Young Buck

This is the first buck I have seen without velvet. The tines are dark and freshly stripped of the delicate fine hair that protects the antler during growth. While in the growth phase, the antlers are covered in a layer of skin that supplies the budding antlers with the nutrients needed to build the bone mass. The antlers will grow rapidly for 2-4 months. When the velvet is no longer needed, a ring at the bottom of the antler shaft forms and cuts off the supply of blood and nutrients. The velvet withers and begins to fall off. As a rule this process is facilitated by the deer by rubbing his antlers against trees. The whole process is repeated every year for the rest of his life.

It's one of my favorite times of the year, as I bundle up at the crack of dawn and go scouting for the "Big Buck" with the plentiful tines.

Chimney Swifts

I went outside for a break from work yesterday morning and found a flock of Chimney Swifts circling overhead in a feeding frenzy. This shot was when a particularly large bug had all eyes and mouthes closing in on it at the same time. I would have hated to be that bug...

Goose Lake Menagerie

The last of the latest in Goose Lake!




The Cabin is hard NOT to photograph, as I have shot 100's of frames.



The sunrise in the tall grass is also a fav of mine.



The geese are always around, so a take off shot is irresistible.



The Palm Warbler is the most abundant migrater at the prairie.



The snipe can sometimes be caught flying in the morning, just after the fog has burnt off.

Monster Crayfish!

I watched the lone Pied-billed Grebe hanging out with a few Canada Geese at Goose Lake. From what I could tell by the shoreline, the Grebe had what I thought was a large bluegill. He was struggling with it's size, and kept dropping it, and then diving to catch it again... I took a few shots, but the distance and lighting angle were not favorable, so I moved on.



I had no idea until I processed the frames that the meal he was trying so hard to hold on to, was a giant Crayfish. Had I known that the lil Grebe had quite the prize, I would have stuck it out and seen how he managed to eat this thing or give up.



Looking at this thing on the computer screen made me want to conduct a semi-scientific experiment to determine the size of the crayfish. The information I had was a general reference to Pied-billed Grebes length being around 15 inches, so...I measured the grebe on screen and sized it to 15 inches using a real ruler. Then, I measured the crayfish and found it to be around 9 inches without factoring in the claws. That's a meaty crayfish or should I say lobster!

It was also curious that this crayfish was even in this lake which is quite small. A little over a month ago, the entire lake was dried up, so how this thing survived is a bit of a mystery...and amazing!

Ground Control To Major Tom...

"Canada Air to ground control, we are approaching Goose Lake, permission to land...over..."
Tower: "Permission to land...over..."



"Tower, what is our clearance...over?"
Tower: "Inches...over.."


"Tower, we are setting down now...over..."
Tower: "Proceed to tarmac...over..."


Intercom: "Welcome passengers, to Goose Lake Prairie, we hope you enjoy your stay..."



"Now, where in the [bleep] is baggage claim?"

Dragonflies and Marsh Wrens

During my usual foggy morning walks in Goose Lake, I happened across this dragonfly with it's wings shimmering in dew.





Upon further inspection, it seems that it is no longer with the living, which is why, I am assuming, was the cause for the dewdrops to accumulate.



I discovered this Marsh Wren throwing a hissy fit, which gave away it's location.



It seemed happy to oblige me in this photo shoot.

(Still trying for the Sandhills before they leave...or hoping they haven't yet...no sign of them as of Tuesday afternoon...

Spiderama, A Dedication

This post is dedicated to my friend Monnie!


Hi Monnie! (She hates spiders.)



How do you like all of these webs? (It seems as if you Blogfolk might think that Ol' Hannibal is being cruel...)



Isn't it quite a site to see? (Well...I am...)



There are huge webs, tiny webs, fat webs, skinny webs...(But it's all in fun...)



Look at this one with the zigzag entrance! (I told Monnie about my walk with the spiders and how amazing it was, but she couldn't see thru her fear...)



And look at this one with it's pretty colors! (So I am showing her that her prejudgement might be wrong...)



And look at this one as it is eating it's breakfast. (I told her that there were thousands of webs, and to see them in the early hours of the morning was a sight to see...)



And look Monnie, the dew drops sparkled in those hours, but disappeared by day, like they were never there!

...So see Monnie, it's not so bad walking among spiders...

(I am jumpstarting the "SCARY" since it's Halloween month, and...you know...my bloggername is kinda appropriate.)