I never expected this....



Steam fog blowing off of Day Lake just before sunset



It was 40 degrees near Clam Lake Wisconsin with steam fog rising from Day Lake and blowing across the road we were on.

The weather was really different, with the air colder than the water and steam fog rising from the lakes. But the sun never made it through the clouds, so we decided to get up early the next day and hope for similar conditions and some light.

We made it back to Day Lake by 6:20am but the sun didn't. Just dark gray and gloomy clouds and a steady rain. I wasn't very optimistic about getting good photos, but I was with my dad and he was. So I started driving west towards Namekagon and was hoping for some light.

I don't know what flower this is with fog steam obscuring the trees and lake in the distance.



 

The rain let up, I glimpsed a sliver of blue sky through a crack in the clouds and saw some small pink flowers by the road. 

 

 

I haven't looked them up yet and don't know what they are, but it was nice to find some color. 

 

 

I was happy to find this blue flag iris looking it's best near some water by the road.

 

And even more excited by this female hooded merganser with her ducklings resting on a log in a small pond.

 

 

 

 

It was fun watching the baby ducks pile on top of each other, stretch their wings, and briefly nap, before jumping off of the log into the water. 

 

 

 

 

 



 

I didn't expect to find much to photograph with the way the day started.

 

 

On the way home I stopped to shoot a patch of wild lupines growing along the road. 

 

 

It was overcast and the colors were really vivid, but the mosquitoes were more than I could take. 

 

 

I had bugs on my eyes and in my ears and heard an almost incessant buzzing by my head as I tried to make these images. It was a struggle to keep the pictures sharp with a breeze moving the flowers and the bugs moving me.  

 

 

Yet, in the end it all worked out better than I could have hoped. Some days are luckier than others I guess. Hope you had a good day too.

A good couple of days for young birds

I spent last weekend near Lake Superior and was lucky enough to find and photograph a couple of different young birds like this mallard duckling.

 For several years I had been hoping to find a cooperative duckling and finally I got my chance.

This killdeer chick is almost as big as an adult but still unable to fly.

I really like the patterns and coloring of killdeer. The orange ring around their eye is very distinctive. This chick is big enough that it almost has its adult plumage.

In the last month I've had a lot of luck capturing images of birds, landscapes, and different critters that had alluded me for a long time. I hope it's the start of a positive trend. 

What the duck?

My kids and I went out looking for more gosslings, but found this hen mallard and her family instead.

The ducklings did a great job of staying with their mom as they fed and swam.

The little ducks seemed like cute little fluff balls on the water.

My kids started to get antsy and the sun was in and out, so it was time to go.

The hen watches her little ones as we left.

On our way back to the car a young red-tailed hawk flew just above our heads and alit on a pole nearby.

My son Zach saw it first, just after it flew over our heads.






It was lucky for me that both kids like hawks enough to happily wait a few more minutes as I took these photos. Kids, ducks, and a hawk, another afternoon well spent.