*master gallery

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Straight on 'til Morning ~ Huron River
“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning." ~ J.M. Barrie
nature fauna Canada Goose Branta canadensis birdsinflight bird geese Huron River Black necked white chinstrap honker northward range shift assortative mating 33 years oldest known wild Canada Goose waterbird waterfowl long webbed feet wide flat bill long neck dabbler grazer on the wing
Migrating Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"Fly silly sea bird, no dreams can possess you, no voices can blame you for sun on your wings." ~ Joni Mitchell
preening river wings beak feathers rock seabird DoublecrestedCormorant bird Phalacrocorax auritus Huron River Watershed Michigan gangly prehistoriclooking fishing bird frigate birds are relatives black waterbird migration colonial waterbird water
Juvenile Sandhill Crane with Family, Keeping Watch and Foraging ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." ~ Shakespeare
Sandhill Crane Antigone canadensis farmers field green bird gray body crimsoncapped elegant rolling cry gangly grace trumpeting sound dancing skill mate for life and yearround juvenile family oldest Sandhill Crane 36 years bugling call bustle of dropping feathers beak broad wings white throat tall bird foragers plumage feathers Huron River watershed Michigan pasture choose partner based on display dance survival tied to fate of habitat animal
USAF Thunderbird No. 5 ~ Thunder over Michigan Air Show ~ Willow Run Airport, Michigan
"Major Whit Collins is the Lead Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, flying the No. 5 jet. He earned his commission in 2006 as a graduate of The Citadel’s Air Force ROTC program. While studying Computer Science, he enjoyed playing intramural soccer and was president of the school’s aviation club.... Before joining the Thunderbirds, Collins served as an F-16 Operational Test and Evaluation Instructor Pilot at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He has logged more than 1,500 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 150 combat hours. Collins is in his second season with the team and hails from Warner Robins, Georgia." ~ text from AFThunderbirds.com
United States Air Force USAF squadron Willow Run Airport Michigan flight Thunderbirds Thunder over Michigan pilot aviation military aviation aircraft airplane sky fighter technology start your engines airshow Thunderbird demonstration airman volunteer America's Ambassadors in Blue inflight precisionflying sharp choreography F16 Fighting Falcon opposing solo pilot cockpit jet wings contrail Thunderbird 5
Upside Down USAF Thunderbird #6 ~ Air Show ~ Willow Run Airport, Michigan
"Major Matt Kimmel is the Opposing Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron. flying the No. 6 jet. He earned his commission in 2008 as a graduate of the University of Southern California's Air Force ROTC program.... Before joining the Thunderbirds, Kimmel served as an F-16 Evaluator Pilot at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. He has logged more than 1,700 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 715 combat hours. Major Kimmel is in his first season with the team and hails from Vacaville, California." ~ text from AF Thunderbirds.com
United States Air Force USAF squadron Willow Run Airport Michigan flight Thunderbirds Thunder over Michigan pilot aviation military aviation aircraft airplane sky fighter technology start your engines airshow Thunderbird demonstration airman volunteer America's Ambassadors in Blue Thunderbird 6 maneuver inflight precisionflying sharp choreography F16 Fighting Falcon lead solo pilot cockpit jet wings 57th Wing
Thunder over Michigan ~ Willow Run Airport
Renowned aerobatics flyer and one of the Living Legends of Flight, Sean Doherty Tucker, pilots his stunt bi-plane, Oracle Challenger III, an Extra 300L. This was his final flight as a solo performance. "We did a ballet in the sky together." ~ Sean D. Tucker
Thunder over Michigan Willow Run Airport Michigan aerobatics smoke oil contrail nimble flyer flying Sean Tucker pilot stuntflying biplane Oracle Challenger Extra 300L solo performance last flight ballet in the sky aviation airshow Living Legends of Flight aviator Team.Oracle flight unlimited class aerobatic aircraft composite siting device cheater aileron spade propeller Lycoming.AE10540 engine Walter Extra extreme maneuverability small wingspan large rudders four blade Properller prop sky airplane aircraft
Great Blue Heron's Escape ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
This Great Blue Heron had been, just moments before, majestically poised motionless along the Lake Erie freshwater marsh, scanning for prey. Suddenly, a juvenile Bald Eagle soared in and perched in high, dead tree branches just outside the wetland area, surveying the area and enjoying his grand visibility. Once spotting this "intruder," a colony of Caspian Terns from a nearby beach area immediately began aggressively harassing the Eagle in the tree, swooping down on him in droves, sounding their heron-like cries while protecting young Caspians in their colony. The Eagle then decided it was best to escape all the raucous. His escape flight path was nearly over the Great Blue Heron, and as soon as the Heron spotted the Eagle in the skies overhead, he immediately headed toward and landed in a herbaceous wetland thicket for cover. I managed to snap this photo of the Heron just before he disappeared into the brush. The Eagle shortly left the territory for more peaceful grounds, the Caspian Terns settled down and seemed satisfied that their young were safe once more, but the Great Blue Heron seemed happy to remain hidden in the thicket for at least quite a while.
