A Really Exciting "Got-The-Shot"

I Got the Shot. It is unbelievable. With the skittish couple this Spring, I didn’t think the photograph would be had… but I Got the Shot!

There is a little background you should be aware of to understand the importance of this “Got The Shot.” A few years ago, I met and became friends with two wonderful people, Joe Ann and Norm. At the Mother-Daughter Tea event at church one year, I was taking pictures/portraits. Joe Ann and her family asked to have a family portrait. What made their’s quite different was the five generations present for the portrait. This family portrait turned out so well I asked Joe Ann if it would be alright to enter the picture in the County Fair. It won second place for portrait. After the Mother-Daughter Tea, Joe Ann began to take more interest in my photography, especially photographing cardinals. She always had an encouraging word when we met.

The day Joe Ann died, the cardinals seemed to be quite active around the yard. I had been trying for sometime to get a close up photograph of a female cardinal. Not 5 feet from my window a female cardinal landed and stayed on the same limb for over 15 minutes. She could see me as I moved around the window frantically taking pictures. I expected any minute for her to fly away. She did not budge from the limb. And then what must have been her mate landed on a nearby branch. He too, did not move for several minutes and put on a show of fluffing his feathers. It was a cold day, and we were getting the first snowflakes of winter.

In the middle of this “photo shoot” with the cardinals, the phone rang. It was my husband who is the pastor of Greenwood United Methodist Church. He told me Joe Ann had just passed away and asked for the prayer line to be activated.

It seemed as though the female cardinal had taken the spirit of Joe Ann. It made sense that Joe Ann would have willed that cardinal to be there for me to get the picture she knew I’d wanted so much.

A few weeks later I shared this thought and experience with the family. Each grown child received a photograph of the female cardinal taken the day Joe Ann died. Norm received the female cardinal photograph but also a photograph of the male.

This Spring the “Kissing Cardinals” as I refer to them, have been coming to the back yard many times throughout the day. And there are many more cardinals coming into the yard to feed. I have been trying for years to take an up close picture that is crisp and in focus of this pair as they “kiss.” They are not actually kissing, they are passing seeds to one another as an expression of affection. Each time I would slowly, cautiously, sneak up to the window with camera in hand, they would fly away.
A couple of days ago, I got a photograph of them kissing but when I looked at the picture on the computer screen, the female was bald and the male’s plumage was discolored and some spots were bare. True love is blind to the outward appearances and this pair did not see their imperfections.

But today, I took the picture of another couple within ten feet from the window and in perfect focus. It appears there are more than one pair of “Kissing Cardinals” this year. That is a real blessing.

This year the “Kissing Cardinals” picture was extra important to me. My dear friend, Norm, passed away a couple of weeks ago. Is that why the cardinals have been plentiful this Spring? And now to have at least two pair of “Kissing Cardinals” has been very meaningful in understanding and coping with Norm’s death.

Norm and Joe Ann are once again together. And as they did on earth with their family and friends, they are now sharing their seeds of faith with one another. That, to me is why the “Kissing Cardinal” picture was so important this year. The family will have that picture to complete their set.

An Ordinary Friday...NOT!

Every once in a while a day comes along when everything goes right. Last Friday was one of those days. I had to pinch myself to see if it were a dream.

Right off the bat, I’m standing by the window watching the birds at the feeders while drinking my morning cup of tea. There is a flash of red in front of my eyes. It’s hovering right there; “in my face” would be a more direct description. The moment every birder’s in the neighborhood have been waiting for—the hummingbirds have arrived! This beautiful Ruby-throated Hummingbird is at attention in front of the window. Each year this particular little fellow announces, “I have arrived” in this way. And then he flies around the window looking for human activity. I think he’s asking, “Where’s the feeder?”

Everything stops. I go flying out to the garage and retrieve the feeders, rinse them off, fill them with sugar water and out to their rightful “homes” the feeders are placed. It is within minutes the little fellow is back, as though conducting an inspection of the grounds, to make sure his orders has been carried out.

I raise Zebra Finch as a hobby. And about 2 weeks ago I got this picture of two babies two days after they hatched.

Today I glanced at the cage. The babies were bounding around the cage grooming themselves. It is always a joy to see the babies out in the world the first day.

