Stingray bay was a place full of an odd excitement that I didn’t share.

Young families were there with their children, and lifted them up to lean over into a pool where live stingrays were swimming around and a nurse shark. I didn’t find the nurse shark in there, but the whole experience kind of gave me the willies.

There was a lifeguard type of a person with a microphone who was coaching people regarding how to “pet” them.

People were encouraged to pet the stingrays, and the stingrays apparently like to be petted.

One lady said “go ahead! They’re soft!”

And I thought to myself, no thanks, I’m here to take in the sights, not pet the wildlife.

I found it to be a very strange place, the idea in itself rubbed against the grain, although I don’t know why.

We should strive to understand creatures like this, but I don’t think it’s right to teach people that they are totally harmless and can be stroked like a pet domestic dog.

They were gliding gracefully by, flying through the water like water borne birds - they were strikingly beautiful; but although I’d washed my arms up to my elbows, I wasn’t interested in touching them, and neither was my husband.

We went to Brookfield Zoo today and captured a lot of incredible pictures with our cameras. First, we stopped at the Butterfly Exhibit, which I’ve been dying to see since I first heard about it. It ends in the beginning of September, so I was anxious to try out the cameras - all of them - and for Steve to try his hand at taking some pics, since I don’t think he’s taken the time to do it before this.

I was right about that; he hadn’t. He was surprised at what he was able to accomplish with his elph; I was thrilled at what I was able to do with both the elph and the panasonic lumix. Steve really needs a digital camera to take the place of his fancy nikon that needs film.

Here are some of his butterfly pictures:

One of the dark swallowtail butterflies rested on my cap, and I was afraid to move.

It was a very fruitful trip in that the butterfly pictures - and scores of others - turned out to be breathtaking.

Here are a few of my butterfly shots.

I was so taken in by the variety of butterflies (particularly the different types of swallowtails), that I neglected to take some good shots of the monarchs, but luckily, Steve managed to get a few pictures of them.

Well it looks as though I got more monarch pictures than I thought. I think all of the butterflies in this picture and the next, with the screen in the background, have several monarchs in the picture, but I’m no expert. Maybe they’re viceroys.

The butterflies were fluttering everywhere, which made me a little nervous, since I was afraid I would have an immediate response to brush one off if it decided to light on me - they are so delicate, it wouldn’t take much to kill one. Luckily, it only happened on my cap, and I didn’t feel it.

There was lovely music softely playing that matched the magic of what we were witnessing in the exhibit. It was screened in, and there were so many butterflies that we needed to step carefully, lest we stepped on one that stopped to rest on the pathway. They were everywhere.

Little children were there - very excited to see what they were seeing; but the lady that briefed us on how we were to behave said not to touch them, to step carefully, and not to pick the flowers because they serve as the butterflies’ food.

This little girl didn’t seem to be all that interested, and her mom was trying to have her look.

I think this is one of only two monarch pictures I captured.

There are tons of pictures; I took over 400 of them, which is why I have more to show off. Steve is now looking at a Nikon and a Canon Rebel; I’m partial to the Rebel myself, after having read reviews and shopped some; but the Lumix was in my price range, and I bought it used and then beefed it up with a 3x lens to popo the 12x zoom in a little closer for those long shots.

The monkeys’ expressions were a little bit eerie and they seemed to be quite interested in the parade of people walking by looking at them.

This one in particular struck some interesting poses.

Several people commented on just who was on display when he settled into this pose.

When we were in the tropical exhibit where the monkeys are, the gorillas were somewhat amusing. And the people who were talking to their children explaining what they were watching was even more amusing. One young man was talking to his kids, and said…”See that grumpy guy over there in the corner? I’ll bet he’s the dad. And it looks like he just got home from work.”

I have more, and I’ll take a look to see if there’s anything else I want to share.

There are a couple of funny stories to tell, but I’ll reserve those for a different post.

All in all, we got a little sun in, a little relaxation, and tuned the world out for a while.

As always, I appreciated watching young families and their little children - particularly when they had very small babies in tow.

I’ve been amazed at some of the photographs I’ve managed to take lately; I am in love with my camera, although it’s not the latest and greatest.

For years I wanted to take pictures and use the pictures for my own paintings subjects, whether they be pastel, acrylic or oil, but now it appears as though the pictures can stand all by themselves. Eventually, though, I will get back to painting.

The next thing I’ll need to invest in is some sort of a camera bag…that can carry my laptop. I also noticed a cool-looking holster for a camera, which keeps it at-the-ready, rather than in a bag where you have to wing it around and waste valuable moments getting the camera out. In some instances, you only have moments - and if you’re not completely ready to pull off the shot, you’ve missed it.

I’m having trouble identifiying what type of bird this is.

This is a young male cedar waxwing. What I discovered while trying to capture pictures of these little guys is - they are swooping in very close to the surface of the water to gobble up certain bugs. In shallow water, they’ll even walk out to grab their prey; whatever it is.

Two cedar waxwings. These two lit on a dead stump very close to me. I pulled off only one clear shot of the two of them together before the one on the right flew away.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron. I think this is a female, but sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Great Blue Heron. This big fella likes to hang out near this crop of dead trees. He is preening a lot and you can see some of his castoff feathers on the surface of the water. I think the one that is wandering around is the female, but I’m not quite sure.

