along the tour road and noticed cars pulled to the side and a small group of people looking at a vernal pool.  Of course, I had to investigate.   What I, along with the others, had a chance to see (and hear!) were Wood Frogs that had just recently emerged from their winter ‘hibernation’.  Wood Frogs take shelter in leaf cover over the winter and they actually stop breathing and their hearts stop beating.  They produce a substance that prevents ice from forming in their cells and this allows them to survive during cold winters.  When the weather warms, they thaw and begin feeding and mating. There were as many as 100 or more frogs in this small pool along the side of the road.  During mating season (which is now!) the male Wood Frogs make a call that sounds like a duck quacking!  So interesting to watch!

A little snow, a dramatic sky, a pretty barn and some cows in the pasture … I couldn’t ask for more in this photo.  It was shot with my iPhone and edited with Photoshop, Nik and Topaz Labs software.  I remember stopping the car in the middle of the road and pulling out my phone to grab this shot…it was a spur of the moment decision!

The light at sunrise was casting a golden hue across the lake as I watched the day break along with 50,000+ of my favorite snow geese!  It was a beautiful morning!