89 Years Young!!

My family recently celebrated my Grandpa's 89th birthday.  He loves his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren more than anything.  So what did we do?  We went to a place where he can watch all his little ones in action.  The White Fence Farm.

It's a little weird for me to think about my mom and dad and all of my aunts and uncles being grandparents themselves now but I guess that's what happens when we get old.  Children become parents who become grandparents who - if they're lucky - will become great grandparents. 

I believe as new generations are born and grow and take over the rolls of the previous,
our elders are finally given the time to appreciate more of the love and joy in their lives. 

Well Grandpa, here's to you and being the best "Great Grand" any kid could ask for.

I love you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Charmian

Have You Ever Been.....

This is serious. I wouldn't believe this story if it hadn't happened to me.

I can now classify myself as one of the few people who have survived an attack by a wild animal and have lived to tell about it!

NO REALLY....ATTACKED!! And I'm still here, thankfully.

As Paul Harvey would say, "And now for the Rest of the Story!"

Sunday morning the dog (i.e. Ripley because Dot would never do such a thing) wakes me up with her incessant whining. "Stupid dog." I mutter as I climb out of bed, much to early for my liking.

I open the kennel door, take the girls downstairs and outside for their morning bio break. For those of you familiar with where I live, it is out in the country, and wildlife is plentiful. I have seen everything from elk and deer, to badgers and rattlesnakes, but never have I run out of fear for my safety......that was until.........

I understand why park rangers in Yellowstone insist that you "DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!!"

Greedy wildlife soon consider you their sole source of food...hummingbirds are no exception. That stupid red hanging feeder was my demise simply because it was empty. Because my mother had gone to church and left her little birds destitute and without food, they figured me for the sucker. I ignored the litany of bird chatter and reminded the dogs that they needed to poop and pee (I forget sometimes too).

On this morning, the hummingbirds would not be ignored, and with a vengeance I have never experienced before, they struck!

You know the outcome...I survived. Unfortunately though, my safe release was predicated upon refreshing the Savage Birds supply of sugar water, which I dutifully accomplished...

Please, for your own safety, and the safety of those around you, listen to wildlife experts and DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!

Amazing Creatures

Since summer is getting close, all of our migrant birds are returning, including the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird.

I find hummingbirds particularly spectacular. I don't think any other animal on the planet is capable of such gravity defying displays.

However, trying to photograph these little guys is a MAJOR undertaking. Thankfully, digital photography costs reduce with every image you take. I think I recovered the cost of my camera this morning. 20 minutes and 200 photos later....

I like this shot. The composition isn't what I wanted and the depth of field was too shallow for the whole bird to be in focus, but this shot makes me feel like I'm trying to jump on his back.

Getting nice shots of these little and fast creatures is a challenge, but when an image turns out, it is pretty spectacular. Obviously, capturing a shot when a hummingbird is in flight presents many more challenges than when they are stationary. I have found through trial and error that all the settings on my DSLR need to be in "Manual" mode. Every possible setting (except for white balance) is set by me, including ISO, apeture, shutter speed, and focus. I also believe that my success rate increases when I turn off image stabilization.

Anyway, sometimes I get neat images. When a shot turns out, they are pretty spectacular. Tiny bird with really big abilities!