Plover. None of the plover pics are as clear as the others - because I have to magnify them considerably; but I have numerous pictures of sandpipers and plovers from this one particular area.

I’m completely enthralled with this area because there is so much action, and I don’t have to wait very long before great shots come into view.

I missed a good shot of a turtle dove and a woodpecker; I’ll have to go back when I have more time.

Seagull on a street lamp

A song written and sung by Michael Britton for Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. The song’s video shows a photo of Ignacio and Jose.

You can help Ignacio and Jose by visiting:

http://www.outtahear.com/Britton/downloads.html

Steve (my husband) and I went out this morning because we haven’t had a lot of time together lately because of his new job and the incredibly long hours he’s been working. I’ve been finding ways to occupy my mind and my time, through taking pictures, mostly, and reading, studying and blogging, which I do, anyway.

After we had breakfast out and ran a few errands, we came pulling into the parking lot of our condo and there was an unusual sight; a practically perfect pinwheel of a lacy spiderweb, strung across the hood of a parked vehicle; between the antenna and the windshield; a practically invisible net-trap for flying insects, unless the light hit it just right. It was out in the open, so I was surprised that it was bending and swaying in the wind without getting ripped apart. I wondered how long the little spider engineer had to work on this magnificent piece of work - it was probably created overnight after the weather had calmed and the storms had passed.

Still, it appeared to be an incredible effort which will be swept away as soon as the driver gets in his truck and drives off, as I doubt it will withstand the kind of beating it will receive at driving speeds.

When we were at the pavilion yesterday, there were a number of spider webs, were completely invisible until you walked through them and felt the whisper of the sticky filament-like threads. Afterwards I would get the creepy crawlies, wondering if a spider was on me.

What a feat of engineering these creatures are able to put together within a matter of hours!!!

Mallards. I think these are bibbed mallards (the two on the left) swimming with a regular mallard (on the right). This picnic was at Potawatamie Park in St. Charles, and we were sitting in the beautiful wood pavilion looking onto the Fox River. The whole time I was there, there was a threat of rain; the clouds were overhead, there was a wonderful breeze, the temperature was perfect, but it was humid and “close”.

There were several types of ducks swimming together, which I couldn’t identify.

I had no idea there were different types of mallards.

They were gathering underneath the pier for shelter, and would come out swimming in groups, stopping to preen like this one.

There were a number of young families there with children, and although there were signs that said don’t feed the birds, they did it, anyway.

So it was no wonder when I started to take pictures of them, they began to swim TOWARD me.

This little boy looked very much like his mother.

This little fellow was excited about getting a ride on a boat.

The beautiful pavilion has a tower that you can climb up into to take in the surrounding scenery from a bird’s eye view.

This little girl and her daddy must have been looking up at someone they knew, like mom and another sibling.

They were adorable.

This young man had his 6-week old son in a carrier, and was holding onto his son’s little foot.

This family stopped to have something to eat on the bridge. Either that, or the bread she’s handing her son is for the DUCKS.!!!

I thought this photo was particularly cute because the little boy seemed so excited over getting something to drink at the drinking fountain.

This couple was unusually dressed for the humidity and heat; and we speculated what was in the basket; probably a picnic lunch. The guy with the hat on reminded me of the actor Harry Anderson from the old TV Show, Night Court.

This is one of the piers - I think this the pier that people would use to board a ferry boat.

Behind the ferry you can see a peninsula where people were grilling and had pitched tents for camping.

Several boats were out; these guys were just hanging out drinking beer, but there were a few other boats that were devoted to guys with their sons, fishing.

There were boats that you could take a ride on, canoes that you could take out, paths that you could walk or ride a bike on, a place where you could get food and drink, and a number of other interesting things - like a miniature golf area - that I didn’t get pictures of, but it’s an absolutely stunning park area, and we had a lot of fun.

It’s the same area, by the way, where my mom had taken me to watch the Native American dancers that I mentioned here. St. Charles always has interesting things going on.

People showed up with their small children and babies, and at one point, two adults were holding two babies who were sitting opposite each other, looking into each other’s faces.

I just couldn’t get pictures of it all…but it was terrific.

So there ended the busy day, starting out with getting over to the Minuteman Protest, and ending with a wonderful time on the Fox River with my parents and the church group.

Even my 70-something year old mom’s 90-something-year-old harmonica teacher showed up; and played a rendition of “How Great Thou Art” on her harmonica.

What a trip it was!

I met the pastor, his wife and his family, and several other folks, but by this time I was getting tired from the air and heat and had pretty much stopped taking pictures. I showed up early, at about 1:00, and they didn’t really start gathering until after 3:00, and I left at about 4:00.

Through the eye of a camera…God’s creation is beautiful and wondrous.

Every little detail is so carefully thought out…and there is a symphony of beauty and order- right down to the smallest creature, plant and cell.

Blue Dasher Dragonfly (male) Pachydiplax longipennis (what we don’t see very clearly here are the amazing green eyes on this bug.)

I don’t know how anyone could imagine in their wildest dreams that all of this happened by accident.

Life is interdependent…how could one thing appear alone… when its food or prey is its perfect match? It all had to happen at once. The food chain couldn’t have just morphed from one type of animal…that theory is incomprehensible. There is no evidence of one species mutating into another…in the fossil record, or in the lab; evolution has never been observed; it’s an untested antiquated victorian-era theory.

