Archive for March 2015
An early morning walk in the City of Brotherly Love and along the frozen Schuylkill River.
Other than the long and perilous drive home in the sleet and snow storm, had a wonderful visit to my favorite city, Philadelphia. Loved the city since my first visit to the zoo when I was around six years old. I love walking the streets of large cities. They are all so much alike and…
Read MoreDinosaurs are Cool. And there are a lot of their bones, and other cool stuff at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
It seems like only yesterday that I got my first book on dinosaurs. It was a How and Why Wonder Book. I was in first grade and I was fascinated. Back then all we had were the basics. The Brontosaurus, the Tyrannosaurus, the Stegosaurus. and a few others. I was so excited seeing them when my dad took me to…
Read MoreCrooked Tree, Belize, Up Close.
On my recent trip to Belize there was just so much to see. I’ve already shared some photos from my visits to Belize City, the Mayan ruins at Lamanai and Altun Ha, Crooked Tree and the Belize Zoo. I also shared photos of the beautiful animals and birds i encountered on my walks and boat…
Read MorePhiladelphia Art Museum, portraits from the past and a lot more .
Traveled to Philadelphia this weekend, home of not only my favorite sports teams, lots of history, many good restaurants, but also one of the best art museums in the country. I have visited many times but still enjoy taking in the many works of art on display. I especially enjoy the portrait galleries. I am…
Read MoreBack to Belize and my visit to the Community Baboon Sanctuary.
It was two weeks ago today that I visited the famous Community Baboon Sanctuary located in the rural Belize River valley. The sanctuary protects Howler Monkeys, an endangered species , which are locally known as baboons. The 20 square mile sanctuary protects the monkeys environment. Local farmers agreed to protect the monkeys and the trees…
Read MoreDinner time in the backyard.
The Lehigh River Gorge, sure looked more like January than March, pretty, but still a frozen world.
I am not a cross country skier or snow shoer so not many options where I can walk in this heavy snow pack. Thanks to the local snowmobilers, there is always a somewhat clear trail in the Lehigh River Gorge. Took advantage of this and headed down there on…
Read MoreBack Down to the Lehigh, Still Frozen But Signs of Spring.
Got a little warmer today, and sure felt Spring in the air but still a lot of snow out there and not many options on hiking in the woods. Once again I headed down to the Lehigh Gorge to take advantage of the trails made by the snowmobilers. The river is still mainly frozen and…
Read MoreThey Say Beauty Is In the Eye Of Beholder, What Do You Think, Is This Turkey Beautiful Or Ugly?
About a month ago, a flock of gobblers, male turkeys, chased off the hens that had been wintering in my back yard and have been visiting ever since. Like the deer, they have their feeding hierarchy with the bigger, older birds eating first. I threw out some sunflower seeds yesterday afternoon and was able to…
Read MoreBlack-collared hawk Crooked Tree Belize
Don’t want to put our local turkeys on the spot but I like this magnificent bird, a black-collared hawk .I photographed this one in Belize and I think it has the wild turkey beat in appearance. Here is a link to some more photographs of this beautiful bird. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2/belize-february-2015/nggallery/belize-2015/black-collared-hawk belize#gallery/5489f221decc881b58f85fc6be80668e/850
Read MoreSorry Couldn’t Find A Robin to Photograph Yet, But Still Plenty of Feathered Activity in My Backyard.
I was hoping, with the warm temperatures and rapidly melting snow, to spot a robin today. I thought I heard one singing in the distance on my walk this morning. I took my camera and set out to find one after work but no luck today. My dad and my brothers Mike and Joe would…
Read MoreSorry Couldn't Find A Robin to Photograph Yet, But Still Plenty of Feathered Activity in My Backyard.
It’s Time For Spring!!!
It’s that time again. I have enjoyed this MGM cartoon for many years. So appropriate when that same battle with old man Winter is going on here in the northern climes. Great cartoon and worth watching if you haven’t seen it before, or re-watching if you did. And I’m not saying who wins the battle,…
Read MoreIt's Time For Spring!!!
