A Spring Walk With My Macro Lens

 We have had a lot of  cool weather this Spring here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. May has been cool and rainy.  Not good weather for talking photographs.  This afternoon we had a break from the rain and I decided to take a quick walk near my home with my macro lens. 

Spring is so short. So much happens so quickly in the nature’s world. I love watching it unfold. I enjoy walking and trying to find and photograph the birds and animals which are so active. I also love to see, capture and share  the new leaves and flowers up close with my macro lens. 

Today I walked to the mine reclamation area near my house and captured some of the new growth of Spring, including some wild flowers. I love the smell of these, the honeysuckle. 

And these will turn into delicious blueberries or huckleberries in a few weeks. 

Even the seeds of the lowly dandelion look pretty up close. 

The new leaves of Spring are also so intricate and beautiful up close, such as these birch leaves. 

and these future acorns and  young oak leaves. 

I was surprised to find only a few insects on my walk. A few honeybees and this poor insect caught on a spider web. 

There were hundreds of these tiny snails  on the new stalks of the cattails growing in the wetlands along the reclamation area.

I heard a rustling in  some weeds near the water and saw this huge bullfrog. 

I also brought along a zoom lens, hoping to find some warblers or other song birds. Some years I see many of different species in this area. Not today. Just this phoebe,

and a few red winged blackbirds, including this female and

this male. 

I also saw this crow being chased by a smaller bird. i am hoping that was not one of the smaller birds babies in the crows beak. 

There was so much to see and photograph this time of year. The new ferns,

the lowly skunk cabbage

or  these strawberry flowers.

Life if  so amazing, from the tiniest fungus and insect to the largest redwood tree or whale. I love all of it. And Spring is the best time to see it here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, if you keep your eyes peeled. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike today. Macro walk May 17 2018. 

“Photography is a love affair with life.” Burk Uzzle