Nor could one species morph into another if it was placed in the right environment.

This they found out when the Russian biologist Trofim Lysenko tried to posit the notion that if you plant something in a rye field, what will eventually turn up is rye…this hypothesis and the experiments he held up as proof- was eventually exposed as a fraud.

Great Blue Heron or Ardea herodias

The Common Whitetail or Long-tailed Skimmer, Libellula lydia - Common dragonfly (male)

I like to try and unravel and identify the mysteries and possible stories of what it is I’m shooting…it’s part of the fun.

Cabbage butterfly, or Pieris rapae (Linnaeus)

I’m not a real fan of bugs, but if they pose for me and I have my camera handy, I make sure to get a shot of them for closer examination later.

They always amaze me when I get a closer look at them.

Is this a fresh water eel? This is what I thought was a ‘big fish’ the other day - Whatever it is, there were several of them, slurping and swishing in the shallow water, and they gave me the creeps. I’ve seen them now twice; once when I also caught a shot of that muskrat, and now again when all there were were these slimey creatures; showing their backs above the water. I have no idea what they were feeding on, but whatever it is, this environment seems to be rich with food for them.

This appears to be a female mallard duck. The lighting throws the color off; this is late afternoon between 4-5 pm.

I took some blind shots of some action in this collection of dead wood. I had no idea what was really going on there until I downloaded the pictures from my camera. A big blue heron was preening there.

It started off that I wanted to work at home today…but the network wasn’t cooperating, and my husband, who usually serves as my ‘help desk’ was trying to get some other things accomplished and so his first priority was NOT getting me hooked up to the network. Being that I’ve had my new work laptop for over 4 days and have been unable to connect from home thus far, I was just a tad perturbed, so I zoomed off in the pocket rocket.

Very soon after passing the mosque under construction on Bartlett Road, I came across a very unusual sight; someone in the basket of a REMAX Hot Air balloon.

Immediately the stress of not getting onto the network began to melt away as I started to wonder how much someone would get paid for going up in one of those things…or if the thrill of the moment was enough for the person inside; and if they might have even donated their time.

I know it would have been a-okay with me, LOL…although heights and me don’t always get along that well.

I’ve always marvelled at construction workers who could scale buildings under construction, or bridges, or people who wash windows, swinging off scaffolds.

I stopped briefly at the usual stomping ground to see if there were any herons or egrets, and managed to shoot a few more shots. Nothing that unusual.

Most of what I saw this morning were silhouettes of herons against the marshy background, the pictures didn’t turn out that well…although it’s always thrilling to try to get some pictures of them.

Then there was the work day, and then the trip home. Right away I noticed the dark colored birds had come in, which appeared to be cormorants, although they could have been grebes or even loons. I understand we have both grebes and loons in the area, but I wouldn’t know one if it bit me in the leg.

By the afternoon, though, things had livened up a little bit. There was a big bird on the rocks that sit in the sun…

The cormorants were lively, fishing, and moving about…

Fairly recently - I’m not sure why - I went over to youtube to see if I could find some Cedar Waxwing videos, because I was wondering if there are any in the area. I’ve never seen any, and I was wondering just where I should be looking, or what I should be looking for. The video showed a flock of Cedar Waxwings in a frenzy eating fruit; and I got the impression that they’re very quick little birds, probably smaller than a robin, and that they travel in flocks.

Being that the flocks of birds that I usually see around here seem to be dark-colored birds (like grackles or starlings), I thought - well, I don’t think we have any fruit trees around here, and I know damned well there aren’t any mulberry trees, so I guess I’m out of luck on that one.

I stopped at the area on Palatine Road where there are wetlands on either side, and thought I’d squeeze off a few more photographs before I came home. The nature in the area lured me in to stay longer than I had planned.

There was a great blue heron hunting, stalking along on his spindly long legs…and there were what appeared to be very large fish of some sort, which were very close to the surface among the duckweed.

There were some small birds darting in and out, which seemed to be yellow, but bigger than a goldfinch, and my focus began to turn to them, although there was an interesting animal near the large fish, which I was trying to identify.

That animal turned out to be a muskrat. He was a snarky little chap, too, splashing around, and swimming like he was an olympic swimmer. He seemed to take pleasure in splashing; he was a real clown and at first scared the crap out of me.

And the birds, to my surprise, turned out to be Cedar Waxwings.

I’m going to have to study up on them, because from what I was able to tell, they aren’t in there element hanging around a marsh area with other water-type foul.

They seemed to be rather curious about me; I wasn’t making much noise at all, and they seemed to forget I was there. And when they realized it was when they came flying rather close; but they’d quickly change their minds and fly up into a dead tree.

There are no shortage of dead trees sticking out of the muck there. These little birds are quick, but they’re also very striking and pretty, and they have a little mask over there eyes almost like a raccoon does; and a silhouette that looks somewhat like a cardinal’s.

And they were darting in and out, swooping along the surface of the water, apparently searching for some kind of insects to eat. As I walked along the brush, a lot of grasshoppers were getting out of my way, so it seemed to me that there are plenty of bugs of all different types and I started to get the creepy crawlies.

But that feelings passed, as I was taken in by the birds again.

