2016-01-05: WPC Circles

As soon as I saw this week’s topic, I knew exactly what I would share – the fairy circles of the Sossusvlei desert in Namibia.  I was lucky enough to see them from the air, and also from the top of a small dune while out quadding my first evening in the desert.  No one had an explanation of how they were formed; nothing grows in them, the are simply barren sand surrounded by scrubby plants.

There’s a Wiki pages with more info about them, in case you are interested: Fairy Circles – Wikipedia

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A view of the fairy circles from the top of a dune (taken with my mobile phone). April, 2015
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A view of the fairy circles from the air. We saw several areas with these on the flight from Windhoek to Sossusvlei. April, 2015

WPC: Circles

2016-01-03: What I’ve seen this week

Last week it was all about the birds, this week, it was pretty much all about the deer.  They stopped by singly, in pairs and in a group of four, and were around every other day, if not more.  The one day I didn’t take my camera out on my afternoon walk, I spotted the great grey owl again.  I got a snapshot with my phone, but as it was getting dark, I didn’t head back out with the camera and try to capture some better photos.  I spoke with one of my friends in the neighbourhood, and she said that the owl has been spotted in her yard a couple times, and I am quite certain I caught a brief glimpse of him or her as she flew into the bush last week.  Fingers crossed I’ll get to spend more time with the owl in the future.

I picked up some additional editing software during black Friday sales, and have finally had the opportunity to play around with some of it.  Hence all the photos look completely different this week, as I wanted to see what different filters and treatments did.

I think that’s about all, so onto the picture.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week.

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Browsing through the selection of evergreens in the yard.
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The lovely grey jay, enjoying a nibble from the deer feed bowl.
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The whole gang together. In the fall I would see either a group of two or a group of three in the neighbourhood. Either they have lost a member overall, or just split into different groupings when I saw them before. Regardless, it was great to have them all here.
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A few moments after I shot this, two of the deer headed off into the forest.
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A pair of pine grosbeaks perched on a small evergreen in the back yard.
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Enjoying a new years eve lunch.
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Taking a pause from eating. Isn’t he a beautiful boy?
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I keep the bowl full and what do I get? She sticks her tongue out at me while I’m taking her photo! The nerve 🙂
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On my afternoon walk today, I found a happy face in the snow. When the universe smiles at you, smile back 🙂
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A watery winter sun tries to peek through a combination of clouds and fog.

2015-12-31: Now

I had a little time on my hands and decided to check the WordPress photography topic of the week, and just after, I looked out my office window, and saw a deer at the feeder.  So here is the lovely lady that is currently hanging around in my back yard.  I’m so very grateful for the opportunity to watch wildlife while I work!

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Since I likely won’t post again today, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for checking out my blog over the past year.  It’s wonderful to know that something I’ve created has touched someone in some way, and equally wonderful to have had the opportunity over the year to view other’s photography and chat about technique and composition.

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year – may 2016 bring you many blessings.

Photo Challenge – Now

2015-12-29: Birds

I felt like doing  bit of editing this evening, and decided to work on some bird photos that wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to take flight.

Enjoy!

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A pair of guinea fowl going for a morning jog. May, 2015
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Ostriches are one thing that are not plentiful on Londolozi. We came across this one while driving in for our stay. The sunlight on her backside is not an obvious lighting choice (but hey, work with what you get, right?). I do like the way it show the detail on the feathers. May, 2015
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A pied crow with the amazing Damaraland landscape in the background. Namibia, April 2015
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An orange breasted sunbird resting in the shade of one of the lovely flowering bushes at the Cape Town Botanical Gardens. April, 2015
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A double collared sunbird at the botanical gardens. April, 2015
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Another red winged starling, this time at the Cape of Good Hope. April, 2015
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A pair of black oystercatchers on Robben Island. April, 2015
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One of the incredibly tame red winged starlings at the top of Table Mountain. South Africa, April 2015
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A robin chat tucked deep in the bushes. I resorted to laying down on my tummy and shooting through the deck railing posts to get some shots. This was the best that I could managed. South Africa, April 2015

2015-12-28_Monochrome Monday

One of my dream wildlife sightings / photo opportunity was to see a leopard in a tree.  I’m sure I mentioned it before, but it happened in what I felt was an unlikely place, the Okavango Delta.

I was looking through photos with my Mom yesterday and came across these after not having seen them for awhile, and I thought they would be great to edit in black and white.  I still have a lot more shots to get through 🙂

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If these are the type of photos you’d like to own, you can find them here:

Jennifer Sawicky Smugmug Site

2015-12-27: What I’ve seen this week

This week, all the photos were taken in my backyard, watching the birds.  The pine grosbeaks have discovered the bird feeder, and a flock of them now frequent the area; today I got distracted by the group fluttering around and lost count after 12.  I think here were around 16 or more individuals at one point.  It’s wonderful to have them close and listen to them calling to one another.

We’ve had some significant snow yesterday and today, and I’m late getting on with editing and posting as I was busy using the snow blower on the driveway and shovelling out a new pathway to the feeders.

Some of the photos were taken out the window from the basement, giving a unique angle to the feeder… I’ve had to shovel out in front of the windows to be able to see the birds on the ground!

That’s enough chatter for this evening, I hope you enjoy seeing some of the lovely birds that have visited this week (the deer have been around too, but always after dark so no photos of them this week).

The pine grosbeaks have been around in force since they discovered the feeders:

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A pine grosbeak shares the feeder with a common redpoll

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The hairy woodpecker stopped by for some seed as investigating the trees.

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The flickers have been visiting regularly, though are usually quite skittish and fly away if anyone is outside.

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The grey jays have been around frequently as well.  They are usually quite skittish but I was outside taking photos of the grosbeaks Saturday and one of the jays stopped in for a snack; previously they would fly away if they saw someone move too quickly at the window.20151227_What I've seen this week-720151227_What I've seen this week-620151227_What I've seen this week-8

I’m not a fan of the squirrels on the bird feeders (and with the set up I have, that hasn’t been a problem) but I’m happy for them to stop by and act as the clean up crew.

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2015-12-24: Gathering

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A group of zebra and tsessbe hang around a termite mound. Okavango Delta, April 2015
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A group of bronze mannequins enjoy splash baths at the edge of the pool. Phinda Game Reserve, May 2015
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A group of female impala bunched together, ready to bolt at a moments notice. Okavango Delta, April 2015

 

The Daily Post: Gathering

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