Wetlands in bloom

I needed to make a shopping run to the other end of town this morning, so I opted to take a walk along the Fern Ridge Bike Path while I was out that way. Even with a cloudy day, the wetlands were looking good.

I'm not sure I've ever been on this path without seeing one of these herons (and I've ridden my bike out here countless times). This guy seemed more bothered by the presence of a human than most of them do, but I managed to get a couple of shots of him.

Not sure what this is -- maybe a thistle? But it was cool nonetheless. For once, my camera almost focused perfectly -- but not quite. Admittedly, the detail is poorer in the shots I upload because I intentionally lower the pixel count, resize them for ease of uploading. Unfortunately, that takes away some of the clarity.

The day was foggy, overcast, and a little cool, but that usually makes for good photos, without the glare and shadows of the sun.

I guess this guy was grooming, but he was so still I thought maybe he was sleeping. I'm still not sure!


This is heavy zoom, so again, happy the camera did as well as it did.

The canal is generally alive with water fowl, but I didn't see many today. Once I was out on the bike and I saw a baby raccoon at the water's edge on the other side of the canal. Not sure what he was doing -- getting water, eating something, washing his face -- but he was really cute.

Blossoms were everywhere -- the white Queen Anne's Lace, the blue lupin, plenty of others.

Same flowers, a little closer. Couldn't decide which I liked best so you can decide for yourself.

This is actually my favorite photo of the day. I guess you'll just have to trust me when I say that the original, un-resized version is much more clear.

I was pretty fond of this guy, too. I'd scared him up from another place where I had a perfect shot earlier, but I was too slow on the shutter and he flew back behind me. I managed to catch him again for this and the first photo, hiding behind the foliage. I saw another one off in the distance flying, then landing far from the canal and bike path, probably at its nest. Doesn't matter how many times I see them, I'm always impressed.