I finally got a shot of the terns today, too, alongside a big dark looking heron-like bird.

We have no shortage of those around here.

What do you want? Marshland is what we live in..Chicago, in fact, was BUILT on a swamp. That haze that they complain about as being air pollution? It’s what you’d see over a swamp. No kidding.

Just call me “swamp thing”, LOL…

The pictures I’ve been taking are from the road, but the marshland is located in and around one of the most exclusive *and might I add expensive* suburban communities in the area…Inverness.

I took some video footage yesterday and I’m trying to upload it to youtube…and…I keep getting a “communication error”. Could it be because I have the words “illegal immigration” in the narrative?

Okay, maybe the internet is busy and people are uploading to youtube…I’ll just have to wait.

In the meantime, I tried out my new telephoto lens for my Panasonic Lumix camera. Boy, was I surprised when I showed up at my Dad’s and he had virtually the same camera! The telephoto lens that I’ve been waiting for showed up, –and I just couldn’t wait to even read the instructions…I gently unwrapped the parts, slowly screwed them onto the camera, and started shooting away when I got to the destination I was waiting to shoot photos of. I figured that this place would be the best place to test it out because there are always birds - very interesting birds - that are way out of reach of my camera lenses.

When I came home to upload what I shot, I was very pleasantly surprised. I had no idea if they would even be in focus, I was so excited, and the sun was so bright –and my hair was whipping into my eyes from the wind. But now I know I’ll be able to take some terrific pictures of the birds I’ve been gawking at my whole life, LOL…this - I think - is a big greyGreat Blue Heron. I don’t see the crest on his head; but I took a number of pictures one right after another. I think the green stuff in the background is duckweed…and I’m seeing it in a lot of places around here.

And maybe the crest that I’ve seen in pictures of herons that stands up like a mohawk is in fact laying flat in this picture…he has a little patch of black or very dark-colored feathers on his head, so…maybe he’s just laying his mohawk flat. Who knows.

I missed the part where he found something to eat, but I think this pose is after they’ve caught something and they’re digesting their catch. They are very fast, because it all happened when my back was turned and I was trying to take some shots of the cormorants and the terns.

In this little stretch of road, I can pull off to the side - and on one side is wetlands, and on the other side of the road is wetlands, so I find myself going from one side to another trying to locate some birds, or frogs, or–something else of interest.

I had thought that the big sliver of mud that the big white birds were hanging around on - had seagulls on it; but I discovered today that they’re in fact white terns…and are quite a bit larger than seagulls.

I hope I’m able to catch some of them in flight at some point…they are daredevils in the sky, and like to swoop and dive; and they have a lot of moves up their sleeves that I’ve never seen before. They do aerial acrobatics…and have a lot of power in their wings, because it doesn’t take much for them to cover a lot of ground…er…uh…as the crow flies, that is.

There were a number of very small birds flying overhead; but it will take some time before I can place what they are; I couldn’t tell if they were swallows, or some other kind of aquatic-type bird.

but all in all, this has been an exciting day where the camera is concerned!!!

And not so exciting where youtube is concerned. But I’ll try publishing the little flick later …or maybe in the wee hours of the morning.

I have seen more goldfinches so far this year - than I’ve ever seen before in my life. Seriously. They are very quick - high strung and fast moving, and it’s very difficult to capture a picture of one.

When they notice you nearby, it’s all over; they’re gone.

I’m now shopping for some telephoto lenses, which should improve the experience quite a bit.

In the early morning yesterday, when I was driving into work, I passed the usual wetlands scene with the birds. I got out of my car to take some pictures, hoping to get some good shots - and I witnessed a tern swooping and diving in the air, fishing on the water. At one point, it just skimmed the surface of the water, without leaving the air. It was dramatic. What was more dramatic was as I was standing there, a cloud front quickly closed in; a storm was coming.

The storms came last night, too, and knocked out our electricity for most of the night.

Dr. Jerome Corsi also has a book out about Obama. This is getting very interesting. (Thanks to Larry for the tip)

the Book can be purchased online Here

Description from Amazon of the book:

In this thoroughly researched and documented book, the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry explains why the extreme leftism of an Obama presidency would leave the United States weakened, diminished and divided, why Obama must be defeated and how he can be.

THE OBAMA NATION Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality

Barack Obama stepped onto the national political stage when the then-Illinois State senator addressed the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Soon after Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, author Jerome Corsi began researching Obama’s personal and political background.

Scrupulously sourced with more than 600 footnotes, THE OBAMA NATION is the result of that research. By tracing Obama’s career and influences from his early years in Hawaii and Indonesia, the beginnings of his political career in Chicago, his voting record in the Illinois legislature, his religious training and his adoption of Christianity through to his recent involvement in Kenyan politics, his political advisors and fundraising associates and his meteoric campaign for president, Jerome Corsi shows that an Obama presidency would, in his words, be a repeat of the failed extremist politics that have characterized and plagued Democratic Party politics since the late 1960s.