hollow bones Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Pointe Mouilee Michigan Lake Erie coastal wetland bird thicket marsh wetland animal nature Great Lakes heron bluegray plumage escape inflight
Caspian Terns ~ Hydroprogne caspia ~ Pointe Mouilee, Michigan
"The oldest recorded wild Caspian Tern was at least 29 years, 7 months old when it was found in Louisiana in 1989. It had been banded in Michigan in 1959. The average life span of Great Lakes Caspian Terns is estimated to be 12 years." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
aerial acrobats dark caps largest tern in world shallowforked tail bird tern Caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia Pagaza Piquirroja shoreline Lake Erie Michigan Pointe Mouilee aerial ballet divers drive away bald eagles to protect young Sterne caspienne sand water animal beach rock
Caspian Tern, Juvenile ~ Hydroprogne caspia ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." ~ Henry David Thoreau
dark cap largest tern in world shallowforked tail bird tern Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia Pagaza Piquirroja shoreline Lake Erie Michigan Pointe Mouilee aerial ballet divers Sterne caspienne aerial acrobats drive away blad eagles to protect young water swallow name refers to Caspian Sea call is loud heronlike croak plungers highly vocal seabird monogamous animal sky flight bird in flight juvenile
Mallard, Male ~ Anas platyrhynchos ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place.... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." ~ Elliott Erwitt
allyellow.bill male duck bird eclipse plumage blue speculum with white border mallard Anas platyrhynchos water Lake Erie Great Lakes wings wild wetland North American Michigan Canard colvert ancestory of nearly all domestic ducks males don't quack dabbling duck generalist forager flapping wings drake wild drake nonbreeding omnivorous grazes animal ánade azulón
The Approach ~ 1978 Cessna 152
Fixed-wing, single-engine. Owner: Butternut Aviation, LLC, Jackson, Michigan.

"The engine is the heart of an airplane, but the pilot is its soul." ~ Walter Raleigh
aircraft airplane Cessna singleengine approach fixedwing flight inflight tricycle gear onthewing
Great Blue Heron ~ Ardea herodias ~ Pointe Mouillee, Lake Erie
“And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in shower of all my days
High tide and the heron dived when I took the road
Over the border
And the gates
Of the town closed as the town awoke.”
