River To The Sky

Photography by Doug Couvillion of clouds reflected on the James River at Huguenot Flatwater

Sunrise on the river is one of my favorite ways to start the day.  When the water is calm it’s hard to image a more peaceful place.  Approaching the river fills me with a sense of wonder and a profound appreciation of what lies ahead.  Soon I’ll be out there among the herons and geese.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections

photograph of trees reflected in a shallow creek

I had some other ideas for this week’s photo challenge but I was walking through the woods and the reflection of the trees in this stream caught my attention.  Perhaps too literal a treatment of this week’s theme but I liked the color and the stillness of the water at this spot.

Perfect Camouflage

photograph of a cricket frog camouflaged in the mud

A tiny Cricket Frog sits still, assuming its nearly perfect camouflage will keep it safe.  I never would have seen it had it not hopped right in front of me as I walked down the lakeside trail.

Five-Lined Skink 1

Five-Lined Skink 1

This Five-Lined Skink frequently hangs out near the gap in this brick wall.  I see it quite regularly and was able to get close enough to take a few good photographs.  Five-Lined Skinks are common in Central Virginia.  You can usually find them on old logs or on rock piles.  They never seem to stray far from good hiding places.

Rose Buds

photograph of red rose buds beginning to bloom

Sun, rain, plant, earth, and gardener all played a part in producing these magnificent buds.  How many hours of sunlight, drops of rain, atoms of nitrogen, and beads of sweat have gone into them?

King of the Mud Puddle

photograph of a red southern toad sitting up in a mud puddle

 

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.

Forest Still Life

photograph of fallen bark, leaves and stones on the forest floorDuring a hike I noticed this piece of bark resting on stones by the side of the trail.  I was initially intrigued by the texture and patterns in the bark itself.  My first thought was to get a close up of the texture but when I noticed the bark was sitting between two shadows I thought it made for an interesting forest still life.