Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
We had 7 inches of snow last Thursday all over Carson Valley! On Friday a friend and I got up and out really early to catch the sunrise and do some birding. Before we even made it out of our gate we had to stop at the pond to catch the wonderful color and scene at the pond.
The storm blew through really fast, but oh what it left behind is so pretty!
Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-120mm @24mm| f/11|0.5s| ISO 100| PS CC 21.0.2
more to come…
Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Several months ago I went birding near Sacramento, CA. to look for two exotic ducks, one was the Wood Duck which I blogged about here. The other was the Mandarin Duck.
The week before I visited the pond there were two pair at the pond, but the morning I went there was only a lone male. He’s gorgeous don’t you think?
He sought the shade of a palm tree, but soon came out from under again, thankfully!
Here are several facts about the Mandarin Duck:
The Mandarin Duck Drake is widely considered the world’s most beautiful of the ducks. It’s a native of China and Japan. They favor small wooded ponds and avoid large bodies of water.
There are limited populations in the United States; they’re usually escapees from captivity. China exported thousands of Mandarins, but the trade was banned in 1975.
They are wonderful fliers, able to fly through trees, with remarkable agility.
They will often perch in trees, but the female will lay her eggs (9-12 eggs) in a hole or cavity of a tree, or if a nesting box if one is available. Once the Female has gathered her brood she takes them straight to the water! Mandarin Ducks only pair up for a season. New pairs form again in the Fall/Autumn. ~https://www.livingwithbirds.com/tweetapedia/21-facts-on-mandarin-duck
I was thrilled there was still one there for me to see and photograph.
Nikon D810| Nikkor 200-500mm @500mm| f/8| 1/200s| ISO 800| Tripod w/Wimberley Sidekick Gimbal Head
more to come…
Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I haven’t shared any doors in a long time, but thought I’d share a couple of doors, and some flowers that are in bloom from my visit to Blake Garden last Saturday with Gordon from undiscoveredimagesamonstus and a few other friends.
Blake Garden is owned and operated by UC Berkeley. It’s open Mon-Fri. Closed on week-ends except once a year it opens on the week-end for public visiting.
I’d never been there before and was looking forward to seeing and photographing flowers in bloom. I wasn’t disappointed, and there were DOORS! Well, just a couple.
This Mission Style building was marked private. It looked empty, but had huge windows overlooking the view of the bay and San Francisco. Unfortunately, on this morning it was very overcast so the view wasn’t good.
This view was very good I thought, but the reflection had me the moment I saw it. Anna and I waited sometime for this view to be people free.
A closer look at the door:
Standing in front of the house/building and looking east you see this! Do you see the Koi?
I love Stone Bridges, and this one is so cute. There’s a little door and a hidey hole too.
A Columbine. I think it’s a Blue Columbine, but I’m not positive.
I laid down on the path to get a view of its face which was hidden when looking down and walking along the path.
The Green Tool Shed had its door open and I liked the little peek inside and the foliage framing it.
I have quite a few flower images, but I’ll end with a Red Poppy so it doesn’t turn into a Flower Post. 🙂
This post has been part of Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors. He’s a master gardener of doors.
Click on over to his website here and at the bottom of his post you’ll find the little blue frog. Click that and be taken to a list of all Door Gardeners that are sharing their door finds this week.
If you have a door or two you’d like to share please do! Norm gives us until noon Saturday Quebec time to post and link up!
Nikon D810| Nikkor 105mm macro lens & 24-120mm variable lens| SanDisk Digital Film|PS CC 2018
more to come…
Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
After a day of birding my friends and I closed the day watching the sun dip behind the mountains from the far side of a pond. It was lovely.
Nikon Df| Nikkor 17-35mm @35mm| Delkin Digital Film| Tripod| PS CC 2017 & LR CC
More to come…