Here they are... they look like twins! And the photo below is Beaker (Daddy) looking proudly on his chicks...

At lunch, sitting at the table and looking out at the backyard, an invasion, truly, an invasion of Rose Breasted Grosbeak occurs. Four beautiful males are on the pole feeder and two females are on two other feeders. I grab my camera and begin photographing these colorful birds. Hanging in this big window is our Canary, Maestro, who is singing his heart out as I shoot away. All of a sudden Maestro lets out a screech and jumps away from the window. A male Grosbeak has flown up and landed on the window ledge. He is within inches of my head. We both eye one another. He stays there for some time allowing many photos to be taken, up close and personal. They are such magnificent birds.
They are such magnificent birds.


Did I say... they are such magnificent birds!

It was a day of defending territory at the feeders and pond. The birds seem to be staking out their place. Bird fights could be seen wherever two or more were gathered. The pond was especially popular. Many birds were bathing. And everyone wanted this “one spot.”

The “Kissing Cardinals” were in the backyard so I could now get some good pictures when they “kissed.” That is a true love story all by itself. Another time for that story.

Watching a male cardinal taking a bath in the pond was hilarious. Maybe that should be phrased “trying to take a bath.” After three tries, flying away and returning he finally succeeded in getting wet and figuring out how to “bird bathe.” But there was a territorial battle to get “the bathing spot.” A sparrow was a pest and the cardinal challenged her a number of times for the bathing spot. The sparrow finally left (after getting her bath).

I've been trying to entice an Oriole to the feeders. Of all times for an Oriole to show up, right at the moment the cardinal had gotten the hang of this bathing thing. That was not a good time.

Then the female cardinal decided to bathe. When she flew to the pond she was interrupted by, of all birds, an Indigo Bunting! For the past two years I have been blessed with seeing this bird at the feeders; but it has visited just one day each year. And here he was… today of all days. And he was not going to be left out of the territorial battles.

No, it was not an ordinary day. After blowing the smoke off the camera and letting it cool down, last count of the number of pictures taken was a whopping 400+. It’s great to have a digital camera. Film-wise that would have been over 11 rolls of film to buy and develop. How much would that have cost? I don’t want to know. But with digital… you just hit delete on the pictures you don’t want. Why so many pictures? The territorial challenges and bathings are quite active and the best way to get “THE shot” is to hold down the shutter button and pray the picture you want is not the one between the two photos just taken.

All in all, it was a super day. The only picture not taken was that of the hummingbird. There will be ample time this summer. And I have a 4 Gigabyte flashcard in the camera and one in the case (oh yeah, high speed—300x).

This female cardinal has some parting words...

Even the "Bird Spa" is busy, #@$%%&*##.

Peek-A-Boo 2 U

Some of you have seen the photo I've taken of the squirrel peeking around the stump of a tree. It looks as though he is playing a game of “Peek-a-boo.”

Yesterday’s photo day in the yard was very rewarding… another peek-a-boo photo was captured digitally… but the subject was not a squirrel. Of all subjects to be playing peek-a-boo—it was a bird; and of all the birds it was one of the bully birds—A Blue jay…



And in yesterday’s Humor Boomer I mentioned a hilarious photo of a squirrel in a precarious position…

I’m not sure what he was looking at but it sure had his interest. We will see that later yesterday, the squirrel got a good talking to because he just is too lazy… all he does is eats and sleeps and chases my dog… Susie. Stay tuned to see who gave him the “tongue lashing.”

A "Got-The-Shot" Day!

All the creatures in the backyard were a bit squirrelly this morning (even the squirrel—you gotta see the squirrel picture—it’s outrageous). I decided to check out the “south 40” and survey what was going on.

I was following Daddy (sparrow) around because he too was acting a little strange. While taking pictures this is one of the pictures that happened.

Honestly… you can’t have a bee come into a picture on cue and you can’t get a bird to look at the bee coming into the picture even if you could cue the bee.

