Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~ Charlie Chaplin

Rubythroated.Hummingbirdhummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuron River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"May the forces of evil get confused on the way to your house." ~ George Carlin

Rubythroated.Hummingbirdhummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuron River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“The daily hummingbird assaults existence with improbability.” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

Rubythroated Hummingbirdhummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuron River and WatershedMichigan fauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~ John Hughes

Rubythroated.Hummingbirdhummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuron River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” ~ Bertrand Russell

Rubythroated HummingbirdHummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuon River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"Forget the failures. Keep the lessons." ~ Dalai Lama

Rubythroated Hummingbirdon the wingHuron River and WatershedMichiganfaunahummerbirdhummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"Listen to the hummingbird whose wings you cannot see. Listen to the hummingbird, don't listen to me." ~ Leonard Cohen

Rubythroated Hummingbirdon the wingHuron River and WatershedMichiganfaunahummerbirdhummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ~ \Robert Lynd

RubyThroated Hummingbirdhummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuron River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Hummer's World ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"A route of evanescence
With a revolving wheel;
A resonance of emerald,
A rush of cochineal;
And every blossom on the bush
Adjusts its tumbled head, —
The mail from Tunis, probably,
An easy morning's ride."
Emily Dickinson, "The Humming-Bird"

RubyThroated HummingbirdhummerbirdArchilochus colubrison the wingHuron River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Wrapping All These Beautiful Pixels Around this Sweet Little Jewel ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed... That can make life a garden." ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

RubyThroated HummingbirdbirdhummerHuron River and WatershetMichiganon the wingfauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"Soyez gentil et ayez du courage." ~ Anne Frank

Rubythroated Hummingbirdhummerbirdhummingbirdfaunaon the wingHuron River and WatershedMichigan

Coming in for a Landing ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~ John Muir

MichiganHuron River and WatershedRubythroated Hummingbirdhummerbirdhummingbirdfaunaon the wing

One Last Sip Just Before the Storm ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Female ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail." ~ Edwin Land

MichiganfaunaHuron River and Watershedon the wingRubythroated Hummingbirdhummerbirdhummingbird

American Goldfinch ~ Spinus tristis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

This regular visitor to our hummingbird feeder carefully shimmies down the pole and turns upside down to help himself to a few sips of water from the ant moat ~ he seems to prefer the moat over our mister and birdbath.

Goldfinchspinus tristisbirdfinchacrobatshortdistance migrant

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Rubythroated HummingbirdHummeron the wingbirdhummingbirdHuron River and WatershedMichiganfauna

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Male ~ Archilochus colubris ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"Think and wonder, wonder and think." ~ Dr. Seuss

on the wingbirdhummingbirdRubythroated HummingbirdfaunaHuron River and WatershedMale Archilochus colubris Huron River and WatershedMichigannature

"For the poor Wren. The most diminutive of birds, will fight, Her young ones in her nest, against the owl." ~ William Shakespeare

House WrenTroglodytes aedonon the wintbirdnest boxfaunasongbirdforager

Tufted Titmouse ~ Baeolophus Bicolor ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"I once met a man who said he had visited every exotic place from the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall, but when I questioned him closely I discovered he hadn't seen the songbirds in his own backyard." ~ Richard Bode

Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolorbirdechoing voicesongbirdnatureon the wingfaunaforageracrobat

Black-capped Chickadee ~ Poecile atricapillus ~ Huron River and Watershed

"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." ~ Author unknown, quoted in The Ladies Repository: A Monthly Periodical, Devoted to Literature, Arts, and Religion, September 1874, commonly misattributed to Henry Van Dyke and Henry David Thoreau

curious.and.socialBlackcapped.ChickadeePoecile atricapillusacrobatspresence may indicate other migrantscommunications complex and language likeold brain neurons replaced by new for adaptation purposesHuron River and Watershedfaunaon the wingsongbirdnot migratorynature

Downy Woodpecker, Leaning Against Stiffened Tail Feathers for Support ~ Dryobates pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensHuron River and WatershedMichiganbirdacrobatic foragerblack and whitefaunafrequent members of mixed flocksdrum rather than sing songsoldest almost 12 yearsshort billwhite spottingmales have red napeshrill whinnying calleat mainly insectsexcavating nest holes takes 1 to 3 weeksundulating flight pattern

Downy Woodpecker ~ Dryobates pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." ~ Albert Einstein. Thank you, Carl Berger.

Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensHuron River and WatershedMichiganbirdnatureacrobatic foragerjoins mixed flocksdrummersdon't sing songsundulating fliersPico PubescentePic mineursmall versions of classic woodpeckersmales have small red patch on back of headcommon feeder birdfauna

Happy Thanksgiving from Michigan!

