I have a new favorite walk around here, as of yesterday. I've walked it once before, but yesterday I realized how much more scenic it is than the other 'around the block' walk, even though it has more frontage on the main drag out front.
The difference is that it takes me past several of the Delta Ponds with all their bird life. I was walking along the main drag this morning en route to the first pond and path leading to the river when this big boy flew up squawking from the pond across the street and landed in a nearby tree.
The sun was just starting to crest the big trees along the eastern horizon, so the lighting was interesting -- some large shadowed areas and some bright sunlit areas. And lots of herons this morning! I never get tired of them though there are many around here and they are a common sight.
As I rounded the corner of the above shot and got a different viewpoint of that pond, the heron flew away and joined another at some distance. Sure wish I had a better camera, but it is what it is and it's better than nothing.
I love the way the ponds look in the morning or evening light. Dramatic and beautiful.
A different pond where the sun has not yet reached. A couple of egrets fishing there. Wish I'd gotten more of the reflection, but these are long zoom shots and I'm lucky to hold the camera still enough to get anything at that distance. It's pretty, anyway.
Serene and pretty out there this morning, looking west across the ponds to where the sun is hitting the trees. There's an egret off the right above a horizontal branch, barely noticeable.
Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly, considering the people of Eugene) there was a lot of foot and even bike traffic out there this morning at 7:30!
Yet another pond, further down the path. This fellow was being an excellent subject, standing still as I clicked away. Still zoom, still hand-held, still not crisp, but it's the best I can do with what I have to work with. And most importantly, it's fun for me to do.
Lots of noisy, smaller birds flying around making loud noises. One landed near me briefly, long enough to see that it was a kingfisher. Another was white and seemed to be screeching 'kildeer'.
Early morning light makes such interesting patterns and colors. As you may or may not know, I never manipulate or enhance colors or other effects of my photos. At the most, I crop to get a better composition. This color is what I saw, as the still waters along the river turned into ripples. Pretty awesome, and even better when you can watch the water move in its undulating way.
So that was my morning walk. So grateful to have all this in my backyard, literally.
After almost a month I've finally found something I really don't like about this place. And that is the touchy and loud smoke detectors. The place has industrial models that flash and screech enough to wake the dead in any direction. I sometimes here them from other apartments, so I know I'm not the only one with the issue. This morning I was baking a biscuit, and it went off 4-5 times during the 15 minutes that took. And there was no smoke! I opened the window and even cracked the door to the hallway. Does not bode well for baking!
Happy day, everyone.
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