~ Dylan Thomas
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias bird Pointe.Mouilee water animal nature Lake Erie Great Lakes heron majestic bluegray.plumage hollow bones
Black-necked Stilt, Juvenile ~ Himantopus mexicanus ~ Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Ohio
forager; shallow water wetland; marsh; shorebird; bird; wader; animal; marsh; wetland; Metzger; Ohio; Great Lakes; watershed; water; waterfowl
j van cise photos
Marsh Creature ~ Perhaps a Muskrat? ~ Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Ohio
“I have an immoderate passion for water; for the sea, though so vast, so restless, so beyond one's comprehension; for rivers, beautiful, yet fugitive and elusive; but especially for marshes, teeming with all that mysterious life of the creatures that haunt them. A marsh is a whole world within a world, a different world, with a life of its own, with its own permanent denizens, its passing visitors, its voices, its sounds, its own strange mystery.” ~ Guy de Maupassant
animal Metzger marsh wildlife Ohio semiaquatic rodent diver swimmer mammal riparian zone wetland Great Lakes Lake Erie plant lily nature water
Garden Path by the Sea ~ Maine Coast
"The artist is the confidant of nature, flowers carry on dialogues with him through the graceful bending of their stems and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms. Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him." ~ Auguste Rodin
seacoast garden path garden path lupines flowers sea Atlantic Ocean Maine Eastern Seaboard purple lupinus lupin plant legume family ornamental plant food source perennial bluebonnets quaker bonnets legume macro flower
Low Tide ~ Winslow Cove, Maine Coast
"If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." ~ Vincent Van Gogh
Maine coast low tide Winslow Cove Penobscot cove water tide rocks ocean Atlantic Ocean Eastern Seaboard nature
Shakespeare in the Arb ~ *Romeo and Juliet*
"Rehearsal in progress ~ prop swords in use." Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, University of Michigan. Live performance dates: June 7-10, 14-17, 21-24.
Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet tragedy Matthei Botanical Gardens Nichols Arboretum University of Michigan Shakespeare in the Arb dress rehearsal play starcrossed lovers romance Italian friends of Romeo and Juliet here
Chef Preparing Dinner ~ with Reflections on Glass
"Dinner is where the magic happens in the kitchen." ~ Kris Carr
reflections evening through the window hanging lights kitchen house eventide twilight preparing dinner cook chef view from the deck glass cooking glass door
Clematis ~ Huron River and Watershed
“The gardener cultivates wildness, but he does so carefully and respectfully, in full recognition of its mystery.” ~ Michael Pollan
Clematis vine clematis evening Huron River and Watershed flower vine plant pattern purple trellis garden buttercup climbing plant vigorous lianas woody twisting curling queen.of.climbers perennial macro
Pink Peony and Friend ~ Huron River Watershed
"The earth laughs in flowers." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
petals garden plant ant peony paeony Paeonia herbaceous perennial Paeon medicinal nectar flower pink
Three Little Goslings ~ Branta canadensis ~ Huron River, Michigan
"The early Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit, 'the wild goose.' And the reason why is they knew that you cannot tame him." ~ John Eldredge
goslings Branta canadensis Huron River Michigan Canada Geese chilsrap honker vformations water animal river
Mute Swan ~ Cygnus olor ~ Huron River
“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” ~ Don McCullin
water adaptable cisne vulgar white bird elegant Huron River exotic cygnus olor mute swan swan aquatic habitats river
Why did the turtle cross the road? ~ Huron River Watershed
"Because it wants to get to the other side!" ~ *The Knickerbocker* 1847
riddle turtle testudines bony shell cartilaginous shell shield diapsids reptile more ancient than snakes ectotherm coldblodded amniotes Chelonia shell Cryptodire carapace plastron road
Sandhill Crane ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River
"...nobility, won in the march of aeons." ~ Aldo Leopold
Sandhill Crane Antigone.canadensis elegance crimsoncapped gangly grace dancers trumpeters mate for life at least 2.5 millions years old live in open habitats buglers red crown large tall bird slate gray bird bird animal omnivorous Huron River
when your rooster crows ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Don't think twice, it's all right." ~ Bob Dylan
rooster gamecock bird male chicke barnyard polygamous lookout cockadoodledo crows any time of day clucker hackles comb wattles feathers farm chicken farm Cobblestone Farm cockerel waltz Persian bird sacred in some cultures animal barn
Tide Pools ~ Southern Outer Banks
“Perhaps this is the most important thing for me to take back from beach-living: simply the memory that each cycle of the tide is valid; each cycle of the wave is valid; each cycle of a relationship is valid.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
beach Emerald Isle North Carolina Eastern North Carolina Eastern Seaboard sand late afternoon water Atlantic Ocean Bogue Banks Crystal Coast seaside ocean waterscape tide sunlight coastline shore seashore sea sky wave dog person coast island barrier island