One Good Thing About Clear Cold Nights, There Always Will Be Stars.
It’s clear and cold out there, and the quarter moon won’t be rising until after midnight, Perfect conditions to check out the stars. The photo shows the eastern sky with the planet Jupiter being the brightest object. The two stars in the upper left are Castor and Pollux from the constellation Gemini. Aldebaran is to…
Read MoreBirds of Belize.
I finally got around to putting together an album of all of the different species of birds I photographed on my recent trip to Belize. Here is the link to the album. It can also be found on my Belize photograph page.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2/belize-february-2015/nggallery/belize-2015/birds-of-belize-february-13-20-2015#gallery/1b3db4187a3c1ae17741376927f6e2f7/1020. I tried to name the ones I could identify and guessed at others.…
Read MoreA Walk on the Railroad Tracks, It’s Still Winter Out Here.
We had a bitterly cold and snowy Winter here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I was glad for the return of the sunshine and warmer temperatures this past week. A lot of snow melted on the streets, sidewalks and yards. Well I decided to hike out the railroad tracks near my house and found that there sure is…
Read MoreA Walk on the Railroad Tracks, It's Still Winter Out Here.
Middle Creek, A Great Place To Watch Migrating Waterfowl, Even When the Lakes Are Frozen.
It’s that time of year when all of nature, we humans included, start anticipating the arrival of Spring. In the bird kingdom, a lot of the migratory waterfowl species start heading north. And for countless years canadian and snow geese, tundra swans and many species of ducks would stop at Middle Creek in southeastern Pennsylvania.…
Read MoreRobins, Welcome Back!!! We Sure Missed You.
They are late this year. They weren’t braving that deep snow cover and cold temperatures. I’ve been out looking for them for a over week now and I knew as soon as I began my walk this morning they were back. I heard that beautiful song in the morning twilight and knew I would spot…
Read MoreBirds In My Backyard
Although a lot of snow melted this past week, there is still a pretty deep snow pack in the woods so I wasn’t going out hiking this afternoon. Decided to just sit and relax and watch my feathered friends show up for dinner. I love watching birds at my feeders. Cardinals, downy woodpeckers, house finches,…
Read MoreThe Return of The Turkey Hens.
Another Sign Of Spring, The Sun Moving into the Northern Sky.
Here in my backyard in Northeastern Pennsylvania, seeing the sunset is another sure sign Spring is just about here. My house is located on a ridge that runs east to west and my house is on the northern side of the ridge. So, shortly after the autumnal equinox, the first day of fall, I can…
Read MoreThe Big Dance In My Backyard, And It’s Doesn’t Include Basketball Players.
As those of you following my blog may know, the turkey hens started showing up in my yard this past week after a few months absence. The male gobblers were feeding here all Winter after they scared the hens off. Well this morning the hens and gobblers ran into each other and the gobblers weren’t…
Read MoreThe Big Dance In My Backyard, And It's Doesn't Include Basketball Players.
More Backyard Visitors.
Not being a cold weather person, I waited a long time for the arrival of Spring and was very disappointed when it arrived with four inches of snow here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. But it still did arrive and so did the robins and geese. There still is not a lot of plant growth because of the deep…
Read MoreDeer Watching Last Night In My Backyard, A Very Relaxing Passtime.
Is It Really Spring? Sure Doesn’t Look That Way Down Here. .
Wasn’t the way I had been planning to spend the first full day of Spring down at the Lehigh River Gorge. Looked more like a walk in the middle of January on my hike today. . But that is what we expect here in the mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The unexpected. Some years the trees…
Read MoreIs It Really Spring? Sure Doesn't Look That Way Down Here. .
No, It’s Not A Snow Storm, Just Some Fowl Weather of the Snow Geese Variety, Amazing To Watch!
We returned to Middle Creek today hoping that the cold weather we were having may have delayed the yearly Spring migration of the canada and snow geese, tundra swans and many species of ducks. And it did. Words, photographs and videos can not capture or describe the beauty of multitudes of birds honking and flying in…
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