In this stunning and comprehensive new book, the reader will learn about:

-Obama’s extensive connections with Islam and radical politics, from his father and step-father’s Ilamic backgrounds, to his Communist and socialist mentors in Hawaii and Chicago, to his long-term and close associations with former Weather Underground heroes William Ayers and Bernadette Dohrn, associations much closer than heretofore revealed by the press

-Barack and Michelle’s 20-year-long religious affiliation with the black-liberation theology of former Trinity United Church of Christ Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whose sermons have always been steeped in a rage first expressed by Franz Fanon , Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X, a rage that Corsi shows has deep meaning for Obama

-Obama’s continuing connections with Kenya, the homeland of his father, through his support for the candidacy of Raila Odinga, the radical socialist presidential contender who came to power amid Islamist violence and church burnings

-Obama’s involvement in the slum-landlord empire of the Chicago political fixer Tony Rezko, who helped to bankroll Obama’s initial campaigns and to purchase of Barack and Michelles dream-home property.

-the background and techniques of the Obama campaign’s cult of personality, including the derivation of the words “hope and “change”.

-Obama’s far left domestic policy, his controversial votes on abortion, his history of opposition to the Second Amendment, his determination to raise capital-gains taxes, his impractical plan to achieve universal health care, and his radical plan to tax Americans to fund a global-poverty-reduction program

-Obamas naïve, anti-war, anti-nuclear foreign-policy, predicated on the reduction of the military, the eradication of nuclear weapons and an overconfidence in the power of his personality, as if belief in change alone could somehow transform international politics, achieve nuclear-weapons disarmament and withdrawal from Iraq without adverse consequences, for us, for the Iraqis or for Israel.

Meticulously researched and documented, THE OBAMA NATION is the definitive source for information on why and how Barack Obama must be defeatednot by invective and general attacks, but by detailed arguments that are well-researched and fact-based.

About the Author

DR. JEROME CORSI received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in political science in 1972 and has written many books and articles, including the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry. His latest best-seller was The Late Great USA: The Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada. He is a senior staff reporter for WorldNetDaily.com and the author of two books on contemporary Iran: Atomic Iran and Showdown with Nuclear Iran. In his 2005 book Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil, which he co-authored with Craig. R. Smith, Dr. Corsi predicted oil prices at over $100 a barrel.

Today I spent more precious time tromping in the woods at the Palatine Nature Center. There is something inspiring and rejuvenating about doing that, although I keep seeing the signs that warn you to get out of there by 5:00 PM…that they’ll shut the place up at 5:00 sharp. That makes me think I should get there darned early the next time around. But on the way, I noticed plenty of other places where I can take in similar sights and take some great pictures, so …it was also a good trip just for the sake of looking for other good photo ops.

This is one of the few farms that are left on Barrington Road on the way to the Nature Center. I’ve been saying that I’m going to stop and take a picture of it from a different vantage point, and I finally did that today.

There was a time when you could drive down Barrington Road, and there was one farm after another. Now, there are subdivisions and strip malls most of the way.

Right before the entrance to the Nature Center, there are wetlands on both sides of the street where egrets and herons like to hang out. Today they had a party going on.

There were so many egrets today, I was in heaven - except I couldn’t get close enough to get the kind of shots I wanted to.

Taking pictures is fun; I had both cameras with me today - testing out the capabilities of the new/old camera, and still tending toward taking pictures of small things with the Canon Elph. Its macro capability is easy to find - and I’m still more comfortable with that one than the Panasonic. But the Panasonic is growing on me.

There were many flying things in there; not only mosquitos. Lots of butterflies and beautiful large moths.

I’ve been trying to figure out what the difference is between a butterfly and a moth. There are some telltale signs that can tip you off. A moth will remain open like this, and can have a fat body. Whereas a butterfly has a sleek thin body, and will remain closed like the previous picture. Interestingly enough, though, this winged creature was much larger than the light-colored winged creature…and I always thought moths were small and fly around lights when it gets dark out.

As I was pulling in, Jerry Goldner, the wildlife/bird photographer, was loading up his photography equipment in order to leave. He was a very, very nice guy. After I got back, I went on the internet to check out his work–because when I was pulling in, he was loading an enormous lens into his trunk…so I KNEW that he was taking closeups of birds. When I checked out his site, it just verified what I surmised when I saw that huge telephoto lens.

He offered to spray me with bug spray - because I was wearing my signature black dego-tee shirt and capris with walking sandals on (prepared for the heat). He complained that it was very buggy, the mosquitos are heavy and thick, and I wouldn’t last very long if I didn’t have bug spray or long sleeves and pant legs. He said the secret is - take your pictures very early in the morning, or late in the day, when the lighting is soft. And I guess the bugs aren’t so bad then, but he had long sleeves and long pants on.

So after all of the friendly advice and a healthy dose of insect repellant, I thanked him. He said he might have left his water in the bird blind - but when I got there, I didn’t see it. I will be even better prepared the next time, because I didn’t bring anything to drink and it was hot out there. Hot, buggy, and after a while of walking, I could have used some water. I think I should set myself up like I’m going on a stakeout-with a cooler full of ice, sandwiches, fruit salad and greens of assorted types, and some type of cold drinks. Then I can refresh myself throughout the day and stay out longer.

The bird blind was rather disappointing from the picture-taking point of view. You could sit in there and look through the big magnifying binoculars to see things closer, but in terms of taking pictures, the view was crap.

And when I saw the bird blind from across the way, it appears as though it’s crooked and is sinking!

Along the way I saw a few families with their kids, and a few couples walking along - with shorts on and short-sleeved shirts. I kept thinking to myself - I hope you have bug stuff on! This is brutal - but I’m protected!

