MANY FOND MEMORIES

Cooper at the stone crossing of Bass Creek at Finley’s Landing, Iowa, January 7, 2021

As most of you have recognized, I do not write much about our personal lives here in the blog, unless it is really related to my photography or to the circumstances that led to the making of a picture. However, last week we lost our beloved dog Cooper due to probably age related illness.

For those who don’t know his story, Cooper came to us in June 2010. A little stray, probably thrown out into the wild by his previous owners and with signs of abuse in his behavior. He started sleeping in a chair on our front porch for several nights in a row. We tried to find his owner, either in the neighborhood up here on the bluffs or down in the valley. No success. We finally decided to keep this puppy, who was probably between a year and a year and a half old at that time.

Cooper has been a great dog, who shared our outdoor activities of daily nature walks, tent camping, hiking, and paddling our kayaks. He has been in more states, national parks, state parks, and other nature areas in the United States and Canada than many Americans. And one of the reasons I’m writing about him here is the fact that he shared, in probably his own way, many wonderful moments I had in my photography and Joan and I had while being in the Great Outdoors. Often the dog waited patiently next to me while I fiddled with my gear or tried to work with the light. He was often very funny in his behavior and gave us many laughters. We are very thankful and couldn’t have wished for a better dog! Cooper will always remain in our hearts and memories.

NATURE CLICKS #530 - COMMON SNAPPING TURTLE

Common Snapping Turtle, Bankston County Park, Eastern Iowa

Today I had quite a few interesting wildlife encounters but not all of them can be documented with the camera. This one was easy, a good size Snapping Turtle rested right on the grassy trail in Bankston County Park while I walked our dog Cooper. A little dog and a snapping turtle may not always go well together, so I made sure he kept a safe distance. Snapping Turtles are not dangerous but on land they will defend themselves and snap if they feel threatened.

During these walks with the dog I almost always take the camera with me but not a variety of lenses. Today the Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 was my choice. A little short for wildlife and with only 70 mm maximum focal length I had to go on my knees and get really close to the turtle. This snapper lives probably not in the little river that runs through this valley but rather in the nearby pond or even in one of the small pools hidden in the woods.

Here is a fact for you to think about, the snapping turtle family evolved in North America, has lived in its wetlands almost unchanged since 90 million years, and has survived the period of mass extinction of the dinosaurs…

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #5

Lake Itasca, Minnesota

On our first evening, just before sunset, I watched this angler paddling to shore at the campsite of Itasca State Park. A little bit of rim light from behind made him standing out even in front of the darker background. A peaceful scene and an easy click at 200 mm focal length.

Ozawindib Lake, Itasca State Park, Minnesota

We brought our kayaks with us on top of the car but during the next two days we had some doubts if that was a good decision. Heavy winds during the day kept us on land. This photo was made at Ozawindib Lake, which is a lot smaller than Lake Itasca, and the whitecaps and blurred leaves tell the story about the weather. With or without boat, the fall colors were just stunning.

Lake Itasca

Finally during our third and last evening we were able to launch the kayaks at Lake Itasca and enjoyed the beautiful scenes from the perspective of a paddler. Our dog Cooper knows this game very well. He jumps into Joan’s boat before it is even in the water…

This time I took the 70-200, f/4 with me. This lens is a lot easier to handle in the kayak and better to protect from the wet elements than the Sigma 150-600.

THE DOG, A SORA, AND HARSH LIGHT

Sora, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi River, Iowa

Yesterday Joan and I went on a “Sunday cruise” along the Mississippi by car and ended up checking all the known locations in the Green Island Wetlands that have led to some wildlife photography in the past. At the end of a short hike on one of the levees our little dog Cooper started barking and ran down to the water. First we thought a muskrat had triggered his instincts, since he usually ignores all the birds, but then we saw a Sora foraging on top of the driftwood and between the old reeds. We called him back immediately. It was the same spot in the wetlands where I had photographed this species last year after another photographer had made me aware of it. A little later we saw finally a second bird.

A look at the range map in my bird guides reveals that the Sora is widely distributed and is the most common rail in North America. The Green Island Wetlands are about at the southern border of their summer range.

It wasn’t an easy process to make this photo. I was shooting against the sun and all the reflections on the water made it a challenge to deal with exposure. The Sora moves fast while searching for food between the floating vegetation and quite often old stalks were in the way for a clean shot. The background is not very nice but it is it’s natural habitat. Last year I watched the Sora while it was raining and thought that was not easy. Well, I take the rain any time over the harsh light from last Sunday…

WEEKEND IN THE NORTHWOODS

It became a tradition in January that I meet with some friends up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for an ice fishing weekend. Well, our fishing success was modest this year but the fun we had can’t be measured in numbers. Cold temperatures and more than a foot of fresh powder snow created a winter wonderland. The best time to get the camera out of the bag is usually around sunset but I tried a few other things this time as well…

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #9

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4

Today’s photos are still from my visit at the Deere Marsh last Friday night and both tell a totally different story. The first one is about migration of the Red-winged blackbird. They gather by the thousands and fly south, a sure indicator that winter will approach soon.

The second photo was made only a few minutes before the first one and at a first glimpse there is not much going on in the marsh or on the Mississippi in the background. But wait, if you look down at the bottom beside the shadow of my left leg, there is Cooper’s shadow. As so often he sits and waits until I’m done clicking and fiddling with the camera. Most of the time I can concentrate on the photography or on the critters we are watching. I don’t have to worry about all the time what Cooper is doing. He waits patiently. We couldn’t ask for a better dog! 😊