Storm Gathering Over The Rappahannock

HDR photograph of storm clouds gathering over the Rappahannock River in Virginia

My friends I and were on a multiday canoe trip on the Rappahannock River in July.  One evening we rounded a bend in the river to see massive storm clouds building down river.  Fortunately the storm took an alternate course and we were spared scrambling ashore to wait it out.

 

 

Eastern River Cooter

Photograph of an Eastern River Cooter on the Rappahannock River in Virginia

This small Eastern River Cooter was basking on a sunny log in the Rappahannock River as a paddled my canoe past it last July.  I don’t know much about the turtles of Virginia so I may have misidentified this one.

Carolina Chickadee, II

photograph of a Carolina Chickadee on a branch

This Carolina Chickadee hopped around on this branch and never sat still for long.  Shortly after I took this picture two younger Carolina Chickadees appeared.  They must have been recently fledged and following mom (or dad) around to learn the ways of the world.

Weighing in at only 0.3 – 0.4 ounces (8 – 12 grams), the tiny Carolina Chickadees always inspire me.  How can something so small endure everything nature throws at it?  From snowy winters to droughts and heat waves, these little birds somehow endure it all.

Please click on the image above to see a larger copy of it.