The Sea ~ Southern Outer Banks
"When you grow up by the sea, you spend a good deal of time looking at the horizon. You wonder what on Earth the waves might bring - and where the sea might deposit you - until one day you know you have lived between two places, the scene of arrival and the point of departure." ~ Andrew O'Hagan
dune dunes Emerald Isle North Carolina Eastern Seaboard sand Atlantic Ocean Bogue Banks Crystal Coast seaside ocean coastline shore seashore coast sea island barrier island sky water evening
waiting ~ Southern Outer Banks
“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach ~ waiting for a gift from the sea.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
swing glider beach Emerald Isle North Carolina Eastern North Carolina Eastern Seaboard sand dunes dune fence late afternoon water Atlantic Ocean Bogue Banks Crystal Coast seaside ocean waterscape tide sunlight coastline shore seashore sea sky wave dog coast island barrier island fence sea grass grass
effects of time and tide ~ Southern Outer Banks
“At ebb tide I wrote a line upon the sand, and gave it all my heart and all my soul. At flood tide I returned to read what I had inscribed and found my ignorance upon the shore.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
barrier island island sea coast seashore shore coastline sunlight tide ocean seaside Crystal Coast Bogue Banks Atantic Ocean late afternoon sand Eastern Seaboard North Carolina Emerald Isle dunes fence dune beach sky water
By the Beautiful Sea ~ Southern Outer Banks
"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea! You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!.... I love to be beside your side, beside the sea, beside the seaside, by the beautiful sea!" ~ Harold Atteridge/Harry Carroll ~ 1914
Eastern.Seaboard sea seaside ocean by the sea sand sky cloud water tide Bogue Banks Crystal Coast The Point Emerald Isle Atlantic Ocean Southern Outer Banks North Carolina surf dunes
Island Sunset ~ Southern Outer Banks
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato
island sunset evening Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina fading daylight sundown dusk nightfall twilight eve eventide gloaming vesper evensong west Atlantic Ocean barrier island Bogue Banks Crystal Coast Emerald Isle red atol east coast coast Atlantic seaboard coastal plain Southern Outer Banks dunes grass sand home clouds sun birdsinflight sky
Sweep of Sand ~ Southern Outer Banks
"A beach is not only a sweep of sand, but shells of sea creatures, the sea glass, the seaweed, the incongruous objects washed up by the ocean." ~ Henry Grunwald
beach sand sweep of sand Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina East Coast water waves birds coast shoreline shore coastline coastal plain coastal beach coastal Carolinas barrier island tide clouds sky Bogue Banks North Carolina seaside seashore seascape Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Seaboard Crystal Coast
Down to the Sea ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over."
~ John Masefield
seas seaside jacob's ladder sky clouds water tide waves sand shore shoreline Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Seaboard Bogue Banks Crystal Coast barrier island seashore sea isle seascape Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina East Coast nature coastal plain Southern Outer Banks beach
Play ~ Southern Outer Banks
Many thanks to Carl Berger for first calling these wise words to my attention: "Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else." ~ Margaret Mead
play Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina East Coast ocean Atlantic Ocean beach sandy beach coastal plain coastal coastal beach coastal Carolinas North Carolina waves misty day tidewater tide water waterscape saltwater dunes sand dune clouds sky people mist fog misty foggy sand shore shorelines seashore seascape seaside sea coast sea isle wet barrier island island Crystal Coast Bogue Banks feet sea
blades of grass in late afternoon sun ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars." ~ Walt Whitman
flora ocean Eastern North Carolina North Carolina Crystal Coast Bogue Banks blades of grass barrier island island Atlantic Ocean Eastern Seaboard seaside sand grass shadows dunes beach anchor hardy leaves rhizomes living on the edge dune grass symbiotic relationship with fungi
Gales of March ~ Emerald Isle, North Carolina
"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
gales march gale wind sand surf ocean water waves beach Emerald Isle North Carolina Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina barrier island island sea seaside tide sky Bogue Banks Crystal Coast nature whitecaps saltwter wave
Brown Pelican, Atlantic ~ Pelecanus occidentals ~ Southern Outer Banks
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” ~ Marc Riboud
bird pelican Brown Pelican Atlantic Ocean Pelecanus occidentals seabird brown skin on throat pouch graybrown bird ocean sea seaside coast water waves divers gliders broad wings wingbeats slow deep powerful sea coast nest in colonies island barrier island North Carolina Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina birdinflight onthewing wave
Kiteboarding ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you."
