


Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged animals, birds, Inspiration, Mystic River, nature, nesting, Photography, urban landscape, urban wilds on April 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Arnold Arboretum, birds, Inspiration, nature, Photography, robin, seasons, urban landscape on March 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Belle Isle Marsh Reservation, birds, impromptu, Inspiration, landscape, nature, nature photography, Photography, salt marsh, storytelling, wildlife, winter on January 21, 2019| 5 Comments »

It may not have been the smartest move, to visit a favorite salt marsh when the windchill is below zero, but sometimes it’s about forward momentum, to keep moving, and that’s what we did this morning while the light was bright. We didn’t last long on the trail, but it was enough.

![dscn6810[1]](https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dscn68101.jpg?w=500)
One thing that was hard to capture was how everything, every grass, branch, dried leaf, was encased in ice and they glowed in the sun, but it was too cold (for me) to stand still and frame the “perfect” shot, and my partner in crime kept telling me “we only have so many reserves of heat.” He had a destination … to the end of a particularly popular viewing area. We made it there but it was the least protected of areas and the wind hit, and we had a moment of “Go team!” before the race/skate back to the car.
![dscn6834[1]](https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dscn68341.jpg?w=500)
And on that race/skate back to the car I saw something wonderful. Finches, cardinals, doves and other birds I can’t name, feeding at the station that had been set up. Under different circumstances, with different preparation, I could have planted my feet and photographed all of their color and variation. But given my numb fingers, I figured enough was enough and I looked forward to future opportunities.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, birds, feathers, finch, Inspiration, nature, Photography, yellow on December 7, 2018| 1 Comment »

finch
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, birds, Inspiration, nature, Photography, serenity, urban landscape on September 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, birds, Inspiration, landscape, nature, nature photography, Photography, woodpecker on September 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged avian, birds, Inspiration, nature photography, Photography, urban landscape on September 2, 2018| 3 Comments »
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, Inspiration, nature, nature photography, Photography, urban landscape on August 25, 2018| 1 Comment »

… birds were present as well as the bees. This is the only young one who would sit still for me. I think he’s still testing his wings.

Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, birds, hummingbirds, Inspiration, nature, Photography on June 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, birds, egrets, Inspiration, nature, Photography, San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, travel, wildlife on June 10, 2018| 4 Comments »

I kept wanting it to take flight, to see its wings fill with light, but it did not want to fly apparently, no matter how many times it lifted its wings. I chanced upon the egret in my usual way, stepping to the edge of a structure and peering over to see what I might see, and there so still in the grass it stood …

… before taking those high-legged steps into the water …

… and then back out again onto land, feathers ruffled but still not taking flight. An impasse. Finally under the heat of the intense noonday sun I moved on suspecting that with my back now turned the egret’s wings spread and silently beat the air as it rose upward and upward, away.

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/san_pablo_bay/