This will go on the website as a GOT-THE-SHOT:

Oh, I found out why Daddy is acting strange…

Many new changes on the website. “Travel and Transportation” under “Stock Photography” is now “Candy for the eye” making that gallery not so dry anymore… check it out…

Eventful Friday

What an eventful day it was Friday. One earthquake at 5.2 on the “r” scale for the 1st one at 5-something in the a.m. and then the aftershock at around 11:15 a.m. was pretty nifty (or should I say “lifty”). Hope you didn’t have any damage, that is, those living here in the Hoosier state.

Well… for us that is a different story. Yes, we did have some earthquake damage. Well, actually, I should say Daddy and Momma (sparrow couple) were impacted by the earthquake. Their front porch, I mean perch, fell off!


All Momma could talk about was that Daddy decided NOT to get insurance when they moved in. The insurance seller was an old bird they both thought had shifty eyes. Why, he tried to sell them flood insurance! They were in a High Rise, of all things! Daddy just wanted wind, fire, water and earthquake coverage… but no it had to be a bundled deal or no deal. Well, they sent him packing… he just seemed like a seedy character anyway!
And now, here they were, no front perch and no insurance. It made for a difficult entry and exit. You literally had to “make a hole in one” coming in… and look out if the wind was blowing! And to leave… well that had to be done with a…


Flying Leap!
And, there would be no vacation this year. They had been socking away a stash of seeds behind the string, yarn, twigs and such. This was to have been used to pay the Chippers down the lane to watch their brood while they flew back for a short visit with family. But maybe it wasn’t to be, because the Chippers had a brood of their own. The Chippers who were Chipping Sparrows ended up being surrogates for some cowbirds who had pulled a “shell game” on the Chippers and now they had Cowbird eggs in with their own eggs. And the wrens on the next limb over were under the weather. They had gotten colds and so it would be wrong to ask them to watch their brood when they were “chilled wren” themselves.
So, it would be no vacation and use the seed to get someone to put a porch, I mean perch back on the front of the house. But who would be good at that? Mr. Downy the woodpecker would be good to pound the peg back in but he was down nursing a splinter in his bill. The cardinals were busy because the Pope was in the country. Maybe the finch would do in a pinch, but maybe not, since they drag in all that thistle seed. And the starlings, well they in no way are Darlings!
So Momma and Daddy lay down to take a nap. All of a sudden… another earthquake! The house was moving and spinning and rocking and then it would stop. Then there were lights and sounds of wood creaking and squeaking and then all of a sudden, just as sudden as it started… it ended.
Daddy peeked out to see what else may have fallen off the house… with that much swaying and moving who knows what might have happened. Walking away was the Bird lady who fills and cleans the feeders and birdbaths. What had she done? So out he hopped onto the perch to look… wait a minute… he hopped out onto the perch… it was back. Had the Bird lady found and put the perch back?

Well… it looks like not all heroes wear tights and a cape!


Hope you are enjoying the adventures of Momma and Daddy.
There have been updates to the website, even a new gallery in Stock Photographs called “Let Freedom Ring.” Please take a look… http://www.lindahoopesphoto-art.smugmug.com/

Look at the Bright Side

If it seems you're not having a good day…

It could be worse…

You could have a




BAD

FEATHER

DAY…




*This American Gold Finch is a male getting his summer plumage… This morning, he looks a little sad and lonely, but that will change very soon.

Don’t forget to enjoy the day…

The Saga Continues

This morning had a beautiful beginning.

The sunrise was nice to see after so much rain.
I looked out the kitchen window and saw momma and daddy sparrow standing atop their happy abode.
Daddy sparrow seemed to be a serious conversation with momma… It was still dark and their home was in the shadows. What could the conversation be all about?

It turned out they had just fought off the attack of a starling. Fortunately, the entrance into their home is too small for the starling to pass through.

The eggs were safe. However, momma and daddy’s feathers were a bit ruffled. Both were standing guard over their nest to prevent another attempt by the starling.

As the sun warmed the abode momma and daddy looked at one another happy they now had the light of day to see their attacker in ample time if another attack were to happen.

In the meantime Daddy...

decided to pick up where they left off yesterday and began to bring more nesting material. Momma had a little to say about that… but let daddy in with his precious find… All was going well until something blocked the sun…






Under attack… AGAIN… Stay tuned for the continuing saga…




Don't forget to check my website. It is frequently updated and new galleries added…

http://www.lindahoopesphotography.com/