~ Christina Rossetti
clouds action sport wind Atlantic Ocean kite waves Emerald Isle Bogue Banks Crystal Coast island surf kiteboard kiteboarder kitepower rider sea ocean sky sand water beach wave people shore
wild sea oats ~ Eastern Seaboard
"Photography is a love affair with life." ~ Burk Uzzle
Uniola paniculata sea oats seaside oats arroz de costa grass subtropical grass coast coastline coastal plain coastal coastal beach coastal Carolinas sand dune beach plant southeastern United States large seed heads rhizomes inflorescences windpollinated florets barrier island beach front Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Atlantic Seaboard Eastern North Carolina Eastern Seaboard dune crest heat tolerant sea ocean nature saline environment sand stabilization nascent dune structure protected grass Bogue Banks Crystal Coast Southern Outer Banks water waves sky macro
Surfin' U.S.A. ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
.... Surfin' U.S.A."
~ written by Chuck Berry, performed by The Beach Boys
surf Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Seaboard ocean sea coastline Eastern Seaboard North Carolina Eastern North Carolina waves surfboard sky clouds
Tide Pool, Sand Dune and Clouds ~ Eastern Seaboard
Tide Pool, Sand Dune and Clouds ~ Southern Outer Banks
tide pool sand dune sky clouds tidewater sandy beach cloud Bogue Banks The Point Crystal Coast barrier island weather sand coast coastline beach water Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina East Coast coastal plain coastal beach coastal Carolinas North Carolina dune shore shoreline seashore seaside sea isle wet island
Wave Rider ~ Emerald Isle, North Carolina
"We organize our circumstances into stories, stories we pick up along the way and carry with us. Stories that declare, I’m lacking. Why me? stories. I’m alone, stories. What will I amount to? stories. Stories about who we should be. Or think we are. They are interior maps whose familiar roads we travel. Over and over. Yet when we apprehend these maps, these stories, these patterns … we awaken and rise, as it were, to a new perspective, to new possibilities." ~ Jean-Pierre Weill
surfing surf's up Emerald Isle Crystal Coast Bogue Banks Atlantic Ocean waves water sea seaside seashore water sport wave rider surfer ocean riding a wave standup surfing part of ancient Polynesian culture surf bathing swell barrel wave tube wave surfing culture recreation coastline wetsuit whitewash North Carolina Eastern North Carolina Eastern Seaboard surfboard sky wave
Wings of Willets ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ Emerald Isle, North Carolina
“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” ~ Ansel Adams
barrier island coastline shorebird North Carolina Crystal Coast Atlantic Ocean Emerald Isle birdinflight bird Tringa semipalmata willet waves sky water sea ocean animal wings
Land and Sea ~ Southern Outer Banks
“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” ~ Destin Sparks
sea seaside seashore sea coast sea isle seascape ocean Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Eastern Seaboard Eastern North Carolina North Carolina shore shoreline sky waves water dunes nature waterscape Bogue Banks Crystal Coast island barrier island tide landscape grass dune grass sand beach seaboard
"Good tidings we bring to you and your kin."
origin of carol lies in English tradition, per Wikipedia
present Holiday lights good.tidings we wish you a merry christmas bronze horse candleholder rocking horse bokeh Christmas lights decoration Happy Holidays Happy New Year feliz navidad joyeux noël schöne weihnachten Merry Christmas
Summer Gardens
"By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower." ~ Rabindranath Tagore
flowers summer summertime purple plant nature garden petals gardens macro flower
flora ~ Huron River
"If you are tired, keep going. If you are scared, keep going. If you are hungry, keep going. If you want to taste freedom, keep going." ~ Harriet Tubman
flora Huron River Michigan grass plant sunlight autumn fall
Flora ~ Huron River, Michigan
"When I have a camera in my hands, I know no fear." ~ Alfred Eisenstaedt
flora Huron River Michigan grass plant summer

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