Is this an omen?

This bird came to watch me work the other day.

Balloons

I went to see my buddy Chris's hot air balloon recently. It's a very hot air balloon. This is the burner twisting light with heat.

Here's Chris riding the basket just above the treetops (which is good... flying into the trees is bad).

This is a view up into the balloon where you can see what a strawberry looks like from the inside.

And now the deflating strawberry..

And as I said earlier, sometimes all you need is a good model.

The Pond

The rain finally stopped so I spent some time out by the pond today. I started by photographing some still wet flowers.

As I wandered around the pond, these gosling emerged from the reeds

They weren't alone. They had these two chaperones steering them all around the pond.

I caught one of the parents pulling up a plant to feed to the goslings.

There was also a wood duck with a whole lot of duckings, but she didn't cooperate (photographically) by swimming out of the reeds.

Red winged blackbirds feed on the reeds and I was able to capture this one coming in for a landing.

Model

Sometimes all you need is a good model. (Click for the big pic!)

I meant the girl, not the alpaca.

Chilly mid-morning

I meant to get out in the frost at dawn, but I only made it outside by mid-morning. The alpacas were outside munching on hay. Their wool is already so thick they were probably too warm.

The babies still have short hair and need an extra coat.

I walked around the pond in search of color and I found this odd weed trying to spread its seeds.

The pond is usually crowded with frogs, turtles, insects, and the occasional rodent but I only found this mallard. As I circled the pond he always move to the opposite side trying to keep the island between us.

This stuff has been growing on my apple tree for a few years, but it doesn't seem to bother the tree so I leave it alone.

I did find some color in a tree. It's leaves are turning red one branch at a time.

These last two pictures are of a "smoke tree" that blooms with a purple web in the spring. I'll mark my calendar to take pictures then. I'm fascinated by the water on the leaves-- it is the frost just melted.

A walk with Dean

I took a walk with Dean (actually he took me) to the Buckingham Fountains and its surrounds.
We were observed by this chubby guy.

The trees were losing their leaves and color but these were gaily wrapped against starving rodents.

I'll have to check these trees again after the snow falls.

I'll check her too, in the snow.

Then we took in some fountain pools and came across Dean's Leaf. I call it Dean's Leaf because he snatched it up and preserved it in a book-- but not before I took a picture. It looks like Dean rescued it from some Loch Ness Monster leaf.

We watched the fountains for a bit, and then watched them slower.

 

Just before the light was gone I got in this pictures of leaves and berries stirred by the fountains.