"When I was younger, I used to drive up to a bunch of turkeys, roll down the window and say something. They'd all gobble back at once." ~ Levon Helm

Huron.River.and.Watershedfaunaon the wingnaturebirdWild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavofeathersgobblersonly 1 of 2 domesticate birds native to new worldmay be named after country Turkeysome turkey fossils date from more than 5 millions years agocan swimgame birdunfeathered headblack and red wattlesbronze and green iridescent plumageroost in treestravelroost and forage in flocksresponds well to efforts of game maangers2nd most sought game after deergive softpurring sounds while on ground

Morning Walk ~ Huron River and Watershed

“A walk?" said Catharine. "One foot in front of the other," said Newt, "through leaves, over bridges---” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

morningwalkHuron River and WatershedMichigangrasstreesskybridgepathwaypuddles

River in October ~ Huron River and Watershed

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it by yourself.
It is not far. It is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.
Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land.”
~ Walt Whitman

riverskycloudstreesHuron RiverOctoberfallautumnMichiganripples

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” ~ Ansel Adams

floraHuron River and WatershedMichiganflowerswildflowersyellowpetalsleavessummertime

Design and Natural Beauty

"People travel the world over to visit untouched places of natural beauty, yet modern gardeners pay little heed to the simplicity and beauty of these environments...these special places we all must preserve and protect, each in his own way, before they are lost forever." ~ Mary Reynolds, Gold Medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, 2002, for her garden design; her story is portrayed in the lyrical movie, "Dare to be Wild." Here's an attempt to capture one small lovely corner of a local Master Gardener's efforts.

colorsnatural beautygarden designDare to be WildMary Reynoldswild garden sanctuarynatural environmentnaturewild naturewild spaces

Flora ~ Huron River and Watershed

"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you would not ignore its beauty." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

floraflowergardenplantwhite bloomspetalsleavesnatural beauty

Rattlesnake Master ~ Eryngium yuccifolium ~ Huron River and Watershed

"Gardens are not made by singing, 'O, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade." ~ Rudyard Kipling

gardensflowersfloranaturenaturalHuron River and WatershedMIchigan

Voice of the Marsh ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"The voice of the frog is the glory of the marsh waters." ~ Sumerian Proverb

frogamphibianwaterfaunanaturebatrachianpolliwogcroakersemaquatic

Natural Beauty ~ Huron River and Watershed

"The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly." ~ Ponce Denis Ecouchard Lebrun

butterflynatural beautyyellowwingsantenaepetalsnatureon the wingflowersflora

Morning Glory ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” ~ Buddha

Morning GloryblueglowHuron River and WatershedMichiganflowerfloranaturegardenvine

Blossom and Light ~ Shenango Valley, Pennsylvania

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." ~ Albert Einstein

blossomlightflowerflorapinkpondgreenleavesShenango ValleyPennsylvania

Cascading Color ~ Hermitage, Mercer County, Pennsylvania

“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” ~ Jim Carrey

naturecascadingfloracolorflowersfloralplantsgardenHermitageMercer CountyPennsylvaniapink

Panoramic view from the upland hill and forest at the corner of Highup and Hunter roads, Jasper, Steuben County, New York

My ancestor, Jacobus James Quick, V, born 1797, his wife, Lucy Glosson, born 1808, and one of their children, Sylvenus Quick, born 1833, are buried along with several of the Marlatt family in the small Marlatt Cemetery on the edge of the forest just behind me. This might have been their view.

"Geographically, Jasper is located in the southwest part of the county, and contains 31,300 acres of land. The surface is a hilly and broken upland, some of the elevations reaching more than 2,000 feet above tide water. The streams are small brooks, and the soil is slaty, gravelly and clayey loam. From the hills of Jasper, in years past, there has been taken a quality of stone specially adapted to the manufacture of grindstones, but remote from the railroads of the county, and from commercial centers, the natural resources of this town have never been fully developed. Its inhabitants are, and for all time during the period of its history have been farmers; earnest, honest, steady and hardworking husbandmen, who, notwithstanding the disadvantages of location and the difficulty attending successful cultivation of the land, have succeeded in establishing for themselves a satisfactory and even comfortable condition of affairs, and the town today ranks well among the best farming sections of the county. The settlement of Jasper was begun in 1807, while the territory formed a part of the original town of Canisteo. The pioneer seems to have been Nicholas Brotzman, sr., or Prutzman, as once known, who came from Tioga County, Pa., and penetrated the dense forests that bordered on Canisteo River and Tuscarora Creek, until he reached the spot where he afterward lived. This pioneer was a German, and was perhaps was one of the most persevering of the early settlers in this whole region. His cabin was built near Marlatt's Corners of later years."
~ Landmarks of Steuben County, New York. Edited by: Hon. Harlo Hakes, Assisted By: L. C. Aldrich and Others. D. Mason & Company, Publishers, Syracuse, New York, 1896

landpanoramauplandforestJasperSteuben CountyNew Yorklandscapefarmtreescloudsskyhills

Intentional Lifestyle of the Amish ~ Horse and Buggy Along Backroad ~ Jasper, Steuben, New York

"Little by little, one travels far." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

transportationhorsebuggyAmishbackroadsJasperSteubenNew Yorkrural

Chrystal Cemetery ~ Chrystal, Potter, Pennsylvania

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." ~ Henry Miller

Chrystal CemeteryPotter CountyPennsylvania

Lazing on a sunny afternoon ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan

"And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime."
~ written by Ray Davies, the Kinks

lazingsunny afternoonswansgooseislandwatertreelife of luxurybirdsKensington MetroparkMichigan on the wingfaunamute swansCanadian Goose

Barn Swallow ~ Hirundo rustica ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"In many parts of the world, having Barn Swallows nesting on one's property is considered a sign of good fortune or a harbinger of spring. Legend has it that Barn Swallows consoled Christ on the cross by trying to remove the crown of thorns from his head and attempting to divert those coming to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Stories are told that Barn Swallows got their forked tails because they stole fire from the gods to give to the people, and their central tail feathers were shortened when they were burnt off by a firebrand hurled by a wrathful deity. Other legends have it that cows will give bloody milk or go dry if anything inopportune happens to the Barn Swallows nesting on a farm; lightning may even strike a house if a Barn Swallow nest is removed." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Barn SwallowHirundo rusticabirdblueon the wingfeathersbillcolbalt bluetawny belowagile flyerdeeply forked tailnests almost exclusively on human built structureswinters in Southern Hemispheresparrow sized swallowrusty throat and foreheadwhite spots under tail seen only in flightfeed almost exclusively in flightlong distance migrantfauna

White-breasted Nuthatch ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” ~ J.M. Barrie

Whitebreasted NuthatchSitta carolinensisHuron River and WatershedMichiganbirdshort tailed birdblack caprusty spots on bellyclings to tree barkmoves at odd anglesperch upside down on treeslargest nuthatchgray blue on backwhite face and underpartshoodbirds of mature woodssmall bird with big voiceon the wingfauna

Fluffy Northern Cardinal ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
– Karl Lagerfeld

faunaNorthern CardinalCardinalis cardinalisbirdredHuron River WatershedMichigansweet whistlenonmigratorysongbirdstate bird of 7 statesmale black mask and throatlike sunflower seedsmales spread wings to protect young from sun

Fluffy White-breasted Nuthatch ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains." ~ Anne Frank

White breasted NuthatchbirdSitta carolinensis Huron River WatershedMichiganfeeder birdon the wingfauna

Cedar Waxwing ~ Bombycilla cedrorum ~ Huron River and Watershed

"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all." ~ Stephen King

Bombycilla cedrorumCedar WaxwingHuron River and Watershedbirdwingsfeatherstailred wax dropletseat berriesfaunaonthewingwaxy red secretionsspecializes in eating fruiutprominant crestpale hellow bellymediumsized birdsocial birdshort to longdistance migration

Musquash ~ Huron River and Watershed

"Courage. What makes the flag on the mast to wave? What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot?" ~ Cowardly Lion/L. Frank Baum

native to North AmericamusquashHuron River and Watershedanimalfaunasemiaquaticwaterwetlandnot member of genus Rattusmusky odormuskbeavermuskratHudson seal fur

Red-bellied Woodpecker ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." ~ Stephen Hawking

Redbellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinusbirdMichiganwoodpeckerHuron River and Watershedred capbillswingsfeathersbeakwoodson the wing

Mama Sandhill Crane and Her Endearing Canada Gosling ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan

10 days later and never leaving the other's side.

Canada GoslingCanada GooseBranta canadensisSandhill CranefamilyKensington MetroparkMichiganbirdsgoslingwaterfowlbirdadopted goslingunlikely pairingon the wingfaunaanimalnaturewildlifeadoptedHuron River watershedAntigone canadensis

Northern Cardinal, Male ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"May you come to find comfort in and remember ~ cardinals appear when angels are near. So go now, sit outside and drink your tea. Keep a look out for the little red bird ~ it is there your loved ones will be." ~ Victoria McGovern

CardinalCardinalis cardinalisbirdHuron River and Watershedredwingsfeathersbillbeaktailnonmigratorydo.not.moltprefer sunflower seedssongbirdstate bird of 7 statesprominent crestthick billblack maskmalelongtailed16 different calls

Family ~ Adopted Canada Gosling, Mama Sandhill Crane, and Papa Sandhill Crane keeping watch over his family ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan

"Sandhill Cranes with Canada Goose Gosling"

Canada GoslingCanada GooseBranta canadensisSandhill CranefamilyKensington MetroparkMichiganbirdsgoslingwaterfowlbirdadopted goslingunlikely pairingon the wingfaunaanimalnaturewildlifeadoptedHuron River watershedAntigone canadensis

Family ~ Adopted Canada Gosling, Mom Sandhill Crane Stretching, and Brother Sandhill Crane Colt ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan

"Sandhill Crane Plays Mother Goose to Adopted Gosling at Kensington Metropark"

Canada GoslingCanada GooseBranta.canadensisSandhill CranefamilyKensington MetroparkMichiganbirdsgoslingwaterfowlbirdadopted goslingunlikely pairingon the wingfaunaanimalnaturewildlifeAntigone canadensisHuron River Watershedadopted