Then came along a guy named “Mike” who was very nice and cute and gave me a couple sips of what he was carrying with him to keep him hydrated. He pointed me to some interesting things along the way - that I wouldn’t have noticed by myself. He pointed to a goldfinch, a bluejay, a big flying heron, (all were too fast for my camera abilities thus far)…

a beautiful and perfect spider web,

a big frog under the water that was covered in algae, and this guy really impressed me with his bird knowledge. He asked me if I’ve ever seen a bobolink; I said only in books! We were identifying the birds back and forth as we heard them - and I have to say - nobody I know up until this point has identified birds that I can’t.

I thought to myself, “this guy is pretty good!”

He appears to have many years of experience just doing what I like to do - tromping through the woods, looking through his binoculars at the wildlife and birds, and trying to catch a glimpse of a red-tailed hawk or a deer. He knew his vegetation, pointed out wild carrots, and other things that can be eaten in a pinch. I would have never known that if he hadn’t pointed it out.

He seemed particularly interested in finding deer, but we didn’t see any. He said he hasn’t seen any deer in this particular preserve for the past 20 years, but I guess he thinks he hasn’t been looking hard enough.

I, on the other hand, was interested in taking pictures - and was getting frustrated with everything moving around so fast. While walking along, a lot of little frogs came jumping across, but very few of them would sit still.

Find the frog! When I took the photo and looked in the viewfinder, I thought to myself…well…I hope he’s in that shot! Luckily he was when I uploaded the pictures, LOL

Still, I managed to find a few things that sat still long enough for me to pull off a couple of shots.

I KNOW there are turtles out there, so the next time I’m going to try harder to find some sitting on a log or a rock or something.

A few rejuvenating hours, over 100 pictures, what a great start to a great day. And thanks to Mike, wherever he is, he really helped me find some good subjects.

America faces an even scarier and more liberal threat than John Kerry posed. Today’s liberal threat is the most liberal senator in the Senate, Barack Obama.

Fortunately we don’t have to put up with the liberal media spin on the Obamessiah because, investigative journalist and National Review Online political reporter David Freddoso wrote THE book every voter needs to read: The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate.

Uncovering stories the mainstream media has neglected, Freddoso reveals Obama for who he really is: the U.S. senator with the #1 most liberal voting record in the Senate. And a politician whose rhetoric of “change” does not match the reality of his corrupt, “Chicago-machine politics” background.

Moving past Obama’s inspiring speeches and say-anything-to-win campaign tactics, Freddoso outlines Obama’s extreme, far-left legislative record and his questionable associations with both criminals and radicals. From Obama’s repeated support for the Chicago patronage system, to his hard-line position of no restrictions on abortion, The Case Against Barack Obama offers the cold, hard facts about this man who would be our next president.

As American citizens, it is our right and duty to question the background, character, and proposals of any candidate who could be our next commander in chief. Democrats and the media are not holding Obama accountable, so conservatives must. I’m grateful to David Freddoso and my publisher, Regnery, for finally revealing the man behind the myth.-John O’Neill

When I get my copy, I will be looking for any reference to Sinclair and Sinclair’s allegations of homosexual sex and crack cocaine use when Obama was a Senator in 1999.

So far, the “smears” website and Obama himself have not responded to those very public accusations. No one has had the nerve to try to uncover Obama’s phone records from November 1999 when he is alleged to have scored cocaine for Larry and Barry’s use. No one has attempted to unravel the connection between Obama and Donald Young, the gay choir director of Trinity United Church of Christ, who was found murdered on December 23, 2007 of multiple bullet wounds.

But even if the author of this new book doesn’t get into any of that; the story should still be very interesting.

So while I’m playing around with it and trying to capture better pictures of the birds in my area, take a look at this guy’s photographs. He uses a Canon Rebel.

Before I go to the fest and possibly take some footage of the local mosque that appears to be going up, I wanted to put up some photos from the nature centers I’ve been visiting in the area. I just love walking around these places…unfortunately, the two nature centers that are close by - both are using the summer to undergo so revamping and reconstruction of their main buildings with exhibits.

Still, though, the weather has been beautiful, and it’s been great to take my new little camera out to experiment with its limited zoom.

The Palatine Nature Center’s exhibits are constructed in such a way that you can take a picture of the few birds they have on display - without the bars to obstruct your view. But the Trialside Nature Center in Northbrook has the path situated further away from the displays, which hinders the ability to take photos of the animals without bars in the way; which makes them look like they’re in prison if you dare to take a photo of them. (That’s one of the reasons I am looking forward to the Brookfield Zoo trip.) I’m not sure how they can change that, but I would really like to see these exhibits updated in a way that makes it seem less as though they’re in jail.

