Monday ~ June 01, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on June 1, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

May-23-2015-5AA

Happy Monday!

Sorry I have more Egrets for you today.  This will be the last of them for some time but I had so many images from Green Island that I captured a couple of weeks ago I wanted to finish them up.

May-23-2015-5DD

At first when we were driving down the canal the Egrets would fly away before I could get close enough to them to attempt to capture their image.  So we would sit for a while and then slowly inch up.

After a short period of time they became more familiar with my car and I guess realized I meant them no harm so they went about their business of searching for food and paid little attention to me.  As a result I was able to get quite close to them.

May-23-2015-5CC

We saw this little guy swimming down the canal.  I assume this is a musk-rat.  If I’m incorrect please let me know so I can correct it.  I figured he would dive under the water when he got close but he swam right on past us and never missed a stroke.

May-23-2015-5EE

I had intended to visit the Arboretum yesterday.  I have been through it on my bike about a week ago and wanted to shoot some flowers.  But other projects and a long bike ride took precedent so I’ll save that for later in the week.

May-23-2015-5BB

I took my hardest route this year on my bike ride.  It has one “killer” hill and I wasn’t sure I was up to it.  I was ready to stop and rest but looked up and realized I only had a few hundred feet to the top so pushed through and made it without stopping.  🙂

That’s it for today.  No more Egrets for a long time.  Thanks for indulging me.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ May 31, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 31, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

May-27-2015-2AA

Happy Sunday!

Last Wednesday I was in Central City for the grand opening of a new branch bank.  We were taking a tour of the community when we happened by this old barn.  My friends were kind enough to stop and let me take a few images of this wonderful structure.

Unfortunately we didn’t have the time nor the ability to explore and fully photograph this old barn but rest assured that I will visit it again this summer and attempt to do it justice.

May-27-2015-2BB

This particular image looked great in color but in keeping with the theme of the day I rendered it in black and white.   It is the street address of our new branch.

The branch is a wonderful old structure that was originally built as a bank and then has served many other functions during its life span including being a bar and a retail store.  Now fittingly, it has been restored to its original purpose and dignity.

May-27-2015-2CC

I couldn’t talk about this wonderful building without showing you an image of the building.  Because it is on the historical record there were some things that could not be done to the building.  However it was always our intent to preserve the original look and feel of the bank and still meet all the safety requirements.

That’s it for today.  I have to go cut hay in my back yard.  We lost one of the dogs out there yesterday. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day, it looks like it might be a nice day weather wise.  Be careful.

Saturday ~ May 30, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 30, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

May-29-2015

Happy Saturday!

A rare Saturday post for me.  I was grilling some burgers last evening and when I turned around I saw this wonderful cloud formation.

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I left the burgers to their own fate and grabbed my camera to capture some images.  Fortunately the burgers did not burn and we didn’t have to eat lunch meat sandwiches.  🙂

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I told Jeanne she should go look at the clouds as they were dynamic and impressive.  She came in looking at me as if to say what are you talking about.  She is to kind to say it but after 39 years of marriage I know the look.

When I went out to retrieve the food, sure enough the clouds have moved on and there was just gray cloudy skies.  So hence the reason for my post today.  🙂

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ May 29, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 29, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

May-28-2015-A

Happy Friday!

My intent for today was to post images that had nothing to do with wildlife.  But best laid plans…

So yesterday I had no lunch meetings or anyone to go to lunch with and that means grab a camera and head out.  I debated about taking the 600 mm lens but reasoned that since there wasn’t anything at the Duck Pond on the way in that morning and that I wanted to shoot some farm buildings or scenes, I decided to take the 80 – 400 mm lens instead.

I didn’t find anything that drew my interest so on the way back to the office I came by the Duck Pond.  There were a dozen or more pelicans in the middle of the pond so I thought I would just pull over and watch them with my binoculars until it was time to go back to work.

I noticed a pelican or two landing on a pretty frequent basis and so I got out of the car and looked up to see the first image.  I won’t say the sky was black with pelicans but there were way more than I could get in the frame of the lens.

May-28-2015-B

It was like being at a very busy airport with all the pelicans in the landing patterns, flying in large circles losing altitude.  For awhile there was a steady stream of pelicans landing and joining the circle of pelicans.

I would occasionally look up to see if the flight was dissipating but there were more pelicans at higher altitude in the landing pattern.

