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“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

May 8, 2011Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." Ralph Waldo Emerson, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D90| Nikkor 80-200mm + Tamron 1.4x TC @ 185mm| f8| 1/500 sec| ISO 640| Manual Mode| Tripod

Panoche Valley, California

Spring Miracles

April 23, 2011Posted in Uncategorized1 Comment

Spring Miracles, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday while on the way to Amador County in North Eastern California to visit a Daffodil Farm I was looking out the window enjoying the bucolic countryside that we were driving through. Horses and cows were grazing in pastures of tall green grass, country dwellers were felling dead trees and chopping wood, others were tilling the ground, and wildflowers were everywhere. Spring was definitely in the air!
Out in a pasture I spied what I thought were a ram and ewe about to procreate. We made a U-turn and parked so we could check it out. What was happening? The strangest behavior I’ve ever witnessed in the animal kingdom.
A Ewe was lying down in the grass, and an Alpaca had come over and sniffed her then went around behind her and mounted her. The Ram was nudging the Ewe with his head, and continually pawing at her and trying to get to do something…get up perhaps. The Ram also tried head nudging the Alpaca. The Alpaca totally ignored this. After several minutes the Alpaca got up went around to sniff the Ewe, and the Ram, then mounted her again. The Ram wasn’t happy. From the position of the Ewe I don’t think anything actually happened with the Alpaca. I think the Alpaca was too high- instead of where he needed to be, but he tried!

To see additional photos- like the Alpaca mounting the Ewe go to:
circadianreflections.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/spring-mira…

I was fascinated and could have watched for hours. Why would the Alpaca try to procreate with the Ewe? I confess in rural and animal husbandry experience and education I have next to none. My friend, and I left after watching for about 20 minutes, but we planned to stop by to see how they all were doing on the way down the mountain.

The Daffodil Farm was closed. They had decided that morning to close it for the year because the daffodils were looking quite haggard. From what I saw out front they were right. I got a few shots of a few Daffodils then we decided to go do a Photo-walk in the cute little town called Volcano we had passed on the way up to the Daffodil Farm. We even had nice lunch in Whiskey Flat Saloon. We made an impromptu stop at a park called Indian Grinding Stone State Park, and later driving down the highway spotted a Tom Turkey courting a hen. We stopped to photograph him showing off his fine plumage.

Fast forward 3 hours-
We returned to the little turn out to check on the Ram. Ewe and Alpaca, but didn’t spy the Ewe or Ram straight away though we saw the Alpaca lying in the same spot the Ewe was earlier. Then I spied the Ram on the far side of the pasture and not far away was the Ewe lying in the tall grass.
I said to my friend Dali, “The road that skirts the pasture is public let’s drive down there and get a better shot at the Ram.” By the time we got over to a spot we liked then got our gear set up and shooting the Ewe had stood up, and the Ram had come over. While I was shooting my friend said, “What is that sac hanging out the Ewe’s backside? Oh I think she’s having a baby!”
What we discovered was she had just moments before delivered a Kid, and she, and the Ram were in the process of cleaning it. We were so excited, and waited with anticipation for the Kid to make its first attempts at standing and nursing.

While waiting and watching I was also looking around the pasture at the other Ewes, and the Alpaca. I noticed that several Ewes were mothers and they each had 2 kids. I said to Dali, “I think she’s going to deliver one more because all the other Ewes have 2 kids. “ Thinking back on my experience with cats and kittens I thought she would clean this first kid up, make sure it could stand then she would deliver the second kid.
About 20 minutes later the Kid stood, and it’s bleating grew stronger and louder. It was thrilling! The Ewe was such a good mom she licked and sniffed her new Kid and was quite tender. The Ram had moved away and eating in the pasture. About 10 minutes later the Ewe moved away from the Kid and lay down in the grass and of course the new little one followed her on shaky and wobbly legs then plopped down beside her. I saw her breathing got faster and heavier and I said, ‘”She’s in labor!” I did my best to keep my voice down I didn’t want to disturb them at all, but they knew we were there.
Then she had a contraction and she lifted her head, but didn’t make a sound, she bent her head, then reared her head closed her eyes as her belly contracted time and again.
It didn’t take long. In about 3 minutes I thought she’d given birth to her second Kid.
The Ram approached, sniffed the Ewes face, then went to where I thought the Kid was and sniffed confirming my belief that the Kid had indeed been born.
The Ewe stood then began to clean the newly born Kid. The first born kept trying to nurse and get Mom’s attention which distracted her from getting the 2nd kid cleaned up, but about 30 minutes later the 2nd kid stood and tried to find the tit to nurse.
This was the most amazing, and wonderful experience to witness. This morning I woke up and am still saying, “WOW!”

I lack the words to describe how I feel beyond the simple word “Wow!” I run to song and poetry for times like this. A poet who writes words that resonate in my soul is Mary Oliver. This poem of hers expresses how I felt yesterday.
Morning in a New Land
In trees still dripping night some nameless birds
Woke, shook out their arrowy wings, and sang,
Slowly, like finches sifting through a dream.
The pink sun fell, like glass, into the fields.
Two chestnuts and a dapple gray,
Their shoulders wet with light, their dark hair streaming,
Climbed the hill. The last mist fell away,
And under the trees, beyond times’ brittle drift,
I stood like Adam in his lonely garden
On that first morning, shaken out of sleep,
Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves,
Like tissue on some vast, incredible gift.
~Mary Oliver-New and Selected Poems Volume One

This video was shot with Nikon D90| Nikkor 70-300mmVR- Hand-held
The total time for both births was about 1 hour 10 minutes This is video I took after both kids were born, and standing.

“”I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is inspired.”~ Richard Wagner

April 18, 2011Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

""I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is inspired."~ Richard Wagner, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

The Fog

April 17, 2011Posted in Uncategorized1 Comment

The Fog, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I was just messing around yesterday with the video on my camera. It was the first time I’ve ever used it. The friend I was with had to tell me how to turn it on!

The horizon is tilted, and the meter on LiveView is much brighter than it was supposed to be. In regular still shot mode the meter was adjusted correctly. This I don’t get.

I made the movie using Windows Live Movie Maker which I just learned how to use this afternoon.
It took me a bit longer than the average person to figure it out I’m sure. It was fun and I just may make another one!

So here it is about 3.5 minutes worth of video that I sped up to less than a minutes worth of viewing.
I was up in the city yesterday afternoon hoping to shoot the moon as it rose behind the bridge, unfortunately the fog obscured a lot of what I had hoped to photograph.

“Look at the stars! Look, look up at the skies!Oh look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!” Gerard Manley Hopkins

April 11, 2011April 11, 2011Posted in Uncategorized2 Comments

“Look at the stars! Look, look up at the skies!Oh look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!” Gerard Manley Hopkins, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Twilight on the Mesquite Sand Dunes.
While hiking out in the dunes to shoot the sunrise I had to stop and shoot Venus, and the Crescent Moon shining down on this lone Creosote bush.

Valley View

April 10, 2011Posted in Uncategorized2 Comments

Valley View, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

I spent yesterday in Yosemite with a couple of friends, and we had just come down from Tunnel View where it was snowing pretty heavily so we decided to head out of the park to look for a place to shoot the sunset since it was going to be bust in the park. It wasn’t snowing down in the valley, so we stopped here to see if we got a little break in the clouds and some sunlight. Half Dome is obscured by the clouds in this view, but they lifted just a wee bit to show more of El Capitan. That is Bridalveil Fall you see on the right with Cathedral Rocks directly to the left of it. The Merced River is at capacity here and it’s only April!