This little nervous guy was at the Nature Center in Palatine. As I approached their enclosures, I noticed that he was very nervous and had an unusual method of getting around in there. He would fling himself against the bars and kind of bounce off; and it seems as though it was completely intentional. I couldn’t figure out why that was, but my understanding of the few birds that are on display there is that they wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild. This particular bird, if I remember the story, had been hit by a car and had some severe wing injuries.
I don’t remember the story about the turkey vulture, except one day one of the keepers was physically in the cage with him and they were playing. The keeper grabbed the vulture by the beak, and the vulture kind of jumped up in the air. This is a tremendously large bird, but what I found most amusing about watching the keeper with the bird while I was standing there - was the bird seemed somewhat embarassed and wouldn’t perform like he would have had I not been standing there. On the day when I took this photograph, I heard someone yell at one of the birds and said ‘don’t do that!’ And the bird howled and I felt really sorry for him. I think it was this bird that was being yelled at, because the other two birds were the red tailed hawk and the great horned owl, neither of which would have made that tremendous sad noise. I thought to myself that the noise sounded very human and very sad. I also thought –I wonder who thinks they can treat an animal like that just because they think nobody is watching or listening.

This guy was just staring at me. The fun thing about owls is how they sit there and seem motionless, except for their heads - which turn and follow you. This fellow seemed a little sleepy, but his eyes were open a little bit which made him appear as though he was scrutinizing me very closely. Not a peep out of him, though, as compared to the nervous red-tailed hawk, which screeched a few times while I was there, as though he was calling to some friends.

These were all taken with my Canon Elph…which is great for taking quick-and-dirty pictures. Those are the birds on display at the Palatine Nature Center.

Now come a few from the Trailside Nature Center in Northbrook.

I managed to take this picture in between the bars. It was dark, so I had to enhance it a little bit. The bird is completely missing its left eye. This would make it very difficult to fend for itself in the wild. The employees that take care of these animals tell me that most of the animals on display were injured, nursed back to health, and would not be able to take care of themselves in the wild. We have a rather large wild red-tailed hawk population here, you can see them throughout the year on the light poles on the expressway, and when they sit on the branches of dead trees. They like to find places where they have an unhindered few. I’ve even seen them out the window at work, and what is constantly surprising to me is how birds are their prey, in addition to small rodents, etc. They’re magnificent and a rather large bird. I know we have other similar birds of prey in the area, and again, hopefully when I get my other camera, I’ll be able to find them and get some shots of them. They include falcons and what used to be called sparrowhawks. One day I saw what I thought was some type of falcon - chasing after a mourning dove and the falcon was really closing in fast on that dove. It was a race in the air; a race that the dove probably lost.

The bald eagle seemed to be in pretty good shape. At the time that I was viewing these animals, they seemed to be somewhat agitated, although there weren’t many people around. The reason for that, as time went on, was because there is apparently a demonstration that occurs periodically throughout the day. The fox in particular seemed to be - not paying attention to me - but pacing about its enclosure, waiting for someone or something else to happen. In time, that’s exactly what ended up happening, while I was off doing other things. I walked around and took some pictures of the buildings, and the bee houses, and the other animals, and then a few SUVs pulled up and unloaded some kids and adults and suddenly a man appeared who seemed to work for the Nature Center, who pulled the captive skunk out of its cage, and held it while he was talking about how skunks are useful, and what the skunk eats.

An assistant came out of nowhere with a bowl of what they feed the skunk. In captivity, they give the skunk vegetables in addition to bugs, but I guess in the wild, their diet is comprised mostly of bugs. All i know is the thing stunk and I couldn’t figure out how the guy could hold the thing without getting that awful scent all over him.

This Barred Owl’s head is completely turned around on its body, which is facing the other direction. Something seems cockeyed about the bird’s eyes for some reason; although I didn’t get a chance to ask the attendants because they were occupied with the group of parents and kids.

I should have gotten a video of the way this fox moved. It was very specific with its little feet, and when it sat down, it reminded me more of a cat than a canine. He also seemed a little moth eaten - the tail wasn’t as full as I recall seeing on foxes that I’ve seen in the past. This wouldn’t be a very good specimen for a coat.

Overall, it’s been fun going around taking pictures, LOL…it’s gotten me off the blog, out of the house, and doing other things. And all this while my arm is improving…life is full of small blessings.

I still think that the local places ought to get a cougar in an exhibit.

There always seems to be some type of a bird or animal sitting on top of this birdhouse in the middle of the marsh. I finally was able to focus in on what appears to be a big brown heron. All of the white birds seem to have flown the coop over the last few days, and what I’m left with are the very large birds, like this one, and some blue herons. Well…at least I know what the brown moving thing IS, now I have to wait for the other camera to get some detail on shots like this one in the future.

So while I’m on the subject of taking pictures, I’ve been searching the web for easy ways to get my photographs out there, and there is a steep learning curve for someone like me, who has an interest, but not many resources or much experience. But that’s never been something to stand in my way when I want to do something, LOL.

Interestingly enough, digital photography has opened up a whole new opportunity for the regular guy.

There are numerous places where you can attempt to sell your pictures. How successful people have been at it, though, remains to be seen. They do a lot of selling the photographer, but there don’t seem to be a lot of testimonials out there - other than the fantastic system that Express Digital has for event photography. That’s something I’m thinking about doing, but in the meantime I’m going to have to become very good at taking pictures. Just the idea of event photography - whether it’s seniors, grade schoolers, reunions, cruises, cheerleading events, sports events, weddings, or whatever - that Express Digital system looks like a fantastic way to compete with the big guys and deliver fantastic products and service to build a good client base. Not to mention the fact that Express Digital also offers a website to photographers using their Darkroom Software, which enables them to continue making sales long after the event has ended.

One thing that I found reassuring was…no matter how much equipment you have with you, you’re going to miss some shots.

