End of August beginning of September 2016

This is a hodgepodge post from walks and backyard birds over the past week and a half.



The shot below was taken on a walk along the Falls of the Neuse trail in Raleigh, NC.



Below is an American Robin. The first shot is of a female cardinal.



The catbird's mouth was so far open he looks like a singer full voice.



The American Robin below looks like its starting to lift off.



The next shot is of a grackle.



The mourning doves look rather companionable.



The male cardinal looks like he's probably not full grown yet.



I took the next two shots at Shelly Lake last weekend.



I love clouds this time of the year.



The bluejay looks like she's sticking out her tongue.



I took the next shot on a trail near falls lake that is part of the mountain to sea trail.



This is part of the trail in central NC near where I live and Bill I I took a walk on it today (Sunday September 4, 2016).



It is an 1150 mile trail that goes from one end of the state to the other.



I took the rest of the shots with my cell phone on a short walking break at work last week.



I find the camera in my cell phone works best when I'm getting closeups of flowers.

Staycation

I can't remember the last time I had a staycation where I took time off from work to be at home without any plans. 



That's what I'm doing this week and so far it has been great.



It made the weekend that much better knowing I didn't have to go to work on Monday.



I'm planning some morning walks this week with friends but it was very nice today (Monday) to walk around my neighborhood lake with just me and my camera.



The weather cooperated and was perfect for a morning walk.



One of the things I miss about working from home is having the option of walking at times that suit me.



We've had a hot spell before a slight cool down this week but the rainy summer has kept everything looking fresher than usual.



It's been quite a while since I have gone on a photo walk by myself.



I love the wispy clouds in the sky today.



This was a first for me. A bunch of mallards charged me. 



They turned on a dime right barely avoiding running into me while I kept snapping away.



The turkey buzzard below was behaving more like a predator than a scavenger.



It was odd, he watched the lake and spread his wings as if waiting to pounce.



He never did pounce but it was odd watching him for quite a while behaving very oddly. He was behaving more like the cormorants usually do at the lake than a vulture. 

Summertime 2016

We've had a wet summer which has helped keep many flowers, plants and trees looking fresh even in the heat. 

It hasn't even been as hot as most summers but the past few weeks have been so humid the heat index has been very high.

The photographs are a mix from July and the first week of August.

Hard to believe that summer is almost over.

Since summer isn't my favorite season I don't mind that at all.

My crepe myrtle trees always brighten up my yard in the summer.

I like all seasons as long as they don't last too long and to that extent summer has been better this year.

It took much longer to get hot so we really had an extended spring which I loved.

I like change so I'd have trouble living somewhere that didn't have 4 distinct seasons.

I've gotten more bird shots on weekends and after work because they've needed the water I supplied during the hot spell.

The juvenile cardinal above and below looks like it's losing it's baby feathers.

One more crepe myrtle shot below.

I always have a lot of catbirds.

American robins are another common bird at my baths.

I love those quilted skies.

A female cardinal gets her turn in the bath.

Last but not least is a mourning dove.

Topsail Beach NC

I have to say that North Carolina has some nice rest stops. Too bad our legislators have to get involved with peering inside the facilities and obsess over who uses which one.

I can see a certain amount of sense in getting married at a winery, you'd be all set up with the celebratory drinks.

I haven't been to the beach in a while even though it's an easy drive from where I live in central NC.

I've always liked the fact that it's not too far to drive to the west to the NC mountains or to the east to the beach from where I live.

Topsail is one of the closer beaches to me.

I was determined to get a shot of a bird in flight but most were too fast for me.

Now that I commute to work instead of connecting from my computer at home, I don't photograph my backyard birds as much.

I don't really photograph anything as much as I used to.

I thought the yucca in bloom looked lovely on the dune.

I love dunes and they are so important to the coast.

I never tire of photographing the ocean.

I think it's in part because it constantly changes.

I had trouble deciding which shots to use for this post.

It take me longer to be selective about photographs than to just pick a bunch.

With long posts I run out of things to say in between the shots.

We went out to eat last night on the sound side and I caught a sunset.

I like the way islands are surrounded by water.

That way you can get a sunset on the water even when it's not on the ocean side.

The moon put on a show when it came up on the ocean side.

I needed a tripod to do it justice but you can get an idea.