May-28-2015-C

When I first arrived at the pond there were maybe 15 – 20 pelicans in a tight bunch in what looked to be a feeding frenzy.  I guess I had thought there were no fish in the pond because a couple of years ago the pond was bone dry.  If there were fish in the pond they have to be gone now. 🙂

May-28-2015

I had to leave before the landings were done.  I have no idea how many pelicans were in the group.  They were layers deep and the image above was all I could fit in my frame of view.  If I were to hazard a guess I would say between 150 – 200 pelicans because they were still landing when I had to leave.

Talk about a butt shot.  How about layers of butts.  🙂

It was one of the more interesting visits to the Duck Pond for me.  I wish I had more time to photograph the process. When I came by the pond on my way home last night there was a smaller group of pelicans still in the middle and I could also see a half-dozen swans on the other side.

Even though the water level is low it is so wonderful to see all this activity at one of my favorite places.

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your day and weekend.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

Thursday ~ May 28, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 28, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

May-23-2015-3A

Happy Thursday!

I realize I don’t get out much.  I mean I’ve been to a couple of county fairs and to the big city once but in all that time I’ve never seen a Great Egret in a tree.  I had no idea they would perch in a tree.  That’s another thing I love about photography.  It exposes a person to many things and is always a learning experience.  (Pun intended.)

May-23-2015-3B

A very enjoyable day yesterday.  We had the grand opening / ribbon cutting to a new branch bank in Central City, Iowa.  Met a lot of very nice people and had the opportunity to see many of my fellow employees, which is always a treat for me.

I always marvel at the quality of people we have working for our organization.  It has truly been a blessing for me to work and associate with such wonderful individuals.

May-23-2015-3C

Still no word on my new Phantom copter.  I had it a couple of weeks and found out it would not fly.  It’s been in California for the last 6 weeks and still no word from the company on when I will get it back.  Being the eternal pessimist, I’m willing to bet that when I do get it back it still won’t fly.  😦

On that high note I’ll bid you adieu.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ May 26, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 26, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

May-23-2015-2A

Happy Tuesday!

In the brief time (less than an hour) that we were at Green Island Reserve last Saturday we saw and photographed more than just Great Egrets.  To be sure I have a lot of images of Great Egrets but we also found this Northern Shoveler swimming around in one of the canals.

Yesterday I had two choices.  I could either go to the Memorial Day parade or I could go for a bike ride.  The bike ride would give me the needed exercise and the parade would give me the opportunity to take some photographs.  Mark decided he was going to skip the parade and head for home so I decided I would attempt both.

I rode my bike to the parade taking a 10 mile route to get there.  Unfortunately the parade was much shorter this year than in previous years so I got there as Jeanne and the kids were just packing up to leave.  I got to say hi to everyone and visit for a little while.  Josh asked me why I had my lights on since it wasn’t dark outside.  🙂

I got in a 30 mile ride but had a close call towards the end of the ride.  I came upon a damaged section of the pavement and couldn’t react in time.  The bump made my hand slip off the handle bar and I lost my balance for an instant.  I believe God was riding with me because somehow I regained control and managed to stay upright.  It would have been a nasty wreck at 20 mph.

It was a difficult ride because the wind was blowing around 14 – 20 mph the entire time.  So I mostly had a headwind or cross wind, which makes the ride seem like I was always going up hill. 😦

May-23-2015-2B

On our way out of Green Island we came across this little fellow.  I believe he is a Lesser Yellow Leg.  Correct me if I’m wrong.  Bird identification is not my strong suite.

We even saw a snake.  I felt relatively calm since I was in my car but still I do not like snakes.  I have to admit there was a brief instant when I considered running over him but I didn’t even try.  I just don’t like snakes.

May-23-2015-2C

Wildlife isn’t the only beauty at Green Island.  I saw this flower in the middle of a Lillie Pad field and stopped to photograph it.  Jeanne wondered what critter I had seen so I showed her the flower.  She liked it.

That’s it for today.  Back at work today and lots to do.  I hope you enjoy your day.  Thanks as always for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

Monday ~ May 25, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 25, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

May-24-2015-A

Happy Monday!

Today we celebrate Memorial Day.  I remember when it used to be called Decoration Day and we would always go to the cemetery in Bethany.

What ever we call it, it isn’t enough of a tribute to all of those who have given some and for the some that gave all.  I think it is a national disgrace the way our government treats our veterans.  We send young men and women in harm’s way and when they come home we do not properly take care of them or their wounds.  It just makes me angry and frustrated because I don’t know what to do about it.

May-24-2015

Yesterday we drove to Maquoketa to attend the graduation party of Brian Specht, Son of my friend Chad and Vicky Specht.  It was a nice get together and when we left I decided to drive by the Duck Pond.  I was amazed to see pelicans, ducks, geese, blue herons, and great egrets.

