Reconnecting with nature through hiking, camping, and paddling
Walking in a park near the James River on spring afternoon, I stopped to see if there might be anything interesting in a large puddle adjacent to a small pond. Sitting, quietly a few feet from the trail was this red toad. It remained so motionless as I photographed it, I began to think it might be a toy frog somebody put there as a joke.
This female cardinal enjoys the sunflower seeds at my backyard bird feeder. I was out taking photos and the feeder was in full sun when I snapped this photo.
A Zebra Swallowtail butterfly feeds on henbit and buttercups along the Washington Ditch in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Suffolk, Virginia.
This male house finch was busy searching the ground for sunflower seeds under a bird feeder when I captured this image.
This Cardinal was perched in the red bud tree right outside my kitchen window. There are two feeders in the tree so there are always a few birds in it. During the winter months, when the leaves are down, the birds are easier to watch and photograph.
This American Robin was searching for breakfast in my backyard when I took this photograph. My mother always used to tell me robins were the first sign of spring. This photo was taken in early February. Granted I live 100 miles south of my childhood home but I am still always surprised when I see robins in the winter months.
Sometimes it’s the little things in nature that really catch my eye. This lichen was growing on the side of a very large pine tree. I approached the tree to get a closer look at something else when I noticed the tiny, bright red blooms on the lichen. Who knew that lichen actually bloomed?
These wildflowers already lost most of their pedals before I took this photograph. I wanted to capture the bright yellow of the flowers against the backdrop of the red vine leaves climbing the tree in the background.
The Ruby Throated Hummingbird is the only hummingbird that breeds in the Eastern United States. This female stopped by the feeder on my deck long enough for me to get this photo.