The Weekend in Black and White: Creek running over rocks

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SkyWatch Friday: A little bit of everything

There has been a lot of variety in the sky where I live over the past week or so.

I had trouble deciding which shots to use.

I ended up picking a little bit of everything.

This time of the year always tends to be good for cloud watching in North Carolina.

I don't even have to leave my yard to get a lot of variety in skywatching.

I've been walking more so I also have a lot of shots from Shelley Lake.

I like to catch the sky reflected in water.

I also shoot the sky over the dam where I can't see the water.

Some of the crepe myrtle trees are still blooming.

We have had more blue mixed in with the clouds lately.

It's nice to see some blue after all of our rain this summer.

As I've said many time, I'm glad we've had plenty of rain to offset the heat but now that it's cooler I welcome some sun.

It's still warm but that's relative. It's a lot cooler than the severe heat we've had much of the summer.

I like the way the sun is making a brave effort below.

It almost looks more like the moon than the sun.

The shots started with yesterday and have moved back through the days covering 8 different days.

The way the sun is trying to break through below makes the clouds look like satin.

I like the varied texture and illumination in the sky.

This post seems to be getting rather long.

One way I know it's getting long is I run out of things to say.

I always pick out my shots for a post first and then try to think of something to say in between the shots.

The problem with that method is I will still have shots I've selected but can't think of a narrative to weave in between them.

It's probably a bad sign when I start boring myself.

I'm nearing the end of the shots I picked out.

I've almost put myself to sleep so don't feel bad if you're yawning.

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ABC Wednesday: G is for gray grey

Depending on where you live you might spell it grey or gray. I go back and forth with my grey gray spelling.

Gray doesn't have to be grim.

Gray can hold a glimmer of light.

Garrulous geese can glide.

A solitary goose can gesticulate with its expressive head.

A giant great blue heron towers over the ducks.

On a grey morning two exercisers are pulling on a rope of some kind.

Gray can be gorgeous with its varied tones.

I caught a glimpse of another great blue heron.

Glowing grey water.

The glow grows in the grey.

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Our World Tuesday: Mixture from three walks

I had to laugh when I saw a Canada Goose running with the boys.

When a cyclist came up behind them the goose flew away.

In the bottom of the next shot you may be able to barely make out a great blue heron flying low over the water.

In the next shot it's a little easier to see him.

I didn't have time to zoom in until he landed.

 There was a little blue sky on Sunday but we never got the sunny weekend that was forecast.

Still pleasant having cooler temperatures and most of the rain over the past 4 or 5 days has been late afternoon and night.

I was surprised to see a bunch of new babies at the lake.

There were early babies this year after a mild winter which made it especially surprising to see late ones so close to fall.

I've photographed the fellow below many times as he prowls at Sertoma Art Center up a hill from Shelley Lake.

On one of my walks I followed a creek that feeds into the lake.

I like the side trails off the paved ones.

I always look for reflections in the water.

I had hoped they wouldn't mow the grasses on the dam.

A couple of days after I took the shot above they were mowed as you can see in the shot below.

There are sections here and there where the geese can forage for seeds that aren't moved by the city employees.

I caught a glimpse of one of the great blue heron peering out through the foliage.

In the next shot I could only see its lower body.

 

The mallards were swimming in a free form line.

The ducks below were following the leader.

With all the rain we've had toadstools abound.

I always love to see mist rising up at a distance.

Below the toadstool looks like a dinner plate to me.

The sun was trying to break through below but was fighting a losing battle.

It amuses me the way the mallards crowded together on the log.

The ducks on the next log were more evenly spaced.

Below is another shot of the sun trying to break out on another day.

The pair of mallards below were fishing and spent a lot of time with their heads under water.

I like the shape created in the water below.

The duck in the next shot has an interesting feature on top of its head created by the darker feathers.

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