So in essence, you have to figure out what the equipment helps you take fantastic images, and settle on a small collection of cameras and lenses so you’re not left with a bad back from carrying a big sack of stuff that you can’t organize or select from when you’re ready.

Online companies such as istock have opened up a new world to the advanced amateur photographer, enabling you to upload your digital images and sell them right away. istock has some surprising successes. Their photographers have catapulted that website to one of the formost stock photograph sellers of all the online outfits.

Here is a short list of some others I’ve been looking at.

Shutterstock - here is where to find out about signing up as a photographer.

Shutterpoint

Photostockplus

bigstockphoto.com

Citizen Image even takes images from your mobile phone.

How successful are any of these websites at helping the photographers do something with their images? That is the bigger question, which I can’t seem to find an answer for.

smugmug is a huge site with no advertising that caters to the amateur and professional alike. For a small annual fee, the professional photographer can sell photographs from their website as a member of smug mug.

And another one that I was looking at is Picture Stock. Although there are some strange things about picture stock - like - you have to send in a CD with your pictures on it, and pay for a press pass; at least you’re able to get one and gain access to events as someone other than a local yokel.

Now there are some things I’m relatively confused about; such as the size of an image. I don’t have software that will enable me to photoshop stuff out of my images, or make them look prettier, or change the size to meet size requirements. And from what I gather at smug mug, those images need to be a certain size in order for people to order products like mugs, t-shirts, etc.-or even photographs 4×6 and larger. Still, it would be interesting to put some of the better stuff up and see what happens.

I’m still starting out and have a lot to learn; and a new/old camera is on its way that has more zoom capability; so even though it’s not the best of the best of SLRs, I’ll still be able to focus in closer on birds and other subjects which up to this point have flown away while I’m searching for them in my viewfinder.

LOL

My main reason for not including people in my photographs thus far - is the fact that you must have a model’s release with any photo submission. Some websites encourage you to use friends and family and have them sign releases for you, but I’m not inclined to do that. I’m still in the experimenting stage and simply trying to improve my pictures. Better tools, of course, will help immensely.

Stock photography looks to be an interesting area, but with stock photography, understanding how to use photoshop would be a great thing, and I don’t have that at the moment.

In essence, I’m still scoping all of this out, while dreaming of the possibilities and snapping a lot of photos.

This weekend will give me an opportunity to take more candid photos of people as Streamwood is having a fest for the next few days at Hoosier Grove. So I’ll see what I end up with on that score.

Any way you look at it, summer fests are always fun to go to.

The trip to the zoo is going to be postponed for a bit. Hopefully the new/old camera will be in my possession by the time I make the trek to Brookfield zoo. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been there, but what I’m particularly interested in is the butterfly exhibit.

I’ve never seen such a broad array of colors in lilies. These are kind of a red or rust color. Red seems to be a difficult color to record correctly.

I thought I might get a little closer to these cormorant guys to get a closer shot, being that my little camera doesn’t have much of a zoom capability. Lately I’ve been getting more and more frustrated with the fact that I have limited ZOOM…because all my favorite subjects are too fast, and I’d like to get them close up. I can’t sneak up on them, that’s for sure…because by the time I got down to where I would have gotten a better shot all of these guys had flown away.

And it didn’t happen just today, either.

Man this shot would have been awesome if I’d had more ZOOM.

I pass this little place where there are numerous herons and egrets, every day - sometimes TWICE a day. What I’ve been able to tell from far away and the pictures that I’ve taken so far, is that there are great blue herons, there are white or snowy egrets, and then there is some big brown bird that appears to be some kind of a brown egret. It showed up really well the other day when I tried to sneak up and it started to fly away.

Eventually you’ll see shots that have a lot more detail; when I get the new camera.

There are quite a few other picture adventures I’ve been on lately; one of them was to go and see the tiny little castle in nearby Elgin, Illinois, called “Pratt’s” castle. I tripped out there one day when it was raining because my curiosity had gotten the better of me. I wanted to know if it was difficult to get to, as someone had written that it was hidden very well. It is on the fox river, but I was surprised at how nearby it is.

I wanted to get a look at it from the river side, but I guess the only way I’m going to be able to do that, is to go out on a boat.

I didn’t want to disturb the guy who owns the place, I was just very intrigued that such a building could go for so long without someone trying to upgrade it or live in it. It apparently had no running water or electricity, and at one point had a moat and a drawbridge.

The tower is 50 feet tall, and it’s nestled between some unassuming houses.

Years and years ago, apparently, somewhere in the 30’s, a fellow named “Pratt” here in Elgin, brought it over from Scotland or some such place. I found an article on the web about it, which said it is a Dutch “Hold”. But the neighbor that I spoke with said it was brought here by Pratt from Scotland. Regardless, it is a fascinating and romantic looking structure.

It really was beautiful through the mist that day.

I couldn’t help but wonder what it’s like on the inside. To the left and slightly behind the tower, almost completely covered by shrubbery, is another door. This little place is a part of the history of the area, but the structure is difficult to find and not very well-known.

I am not here today. So don’t demand that I answer you; or complain that the ‘cat has my tongue’.

I have a life outside this blog and the internet!

If your comments don’t immediately publish, they are held in moderation until I get back so I can approve them. That’s the way comment moderation USUALLY works.