Lens-Artists – Page 35 – Wandering Dawgs

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #188 – A Special Place

March 5, 2022Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, WildlifeTagged A Special Place, Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Lens-Artists, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Okefenokee Swamp, Photo Challenge, Wood Stork Nesting15 Comments

Our host Karina asks us to show us the places that are or were special to you and tell us why. I’ve chosen to feature two National Wildlife Refuges located in Southeast Georgia.

Working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mission

The National Wildlife Refuge System is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These public lands and waters across the United states are set aside to protect many species. They are special places to experience nature and to view wildlife. There are over 560 National Wildlife Refuges in the United States.

The Okefenokee Swamp is one of North America’s most unspoiled natural wilderness areas. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge web page, “the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has 353,981 acres of National Wilderness Area within the refuge boundaries. In addition, the refuge is a Wetland of International Importance (RAMSAR Convention – 1971) because it is one of the world’s largest intact freshwater ecosystems.”

The refuge headquarters are located in Folkston, Georgia. There is also access to the refuge in Georgia’s Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo and the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross.

*Alligators in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge*

*Turtle in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge*

*Swallowtail Butterflies in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge*

*Wild Turkey in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge*

*Snowy Egret in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge*

Located just a few miles east of I-95 in Townsend, Georgia, Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including nearly 350 species of birds. In the spring, hundreds of wood storks, egrets, and other birds can be seen building their nests in the trees on Woody Pond.

*Great Blue Heron in Flight at Harris Neck*

*Pair of Wood Storks building a nest at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge*

*Nesting Wood Storks and Great Egrets at Woody Pond*

Many thanks to our guest host Karina of Murtagh’s Meadow for the challenge Lens’Artists #188: A Special Place

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #187 – Water

February 25, 2022February 8, 2026Posted in Photography, TravelTagged Caribbean Cruise, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Viking Sea, water14 Comments

Our host Anne chose water as our challenge and asks us to “please show us your water fun and tell us about it.”

This challenge topic is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have always been a lover of water. Salt water, fresh water, oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, mountain streams, waterfalls, I love them all.

Lucky for me my husband Henry shares my love of water. We have lived within a few miles of the Atlantic Ocean for most of our life and are surrounded by salt marsh and salt water. Almost all of our travels have revolved around water of some kind. Usually, we stay somewhere near water but until this January we had never taken a cruise ON the water. These images show some of the water fun we had during our Caribbean cruise.

We hiked up steep stone stairs to see *Trafalgar Falls in Dominica*

*We watched planes land at the airport from Sunset Beach Bar, St. Maarten*

*Sailing on a catamaran to a snorkeling spot in the British Virgin Islands*

*The bow of the ship was our favorite place to watch the water as we cruised through the Caribbean*

Many thanks for Anne’s challenge Lens’Artists #187: Water

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #186 – Low Light

February 18, 2022Posted in Photography, TravelTagged Lens-Artists, Low Light, Photo Challenge20 Comments

In this weeks challenge Sofia has asked us to share our experiences, good or bad, with low light photography. I have always struggled taking photos in low light and have plenty of fails to show for it. Usually, when I succeed it’s just pure luck.

There was a beautiful full moon the night we were sailing away from St. Lucia on our recent Caribbean cruise. The header image is of the full moon over St. Lucia. A little while later I captured the Pitons on St. Lucia in the below image.

The rest of these images are a few of my attempts of taking photos inside with low light.

Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite National Park, California

Many thanks for Sofia’s challenge Lens’Artists #186: Low Light

Feeding the Backyard Birds

February 11, 2022February 11, 2022Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged Are you a bird feeder, backyard birds, Carolina Chickadee, Change, Georgia birding, Lens-Artists, Painted Bunting, Photo Challenge, ruby throated hummingbird, Sunday Stills, Tufted Titmouse32 Comments

I enjoy feeding my back yard birds and keep a feeder filled with seeds close to my butterfly garden. It’s fun to see how the birds in the yard change with the seasons. During the warm months I keep three hummingbird feeders filled with nectar and grow flowers that attract them. I enjoy sitting and watching the birds and trying to capture them with my camera.

In Fall and Winter birds like Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, House Finches, and Northern Cardinals show up frequently. All of these birds can also be seen at various times during the rest of the year. The pair of Northern Cardinals in the header photo were perched in a tree near the bird feeder this week. They like to hang around waiting for seeds to fall to the ground for an easy meal.

I start seeing a change in the birds in the spring when the weather starts warming up. The hummingbird feeders go up and I anxiously await the first Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Spring also brings the Painted Buntings to the yard. Both the hummers and the buntings come around frequently all spring and summer.

This post was inspired by John Steiner’s Lens-Artists challenge Change

and by Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge Are you a Bird Feeder? Her post reminds us that February is National Bird Feeding Month.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #184 – Travel Has Taught Me

February 5, 2022January 22, 2024Posted in Alaska, Louisiana, Photography, Texas, Travel, Utah, WildflowersTagged Antigua, Caribbean, Favorite Quotes, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, St. Kitts, Travel has taught me37 Comments

“To Travel is to Live” – Hans Christian Andersen

Travel has taught me that there is beauty everywhere you go if you just take the time to look around. When we were traveling by RV, we always had several major destinations for each trip. At first we just drove between destinations without taking much time to enjoy the places in between.

The more trips we took, the more we enjoyed the out of way places that are often overlooked by travelers. Lake Bistineau State Park, Louisiana was one of those places.

Cypress Trees in Lake Bistineau State Park

I’ve learned that traveling opens up opportunities to try new things, even things that terrify me. Our hike to Delicate Arch at Arches National Park is a perfect example of this. I’m scared of heights and almost didn’t make the hike when I read I would have to walk along a narrow ledge with a shear drop off. With Henry’s help and encouragement, I made it. The payoff was this fantastic view.

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah

I learned that asking a local is the best way to find out about the area, the history, and the out of the way places to visit that don’t show up in tour guides. One year we spent about two months wandering around Texas when the bluebonnets were blooming. A ranger I met in one of the state parks gave us directions to a scenic drive on a dirt road that we would have never discovered if we hadn’t asked.

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” -James Michener

Travel has taught me I can learn more about a lot about a place by having conversations with people who live there. At the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska we met two women who manage the gift shop and maintain all the graves. They grew up in Ninilchik together and lived with relatives in Anchorage to attend high school because at the time there was no high school in Ninilchik (there is one today). They graduated together in 1950.

Gift Shop for the Russian Orthadox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska

Travel has taught me to try the local foods. We have enjoyed barbecue beef brisket in Texas, pasties in Michigan, Indian Tacos in South Dakota and Arizona, New Mexico cuisine, local seafood in Florida, Washington and Oregon, pork tenderloin sandwiches in Missouri, Dungeness Crab straight off the boat in Alaska, and so many other delicious things we can’t get at home.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”― Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s quote describes exactly why Henry and I chose to go on our cruise in January. I’ve learned that every day is a gift. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. A single phone call, doctor’s visit, or an unexpected event can change your life in an instant.