It’s been a long cold winter. The snow drifts are high beside the river. Mallards congregate here because this portion of the river is fast moving and doesn’t freeze. As we approached the river’s edge we fell in behind a man carrying a huge sack of cracked corn for the ducks. We stood back as the ducks mobbed the man. As we were leaving I saw this mallard a ways from the crowd and took this shot.
I liked the pattern in the water, so I centred the mallard. I broke the rule of thirds but I feel the photograph wouldn’t have been as good if I hadn’t.
At this point in the year (late fall), the trees are bare and on a cloudy day, the water takes on this sombre cast, relieved somewhat by the mallard and the ripples created as he moves through the water.
The Ring-billed gull is the most common gull in North America and like many birds migrates south in the winter. I took this photograph in November. It was nice to see the bird in a natural setting as they often congregate in city parking lots. It perched on the log for quite a while where I could appreciate its good looks, something I had never really noticed before.
The fungi and vine on the tree trunk formed a very pleasing arrangement. Nature’s artistry. The bark of the tree added texture and detail.
Another cheerful summer memory. We’ve reached the half way point of winter but it’s still too cold to get out with my camera. I’m waiting for +0 C temperatures. If and when that ever happens I’ll be out there😏.
This cute little rodent is a relative of the mouse and is commonly called a vole or field mouse. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen and I was able to take a number of photographs as he was unaware of or unconcerned by my presence. He might have been a young animal that had not yet developed a sense of fear. I watched him for a while and then left him to his ramble.
We saw more red squirrels last year than usual. They’re feisty, will often stand their ground with people and tend to chase the larger grey squirrels out of their territory. What they lack in size they make up for in temperament. We’ve had a prolonged period of extreme cold lately and you have to marvel at the toughness of these little creatures.
