twofer tuesday

Twofer Tuesday: Bald Eagles edition

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

Today I received the gift of two Bald Eagles sitting on a moored timber off Ediz Hook. Upon sighting them, I hurried to the car for my camera and started taking photos from there, propping the lens on the roof. When I realized they were maybe going to stick around a bit longer, I moved closer and took more photos. And when it became clear they were just hanging out, I got closer yet and propped my big boom-a-roo lens on a log and sat as I snapped pic after pic. That’s where I was for this shot (click on images to enlarge). You can see their yellow eyes and the hooked tips of their impressive beaks.

I wanted to be ready to capture them in flight so switched the camera settings for action shots. Of course, they remained in place although the one eagle teased me by spreading their wings.

The eagle on the left did eventually fly off. Alas, those flight photos don’t do that glorious bird justice so I won’t sully this post with those.

Here’s the final eagle photo of the day, a majestic pose by the bird that stayed behind.

I’m so grateful not only for the gift of the eagles’ presence but also the last-second decision to grab my big lens before heading out. Oh, happy day!

Twofer Tuesday: taking action edition

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

Before I get started, I want to share an image from our walk today on a portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail.

I don’t know about you, but I take great delight in this moss-covered stump that reminds me of some kind of velour throne. Full disclosure: I fought the urge to sit on it.

That beautiful walk rejuvenated me and while I’d like to wander forever amongst the ferns and trees, it was time to return to reality. And as you know, there’s a lot going on and so much of it feels out of our control which is why I’m here to share a couple opportunities to take action.

ONE) Tomorrow (Wednesday, March 19th) #TeslaTakedown is holding a mass mobilizing call at 8:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm PT that will be livestreamed on YouTube. A link will be sent in the morning.  Register HERE & go to TeslaTakedown.com for more info on the people’s movement that’s making Elon Musk angry and tanking Tesla stock.

TWO) On Thursday, March 20, the American Postal Workers Union is holding a Day of Action as the Postal Service faces the most serious threat in its history as the Trump administration prepares a hostile takeover in order to privatize this bedrock institution! Go HERE to find an action near you (along with LOTS of resources including flyers, talking points, signs, etc). Here’s a sample that includes these FACTS about the United States Postal Service:

Even if you’re unable to participate in either event, please keep talking about what’s happening. As I talked the other day with the truck driver who’d driven our belongings from Colorado to Washington, I realized he had no idea about the many, many ways the unelected billionaire Elon Musk has been wreaking havoc in our lives. We’ve got to educate each other and I kicked myself for not having a flyer I could hand him with all the info from TeslaTakedown. Same goes for the Postal Service. I’m going to have some of these flyers with me so I can hand them to folks as we talk.

There’s a lot going on as they aim to shock and awe us into submission, so don’t feel bad about not being able to help on every front! None of us have that bandwidth. Instead, pick an issue or two that resonate and put some energy into that. Every little ripple we create adds to the tsunami of people-power. Solidarity!

Twofer Tuesday: Clear Creek edition

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

As mentioned, I celebrated yesterday’s birthday at Clear Creek. It was a good choice: lots of sunshine plus the peace of moving water. As we walked in search of a sunny place to picnic, we saw a man running behind his dog carrying a frisbee. I was disappointed that I didn’t have my camera ready to snap a pic. Well, a few minutes later, they ran past again and this time I was prepared. Such a happy doggie!

Then we found our spot in the sun.

After selecting flat-ish boulders near the water’s edge to sit on, Zippy and I ate lunch while watching leaves gently sway beneath the water’s surface and bubbles move along on top as they cast star-shaped shadows below. Despite people crossing on the nearby bridge, it felt like we had the creek to ourselves. Too soon, the sun dropped below the canyon cliff, and our sun-filled location was shady and cold. Time to head back home.

Though our outing was brief, it soothed my soul. I highly recommend sunshine and water for late November birthday celebrations.

Twofer Tuesday: out my window

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

Today I’m grateful for all the activity that’s viewable from my windows. Just a while ago, I paused my laundry duties to watch house wrens at the nesting box hanging outside the window. Nothing like a little avian activity to lighten the drudgery of dealing with dirty sheets and towels.

Last week, I photographed this youngster eating the nut munch we provide for neighborhood squirrels. I smiled the entire time.

A few minutes later, I was gifted the sighting of this magpie and its colorful plumage. It wasn’t until looking at the photos that I realized a tail feather is damaged. That imperfection doesn’t detract from its beauty, but instead adds to its mystique.

It’s currently 95 degrees and I’m hunkered down inside, grateful for the swamp cooler keeping the house cool-ish and for the windows that allow glimpses of our wildlife visitors.

Twofer Tuesday: feathered friends

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

Birds are keeping me going during these dark days. Even more than usual, I’m intentionally watching and listening for them with the knowledge that such interactions ground me and bring a moment of peace. And joy.

Today as Zippy, Emma, and I took a slow walk in the neighborhood, we heard a loud call. A hawk was perched in a tree above the street. I quickly pulled up my Merlin app in hopes it would help me identify whether it was a Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk. Unfortunately, the hawk went silent. But we were gifted with an up-close sighting as the raptor flew directly above our heads (and no, I couldn’t tell whether the tail feathers were rounded or flat) and then circled back around before landing in another tree. A gift to us.

Here’s another bird that brought me joy recently. A White-breasted Nuthatch exploring the tree trunk outside my window. I was thrilled to get a decent photo because these guys are always on the move.

January 13, 2024

And here’s a familiar face: male House Finch, of which we see many every single day. But every sighting brings a smile.

January 13, 2024

Once again, birds for the win.

Twofer Tuesday: American Robins

/ Tracy Abell

These are very hard days on the planet and  so I’d like to offer these photos I took while camping last week. American Robins are quite commonplace and have a distinctive, easy-to-identify profile. Here’s one of the many I spotted in the forest surrounding Trinidad Lake:

What I hadn’t previously experienced with robins was them flying like missiles through the forest. As I stood there with my camera and big lens mounted on the monopod while listening to the many birds hidden in the trees, robins flew past just inches from me, wings literally whistling. It was wild! And at one point, about thirty of them flew out from the trees, coming from all directions, to fly across the lake. I was too stunned to even try to photograph that flock. Here’s one that generously posed:

It was a lovely morning in those final hours before we packed up to start the drive home. Even though I’m far removed from that setting, looking at these photos brings me peace once again. I hope these lovely robins do the same for you.

Twofer Tuesday: ungulate edition

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

On the evening of our first night at Lodgepole Campground in Pike National Forest last week, we walked on the surrounding trails and drank in the natural beauty (while slapping at pesky insects). There are many beaver ponds in the area and we were happy to see a young moose in one.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my long lens so the images are weak but am posting these because I love moose and was so excited to see one. I was spoiled by daily moose sightings when we lived in Alaska. (Sometimes they’d come in the yard to eat the raspberry canes and the crunching sound was loud enough to be heard through the walls.)

As we stood admiring this youngster, Zippy quietly said, “Um, where is the mom?” And with that, we quickly walked away. Because all those Alaska moose sightings had also taught us the danger of getting between a calf and cow moose. (In fact, one day when I was skate-skiing on the Coastal Trail, pulling Wildebeest in the pulk that was attached to my waist, I saw a calf on one side of the trail and a cow on the other. I stopped and while somewhat frantically attempting to turn us around, tipped the pulk on its side. Fortunately, the pulk had a six-point harness that prevented my son from falling out and I was able to get the sled upright again so that we could head away from the protective mother moose. Whew!)

Our second ungulate sighting of the trip was on the day we left as we drove back out to the  highway. These pronghorn were standing at the fence, staring as we went by. (Zippy calmly remarked, “Hello, fellas.”) I stopped and slowly reversed to get a photo but by the time I got my camera up, they were moving away to safety.

I regret not getting a photo of their inquisitive faces, but there’s still a lot of personality in the way pronghorn walk away. A combination of nonchalance and hypervigilance. Either way, it was a lovely final image.

Twofer Tuesday: bunny edition

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

We are a rabbit-rich neighborhood this year. It’s typical for us to see at least one rabbit per yard as we walk our two-mile loop. Fortunately, Emma has gotten blasé about their presence and doesn’t go bonkers when she sees them. Often, she doesn’t notice them but Zippy and I have fun saying, “There’s one there and another over there and two babies hiding by the bush.”

But we don’t have to take a walk or even leave the house in order to see them. There are always (and I mean always) bunnies in our front yard.

Dining on the front lawn. May 19, 2023

The elders are wise and stay in the front where Emma can’t get to them. But last week we spotted one of the youngsters in the fenced backyard which I photographed through the window.

Zippy went out to open the gate so it could go back in front, but it went farther into the back. We kept Emma inside and checked to make sure the little bunny was gone before letting her out again.

Silly bunny. Why go into a space where a dog frequently roams? And why leave the grassy front for the mulch-covered back? And while we’re at it, do you rabbits really believe flattening your ears against your head makes you invisible?

Doesn’t matter. Bunnies are always welcome here.

Twofer Tuesday: watercolor memories

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

These are views from our campsite at Vega State Park last week. It’d rained all day and when it finally stopped, we emerged from Moby to do a little exploring in the calm, freshly-scrubbed air. The water’s surface was the perfect palette.

May 11, 2023

The peaceful quiet was only disturbed by the sound of Emma chomping on a crayfish claw shell she’d found and then refused to let me remove from her mouth. Naughty little dog.

 

Twofer Tuesday: stillness

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance. ~ Morgan Freeman

 

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. ~ Deepak Chopra

Out my window. July 30, 2021

Twofer Tuesday: feathered intrigue

/ Tracy Abell

Not a high-quality photo, but there’s some drama and intrigue here:

Barr Lake State Park April 8, 2021

I get the sense these two are working hard at ignoring each other because they’re already acquainted. Like, maybe they’ve had prior run-ins and now carry grudges. Or maybe they’ve never met, but that pelican with the stabby, knobby bill scares the bejesus out of the cormorant and beneath the surface it’s paddling like mad to get away.

Maybe they’re both new in town and too shy to strike up a friendship. Or maybe that cormorant’s haughty tilt of the beak is designed to keep other birds at a distance.

Maybe it’s really a well-choreographed water ballet that’s supposed to make us think these two dancers are on a collision course when really they end up executing an elegant near-miss.

More likely, the photo is just a fun little image from two years ago that makes me nostalgic for that day.

Twofer Tuesday: towhee edition

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

I love me some Spotted Towhees which frequently hang out in our backyard. We often hear them scrabbling through the mulch and leaves as they jump forward and scratch backward with both feet, and over the last two summers they nested in the yard which meant we also got to hear the juveniles making their raspy cries for their parents. Spotted Towhees have a high entertainment value.

These images were taken within days of each other last October and might possibly be the same bird. The only thing I know for sure is that they are not-great images!  But what better way to celebrate Twofer Tuesday than with two poor photos of the same subject?

This first one is woefully out of focus but we still get the the slightly punk rock attitude with those ruffled head feathers and red eye.

The second photo gives us a lovely view of the towhee’s back along with a glimpse of its underside. You know, to help with identification. HA. Mostly, it’s a nice shot of our deteriorating timbers and weed-choked pavers.

My mother-in-law once told Zippy that Spotted Towhees were her favorite bird (but then thanks to her memory issues, she promptly forgot that statement.) No matter, I remember and every time I see one, I think of Alice. Sweet-sweet-teeeeaaa.

Twofer Tuesday: Gray Jay edition

/ Tracy Abell

One of the friendliest bird species out there, here are two Gray Jays at our campsite in Mueller State Park. I know they have a reputation as “camp robbers,” but I enjoyed their presence and was glad whenever I had another sighting or heard them making their assortment of sounds off in a tree somewhere.

October 19, 2022

While running on the trails one morning, I nearly had to come to a full stop to avoid running over a jay in the middle of the trail. Not even my 9,000-feet-elevation huffing and puffing could scare it away.

A friendly and self-assured species, those Gray Jays.

Twofer Tuesday: nuthatch edition

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Last week I spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch at the feeder and snapped two quick photos. All I got was a blurred image followed by an empty feeder tray. As I peered out the window, trying to locate the nuthatch again, it hopped up onto the window sill right in front of me. My subject was just inches away! Once again, it moved too quickly for me to photograph, disappearing as quickly as it’d appeared.

But then the nuthatch took pity on me and posed on the rail with a safflower seed in its beak.

September 8, 2022

And it even gave me a profile shot.

Such a thoughtful feathered friend.

Twofer Tuesday: grasshopper edition

/ Tracy Abell

This robin held those two grasshoppers in its beak for about ten minutes. When I first spotted it on the wire, I refrained from running for my camera because I was sure it would fly off and I didn’t want to miss watching it. I was curious about how it would ingest two grasshoppers at once.