You can see by the fact that the egrets and heron are standing in the middle of the pond that there is very little water in the pond.  I can’t imagine there are any fish in the pond and certainly not any after this large group of pelicans swept the bottom. 🙂

I only had my 400 mm lens with me and they were in the middle of the pond so much too far away to get a really sharp image.  I just wanted to show the population of the pond on at least this day.

May-24-2015-B

We had Angie, Ben, Josh, Gabby, Austin, Mark, and Taylor over for a cookout last night.  We had some bubble liquid left over from the wedding on Saturday and the kids had fun blowing bubbles on the back patio.

May-24-2015-C

Josh created this bubble and he actually wanted Grandpa to photograph it.  I wonder if he realized he would be in the picture as well.  🙂

That’s all I have for you today.  I’m hoping they get to have the Memorial Day parade today.  The radar looks like lots of rain in the area so we’ll see.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.  If you get the opportunity, thank a veteran for their service to us all.

Sunday ~ May 24, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 24, 2015
Posted in: General Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

May-23-2015

Happy Sunday!

Interesting day yesterday.  Jeanne and I were invited to a wedding.  I do not enjoy weddings but this was the wedding of a Friend’s daughter so I attended.

The wedding was held in the small church at Green Island.  Readers of this blog will recognize the name Green Island because it is also where the Wildlife Reserve is located.

Jeanne has always wanted to see the inside of that small church and we were both impressed with it.  It is a very nice church.

The wedding was at 2:00 p.m. and the reception was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Bellevue, Iowa.  Knowing there was going to be some time between the two events, I took My camera with me.  All images were shot with: Nikon D4 | Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens | Auto ISO (360 – 500) shutter 1/1250 @ f8.0.

May-23-2015-A

The last two times I have been to Green Island I have been disappointed with the lack of wildlife.  Yesterday proved to be a real bonus day.  I have never seen so many Great Egrets in one place.  At times there were 10 or more within the range of my lens.  There were other critters there as well but in that short hour we were there, I shot 1,387 images.

On full burst mode (11 fps) and a huge buffer I can rip off 50 – 60 shots in nothing flat.  I culled those 1,387 images down to 169.  No there were not that many of them that were bad.  I Just had a lot (I mean a lot) of duplication.  🙂

May-23-2015-B

It was one of the most enjoyable times in recent memory I’ve had at Green Island.  There were so many opportunities to capture wildlife.  We only made it down one canal.  I can’t imagine what we might have found had we covered the entire reserve.

May-23-2015-C

For his effort at fishing he ended up with this small minnow, which he enjoyed on the shore.

That’s it for today.  If you like images of Great Egrets check back tomorrow.  If you don’t, well check back tomorrow anyway because you never know what I may have for you.  🙂

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ May 21, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 21, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

May-20-2015

Happy Thursday!

Yesterday afternoon was the Kiwanis Golf Outing.  One of their major fund-raising events.  Normally it is a great afternoon of comradely, enjoying the outdoors and a little golf thrown in just to spice things up a bit.

Yesterday we had the comradely but that was mostly centered around discussions of how cold and miserable we all were.  The temperature was in the low 40s with wind and rain.  Trying to stay warm and dry was next to impossible.

There is an old saying that goes, “a bad day at the golf course is better than a good day at the office.”  Yesterday several times I would have gladly traded being at the office.  🙂

I’m a wimp without question.

On the way home last night I finally had an opportunity to photograph my favorite tree in a spring attire.  For some reason I have not photographed this tree in the spring so now my collection is complete.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ May 20, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 20, 2015
Posted in: General Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

May-19-2015-A

Happy Wednesday!

On my way home last evening I saw a group of 25 or more pelicans at the “Duck Pond.” An unusual sight to be sure.  I don’t think the duck pond has any fish in it, certainly not enough to satisfy this group.  The water is also very shallow in the pond right now and the water level continues to drop.

May-19-2015-B

So when I drove by the pond (expecting to see a goose or two) I was surprised by this group.  I drove down the road a little, parked the car and got my camera with the long lens.  I keep it set up for wildlife encounters.  I shoot at 1/1250 sec @ f8.0 with auto ISO.  I was shooting into the sun so the ISO stayed around 400 – 640.

May-19-2015

As soon as I fired the first shot they turned and gave me nothing but butts. 🙂

They promptly swam to the other side of the pond and as the image above shows even with the 600 mm lens this is as close as I could get.

Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.