Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!



Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Home, Again

Plans are what you make until you know what you have done. I was supposed to be in Seattle now, and at a family wedding on Saturday. Miz Winnie had a kerfuffle with other dogs in Dickinson, and so I decided not to go to Seattle where she would be exposed to other dogs, and potential other kerfuffles. She was, at some point before I got her from the rescue group traumatized by other dogs. Thought we were at the point were we might be past that, but, well we aren't. Going to try to find some professional help in solving this problem...

Anyway, I was flipping through the photos that I took on our travels and realized that I had not posted this photo from Fort Niobrara NWR.

It's a just out of the nest Eastern phoebe. There was at least one nestling still in the nest that the mother was feeding.


Isn't he/she cute?

More Fort Niobrara NWR

Two more photos from Fort Niobrara NWR

I finally got a halfway decent shot of Ring-necked pheasant


And the treat of the day was capturing this White-tailed jackrabbit

Ft. Niobrara NWR

I spent part of my day today at Ft. Niobrara NWR. Early in the day it was extremely windy and the blowing sand was getting on everything...me and the camera gear. Birds were singing in areas, but they weren't showing themselves at all. Frustrated, I went back to the motel. Went back in the early evening and things were much pleasant.

The only halfway decent photo from the morning was of this Lark Sparrow


Afternoon photos included this Upland sandpiper


And this Common nighthawk


After tolerating me and the clicking camera, he voiced his displeasure

More 2009 Favorites VII

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Niobrara River at the entrance to Ft. Niobrara NWR
Taken September 2009


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Overlooking Ft. Niobrara NWR
Taken September 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

Try to remember to take a moment amidst the hubub of family and friends, and cooking, and all the rest of the "stuff", to give thanks for all your blessings.

Camera Critters

These little guys are Black tailed Prairie Dogs.


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These photos were taken at Ft. Niobrara NWR. The prairie dog town is the first stop on the auto tour of the refuge. Quoting from the auto tour pamphlet:

On both sides of the road the dirt mounds of a small prairie dog town can be seen. The most widespread of the five species in North America, the black tailed prairie dog, is found in Nebraska and across North America from Canada to Mexico. This town, just as yours, has neighbors called "wards" and family groups called "coteries". Each coterie usually consists of a single adult male, one to four adult females, and any of their offspring less than two years old. Each group defends a territory of about one acre, greeting its own members with a "kiss" and challenging any intruders to a fight. Coyotes, eagles, hawks, owls, rattlesnakes, badgers, and weasels hunt here. The small Burrowing owls also find a home here in an abandoned hole where they lay their eggs and raise their young. Look for them perched on a mound or making low short flights in the town.

For more Camera Critters click on the Camera Critters Logo

Photo Friday

The subject for this weeks Photo Friday is Dusk. This photo was taken at Ft. Niobrara NWR on Sept. 8, 2008.


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Check out Photo Friday for more dusk photos.

Worth a Giggle

A teacher friend of mine called a little bit ago wanting to know if I had any pictures of deer and elk.

So I was going through pictures of said subjects and found this one of an elk. I cropped it to show what made me giggle.



Picture taken at Ft. Niobrara NWR

Nebraska Sandhills, Day Five

Thursdays destination was Fort Niobrara NWR This is the closest refuge to the motel, so I didn't have to be moving quite so early. It was overcast and muggy when I left the motel. I was photographing flowers when I heard the rumble of thunder. Looked up just in time to see a little lightening.


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There wasn't much lightening, but it sprinkled just enough to put little drops of rain on the flowers, which makes for a more interesting effect.


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There are lots of Prairie Dogs.


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Which of course means there are Burrowing Owls.


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There is a herd of 400 Buffalo. I saw none of them. There is also a herd of 100 Elk. There are 4 calves this year so they are all behind a fence. The fence makes for very unactractive photos.

This is another refuge that I have visited numerous times. And I always enjoy it.

The rest of the days photographs can be seen here.