July 29, 2022

But after several minutes of the bird staying put while turning its head side-to-side, I went for the camera AND took the time to switch out the lenses. Still there! I took a bunch of shots, playing with the settings, and then went back to watching. Soon, a house finch landed on the wire a few feet away. It also appeared curious about the robin’s intent. Then, from off in the distance, another bird flew toward the wire. Before I could identify it, the finch and robin took off.

They knew what was up: a Cooper’s Hawk! The raptor landed in the tree, but all its potential meals had disappeared. We were both disappointed. I’ll never know if that robin was able to eat both grasshoppers.

Twofer Tuesday: Mallards

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Mallards are a common sight throughout North America and because of this, I sometimes forget just how stunning they are. Can you imagine going through life with a head like that?

May 9, 2022

Here’s a fun fact I just learned via the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

  • The standard duck’s quack is the sound of a female Mallard. Males don’t quack; they make a quieter, rasping sound.

Who knew that between the less-striking females and the males with the gaudy green heads, the females are the quackers? Wow. Guess that would seem like overkill for the males to be loud and reflect light off those shiny heads.

Twofer Tuesday: thistle edition

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Took my camera into the open space over the weekend where it’s not nearly as colorful and vibrant as last summer. The majority of wildflowers have already been and gone. However, the thistles had ample representation.

July 2, 2022

Thistles are an invasive species and I certainly don’t like coming into contact with their thorns as I run the trails, but they are fiercely beautiful. And the bees and butterflies appreciate their presence. As does this non-pollinator.

Twofer Tuesday: wading birds edition

/ Tracy Abell

Both of these birds were photographed in on the same May day in 2019. Florida isn’t my favorite state, but I sure do appreciate the wading birds. As I headed out that day, I saw this Yellow-crowned Night Heron patrolling an irrigation ditch.

May 6, 2019

And a few minutes later at Kapok Park, I peered through the foliage to see this Limpkin:

If you look closely at the above photo, you’ll see the left foot is raised in preparation for some elaborate screeching sounds. The foot remained aloft throughout the Limpkin’s tongue-waggling communication.

And then back to silent contemplation in its leafy green hideaway.

Possibly dreaming of its next meal of apple snails.

I took numerous photos of the heron (in hopes of getting at least one good photo), but the pose never changed. Whereas the Limpkin moved about and became very vocal, the heron made like a statue. Hence, one Heron pic to three Limpkin on this Twofer Tuesday.

Twofer Tuesday: raincatcher edition

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Birds frequently perch on the wire outside my kitchen window, but I’ve never seen this before:

June 6, 2022

It’d started to rain and these two Mourning Doves each lifted first one wing and then the other to catch the moisture, and then proceeded to groom themselves.  It was almost like watching synchronized swimmers (although I’m pretty sure the doves didn’t have to hold their breath) and I felt strangely honored to witness their routine.

I just did a quick online search for information about this phenomenon and came across a few posts on forums stating the equivalent of “I didn’t know doves did this” and “Very cool to witness.”

Have any of you seen doves bathing in the rain?

Twofer Tuesday: antelope edition

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Last week after leaving the Crow Valley Campground, we drove the 21-mile Birding Tour in the Pawnee National Grasslands. Alas, due to strong winds and dust, there weren’t a whole lot of birds out and about (aside from a huge number of Horned Larks which we’d never seen before plus some hawks on the ground that were too far away to identify).

However, we were gifted with antelope sightings. This small herd ran away from us as we sat idling on the road way far away from them. It seems antelope do not take any chances and will bolt at the first sign of danger.

April 21, 2022

And here they are after reaching a distance far enough away to feel safe. They stopped and wheeled around to watch us.

The scenery for that entire bumpy drive on the gravel roads was brown-brown-brown and we constantly scanned for movement. My (hopeful) eyes were often tricked into believing I saw running antelope, but it was almost always tumbling tumbleweeds blowing across the desolate landscape. Those tumbleweeds moved very quickly and I would’ve loved to see one blowing alongside the running antelope in order to compare speeds.

The antelope, though, brought me the most joy. No contest.

Twofer Tuesday: prairie dog wisdom

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.        ~ William S. Burroughs

South Boulder Creek Trail. March 1, 2022

Now I know the things I know, and do the things I do;
and if you do not like me so, to hell, my love, with you.
~ Dorothy Parker