Silence of Winter

Wow!  Has it really been a month since I posted?  Hard to believe how time flies.  Well, the holidays are over, and I again have a bit of time to slip out on a weekend morning, in search of wildlife.

I went out just at sunrise, to my favorite waterfowl refuge, hoping to find some sort of animal photograph.  Not that you could tell it was sunrise, it was cloudy and dreary, with a haze in the air.  It was very quiet this morning, with hardly a breeze.  Even the the birds were silent.  Unfortunately, the extent of the wildlife consisted of…

small, unknown animal tracks.  Some sort of weasel, I think.

You can see how dreary and hazy it was this morning.

One thing I love about nature during the winter are the shapes and textures.

Hmmmmm… must be away for the holidays.

Just as I was leaving, the sun made a valiant, but in the end futile attempt at shining.

Ok, I lied.  There was a little bit of wildlife.  This guy brought his people out for a run.

I am glad to be back, even if there were no birds or deer to be seen.  Thanks for stopping by.  Let me wish all of you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Mankind’s Finest Hour?

I went out in search of wildlife recently, specifically fox and deer.  On the recommendation of a friend, I visited the Middleground Island, in the Saginaw River in Bay City.  Unfortunately, the wildlife saw me coming and all hid from me.  But while walking around, I was touched by another aspect of this island, but not in a good way.

You see, years ago some people with great minds decided this island, set in the middle of a river, would be a wonderful place to dispose of highly toxic industrial chemicals.  Now a portion of this island is home to a restricted, Superfund industrial landfill, in addition to deer and fox.  And eagles and people…

Set on the south end of Bay City, this island has the potential of great beauty.

Industries have grown along the riverfront.

An old gate along the edge of the landfill, and close ups of the two signs.

An abandoned shack at the entrance.

This sign says it all (and yes, I was outside the fence).

Another sad commentary.

Don’t get me wrong.  Bay City is a great place, and has been growing and improving for years.  The downtown riverfront is beautiful, with parks, bandshells and marinas.  A major new development was recently announced for a former industrial site that is being cleaned up.  I find this island landfill, however, to be a good(?) example of the how problems were addressed in the past.

Thanks for visiting.  I will get something more cheerful up soon.  The holidays  are here, so that should be pretty easy!!!

Veterans Day

In honor of Veterans Day, I would like to thank all of the men and women, past, present and future, who have served our country in the military.  It is the sacrifice and devotion of these individuals that makes it possible for people like me and my family to enjoy the freedom we have.

I am blessed to have many family members who have served in uniform, including many Uncles and Cousins.  I would like to pay tribute to those closest family members here:

My dear father, Gene, in the US Army, 1950s

My brother Mike, US Marine Corp, 1980s

My brother Jim, US Army, 1990s

Thank you all for your service.  I am, and always have been, proud of you.

Autumnal Scenes, part 2

I had intended to get these pictures posted early last week.  But it was “one of those weeks”.  Between the foul weather, and a number of other events, like doctor appointments, kid’s concerts, and….awwww who am I kidding.  I was lazy.  Well here they are, better late than never.  The second half of my autumn walk pictures.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Windstorm

I know that I am suppose to be posting the second half of my Autumnal pictures, but I wanted to share something else first.  Our nice autumn weather was interrupted over the last couple of days by a very strong wind and rain storm.  Steady winds in excess of 40 mph overnight pushed the water of Lake Huron into the Saginaw Bay, and up into the Saginaw River.  During the peak, before sunrise, the waves were much greater than you will see here.  By the time I got out this morning, the winds were started to subside.

Veterans Park boat launch, Bay City:  The debris on the pavement washed up during the night, showing how far over the banks the waves were pushing.

The boat launch:  The docks are completely submerges, illustrating how high the water level is.

The lower deck across the river should be about a foot above the water, not a foot below the surface.

A tree down across a road.  Fortunately, most of the leaves have already fallen, so there were surprisingly few trees down.

Loose shingles on a roof.

Luckily, our damage was limited to my plastic patio furniture being blown off my deck.  This may not have been the Storm of the Century, or even the Decade, but it was pretty impressive nonetheless.  Come back soon to see the rest of my shots from our hike the other day.

Autumnal Scenes, part 1

Today my wife Wendy and I took a nice walk through the Bay City State Recreation Area to Tobico Marsh.  We missed the peak fall colors, due mostly to the 3 days of 25 mph + winds, but there were still plenty of reminders that Autumn was upon us.

Milkweed seeds about to take flight.

A view over part of the marsh.  The sky was blue and the sun was shining.

Cattails.

This little guy is trying to warn us about winter.  Lets see….wide brown, harsh winter….no….the other way around……dang.

Sun shining through a leaf.

Forest floor in Autumn:  Oak leaves, acorns and wintergreen berries.

Thanks for visiting.  I have some more nice shots, but I will save those for the next time.

I’m Baaaaack!!!!

Well after several weeks I finally got my camera back from the service center yesterday.  It is good as new!  Between that and my recent surgery, I have been out of the photo biz for nearly two months.  But today I finally got out on a mini safari.  I am extremely pleased to say that I had no problems with my camera strapped over my shoulder.  That was a big concern of mine.

And so, without any further delay, I present a few shots from around the neighborhood.

My backyard goldfish…

Here is the front of Tummy Ache, the neighborhood candy store.

And from another angle…

The old ice house.  It is now a dairy warehouse.

Here comes a train!

Here is a taste of some fall color.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope now that I am a bit more mobile I will be able to get pictures up more often.  Check in again soon!

Flowers and Butterflies…

And bees, and rivers….

My apologies to those of you who may be spooked out by bees (you know who you are), but I just could not resist these little guys.  Thanks for visiting!

Oh, still no word on my camera, other than an email from the repair shop apologizing but telling me there is a delay in the repairs.  I am hoping it will be shipped out by the end of the week.

Some More Bits of Nature

Here are a few more nature shots from my vast collection of unsorted pictures.  I am getting there friends, I am almost up to July’s pics.  If any of them are repeats of previously posted pics, I apologize.

Springtime blossoms:

Is he on sentry duty?  Or just flaunting the law?:

Fern fiddleheads:

He’s Baaaack!:

Yes, there is a toad in this shot: