Wednesday Potpourri

Today is going to be a mixture of a trip to Lake Hodgson this morning. There was a Canada Geese family on the ramp as I tried to back my boat in. They headed for the water but a strange thing happened. One of the goslings caught its foot in a chain link fence. I heard it crying so went over to help it get loose. It was easy for me to get it loose but it went away from the water and into the woods. I tried a couple of times to head it to the water but that didn't work. I put the boat into the water and was taking the truck to park it when the gosling ran across the road in front of me. Apparently the mother had be calling and junior was able to hook back up with the parents. Here are the happy families all back together and on the water. Check out the size of the one family. There are at least 16 goslings there. I ended up with 22 Crappie that ran from 11" to 8". I fished for about 3 hours. I caught two small Perch and this War-mouth Bluegill. They are so very colorful. The Crappies definitely think it is different. Can you hear them saying "You don't belong."?

I hope you all have a great evening.

Camera Critters #35

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

Michele of Rocky Mountain Retreat has had another set back and will not be posting this week. If you know her stop over and see the beautiful posting from her husband, Marcell, on her condition. Let us all hold her in our prayers for a recovery from this illness. In honor of her great photography I post my Canadian Geese through the year. This is for you Michele and your quick recovery.

The Geese in February are still healthy and getting through the winter in Ohio.
As Spring approaches the mothers to be have to explain a few things to the males.
The little bundles of joy are soon following along and heading to the pond.

They get bigger on all the grass and are so darned cute.

They have to learn to cross the road so the crossing guards keep them in line. White and black tail feathers start to appear.

It doesn't take long and they are a smaller version of the parents.

They always need a leader and he gets the prominent position on the lake. A higher view lets her watch for predators.

This has a question mark as to when we will have Michele back and posting with us.

She will have to start to spread her wings and see the wonders she wants to share with us.

She will then be up and flying. We await your return to a healthy situation that we can all share in your talent.

May God be with Marcell and Michele during this time of health problems.

Views of the Cuyahoga River

I have been to the Cuyahoga River quite a bit on a project I'm working on and the river always calls and say capture this shot. The river changes into rapids in this portion of the river and it is fairly shallow and rocky. There is even a split in the river and some driftwood has caught up on a central island.

I am moved by the movement of water as the river flows over the rocks of time. I think back to when the Indians used this area to cross the river. They depended on the river for its life giving power.

It still gives life today to the many Canadian Geese that inhabit its shores.

This is a group of Mallard Ducks that are swimming on the river. This is their home and they use the flow of the river to find their food. They were easily swimming against the current by staying close to the shore.

The Cuyahoga River is a neat place to visit and I will use it in future Sky Watch and My World posts.

Honoring A Canadian Friend

I wanted to honor a friend from Canada and I thought what better way then to post an animal whose name originated in her land. Michele of The Rocky Mountain Retreat is recovering from her injury of last weekend. It was like taking away a part of our viewing pleasure when we had to miss her posts of the beautiful country of British Columbia, Canada. So here is my little way to share my high regards for her site. I'm starting out with a group of preening geese trying to clean their feathers. How many are there in this group? Count carefully. This is a pair from a small pond that swam by to show off.
Finally, here is a pair from in the Spring from the same pond with a few youngsters in tow.
I'm so glad Michele is again able to show us her amazing land.

Autumn Is In the Air

The Canadian Geese are gathering together for their migration to the South for the Winter. The young ones are big as the parents and ready to fly. There were two groups at the two ponds. This is the big pond. This is the group on the smaller second pond.
There is something strange on the pond. What is that white duck doing with the geese.
Take a look at this gooses neck, it has been tagged, if it is captured they will determine where it has gone.
What a minute, that's not a duck. That is a Snow Goose (White Morph phase) among all the Canadian Geese. I couldn't tale that it was a Snow Goose without the black wing feathers and the goose type beak. It was a surprise capture for me.
So this is another sign of Fall.

Small Pond Captures

The trip to Triangle Lake included a stop at a small pond in Kent on the way home. A Turkey Vulture circled a little way out. You can see the back underside of the wings are white. There was a lot of activity at the pond.
There was a Red dragonfly (Carolina Skimmer)

a White dragonfly. (Common White-tailed Skimmer)
and a Blue Dragonfly. (White Faced - the same as at Triangle Lake note the wings and the green eyes)
This was a perfect Olympics combination for the USA.

There was also a Brown dragonfly (Red Rock Skimmer?) but I don't know how he fit in, it was windy and he had a good hold.
His wings were a little funky.
There was also a Monarch Butterfly on some vegetation. The first this year. The Canadian Geese were there in full force.
They were at rest but I disturbed them as I searched the pond.
The guard goose kept a weary eye on me.
A nice catch from a small pond.

My How the Birds Grow in the Spring

Well, no-one took a shot at the feathers that I posted yesterday, so I'll give you an answer. The bottom two are from the Great Blue Heron. I love to find feathers from this wonderful bird. I got a little close to this one so it headed for some place unknown. you can see it directly above the power wire.

These are the family of Canadian Geese I have been following. The youngsters are as big as the parents.
The two adults headed to the water for protection and the kids stayed on shore. So even juvenile birds start to be independent of their parents. The parents came back toward shore and I backed off.
Tonight is the Tim McGraw concert at Blossom. After the Tim McGraw tussle with a drunk fan he had this week everyone should be on their best behavior. you can see the You tube account here.

The Birds Are Showing Off

The Canadian Geese stopped me on the way to work as they moved their 3/4 grown goslings. Notice the color change and how much they look like the parents. The feathers are coming out and the faces are changing.
They have black feathers in the rear to look even more like the parents from behind.
A female Cardinal on the fence not the best lighting but the best I got..

A male cardinal in the yard.
Hello Mr. Crow.
A neat shot of a Red Winged Blackbird on a pine in the rain.
A Female Mallard Duck preening and a Sparrow looking on.
The Great Blue Heron was also preening, I saw him three times this week.

He was very active looking for food.
Back and forth he went on the alert.
He hears something for sure.
He almost went in for the kill but backed off. The fish must have been smarter this time.