Crops & Clips: Flashback to August, 2015

Looking back three years brings back some vivid memories of favorite memes: critters of all kinds, skies adorned with clouds and rainbows, reflections on calm waters, signs of the season, fences, and those images which speak for themselves. Now that we have sold our second home in Illinois, this exercise also reminds us of how much we gained by spending some of the warmer months "up north."

The month started out at our Florida home. In contrast with the present year, the water levels in the lake and surrounding wet prairie had dropped. This attracted wading birds to the shallows along the lake margins and exposed areas of mud flats. Fish were trapped or exposed in pools left by the receding water. A Great Blue Heron reflected nicely from a rock that is usually submerged at this time of year:



On August 1st a Solitary Sandpiper foraged along the shore:



Spotted Sandpipers searched the crevices among the rocks:





A Great Egret arrived to partake of the feast:



The egrets provided a nice comparison with a smaller white immature Little Blue Heron:









A mother Raccoon led her babies across the path in front of me:



She took a defensive posture as they scrambled to safety:



Oh my! I'm only up to August 5th and have over 500 more photos to sift through!

On August 7th a brief shower was followed by a double rainbow over the lake in back of our home (please pardon the deliberate over-saturation):



In case you missed it in the above photo, the Double-crested Cormorant returned the next day to perch on the decoy:



A welcome sight was this Wood Stork, the first we had seen on our lake in several months. They failed to breed in south Florida for the prior two or three years because of abnormal water conditions. It hunted along the shore near a neighbor's fence:



The stork opened its wings to reveal their feather pattern:



Just as we are experiencing this year (2018), dust blown across the Atlantic from the Sahara Desert produced beautiful pink sunrises. One good thing about the dust cloud is that it suppresses the development of hurricanes:



Here is Mary Lou walking home before sunrise under a colorful sky (I'm so slow that I am still going the other way. We started out very early to try to find the Barn Owl which I saw the previous day. No luck!):



A struggling fish in the grasp of a Snowy Egret scatters water droplets:



Here is a video of the "dance" of this Snowy Egret as it chases after fish in one of the lakeside pools (WARNING: turn down the sound if you do not like the dance music):

If the video fails to load in the space above, please click HERE

Fast forward to August 24, the day after we arrived at our second home in northeastern Illinois. We visited Hannaford Woods in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Across from the entrance is this barn, which I rendered as an oil painting (click on image to enlarge):



At Hannaford, we saw a favorite species, the Red-headed Woodpecker:



American Goldfinch at Lippold Park, near our condo in North Aurora:



Butterflies at Aurora West preserve-- an Eastern Comma...



...and a Pearl Crescent:



Visiting local Jones Meadow Park in North Aurora on July 31, I loved the way a neighbor had filled this bicycle's basket with flowers:



In fact, I textured the image with enamal:



Also on  the last day of the month, I took the final photo of one of my favorite subjects. Days later, this barn was torn down to make way for a prefabricated one made of metal and vinyl:



This barn was the focal point of a landscape I photographed only the month before, through the same opening in the trees at Jones Meadow Park. It lives in memory:

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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

 Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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Crops & Clips:Reclusive rails

Jones Meadow is a small "pocket" park within walking distance of our condo in NE Illinois.



It includes a variety of habitats. Near the entrance is a playground and then a pond which occupies about 5 acres: 



A marsh area about the same size is separated from the pond by a levee: 



A paved trail leads about 3/4 mile along a strip of woods and wetlands. The entire park occupies about 30 acres and is entirely surrounded by houses, roads and cornfields:



The old barn in the distance was a favored subject, but it has since been torn down to make way for more construction at the periphery of the park:





During my usually brief visits over the years I have observed 59 species of birds in this little park, not a very impressive total unless you weigh this against the minimal effort expended in my search. 

This spring, shortly after arriving in Illinois, I visited the wetlands in search of two rail species, Sora and Virginia Rail. I heard and caught fleeting glimpses of a Sora, but was lucky when a Virginia Rail appeared. It can be difficult to see amid the cattails:







A Mallard eyed me suspiciously and then took flight:





A Great Blue Heron foraged along the shore of the pond:



The reflections of a Great Egret and two female Mallards were distorted by the breeze:



A Muskrat nibbled on greenery:



Two Tree Swallows seemed to be disputing over ownership of the park:



When the winds let up, a Pied-billed Grebe reflected nicely:



Overhead, Sandhill Cranes circled as if intending to land...





...but continued on their way:



My archives include over 500 photos taken in Jones Meadow Park. The earliest date back to 2008, when I started taking photos with my first DSLR, a first-generation 6.3 megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D. A bicycle staged in a back yard along the trail provided the opportunity for me to do a bit of creative photo processing:



During a visit at sunset, a Great Horned Owl was silhouetted against the sky:


 

When younger, our Granddaughters begged to accompany us to the park:






An American Robin stood guard over the playground:



New England Asters appeared along the path in August:



Bee Balm bloomed in the meadow:



Thanks so much for visiting! I will be on the road for the next couple of weeks and often away from WiFi and even out of cellular range. Mary Lou and I are celebrating our 56th Wedding Anniversary! Tending to my blog from a cellphone does not work out very well, so I have put my posts on "autopilot" in the interim, but promise to visit you as soon as possible when I get back to my PC.

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= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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