During a recent walk by the Columbia River before work I spotted a heron on a rock, head moving to and fro, looking for breakfast. Though I wish I had my camera with large lens, he was still nicely silhouetted against the river. You will want to click to get the large version of these photos or he will just be a dot on your screen…
I finally went for a walk with my “real camera” in tow. Mind you, I now have a real camera because my mother got a new camera for Christmas and I now have her old one – plus a big lens and superb tripod and carrying case. I still need to figure out how best to carry it all and not ruin my back and neck, but I am so happy that I carried it on this particular day. I walked by a ranch that has a small herd (if that’s the right term) of goats. They are so attentive as I walk by but are usually far from the road where I am walking. This day, however, they were very close to the road and the little kids decided to show off by climbing all over a wood pile (and they enjoyed eating bark, too).
I caught this one in a rather unflattering moment, but it makes me laugh so I decided to share it with you:
Apparently bark is tasty. I shall let them have it though. Interestingly, the adult goats were focused on grass (but all I ever saw was the back of them so no photos this time…)
Based on the adults, when these kids grow up they will have fine beards that will swing gently to and fro when they turn around to look at the strange humans walking by.
Every weekday when I am working from my office I try to get there early and spend my first hour walking. In fact when I don’t do this I find my day doesn’t go as well. That early walk is a great time for my brain to wander and for me to simply enjoy the scenery. It helps me keep everything in perspective, I think. This may be true in part because I have the privilege of walking by the Columbia River at sunrise, and it is a glorious sight.
note the duck wakes!
I had a bit of a surprise as I was out walking – I knew this small ranch had several adult cows/steers, but I hadn’t spotted this sweet calf before. He had wandered into the nearby trees and was sampling bark as a meal.
When he heard the camera he spotted me. We had a short staring contest before he decided to go back to snacking.
A lot of my neighbors have horses. I hadn’t appreciated just how many before I started walking regularly. One on my street will ride her horses on the canal edge across from our home and when we have the windows open we sometimes hear him whinny as they go by. While I was out recently she was riding him – I was too far away to catch up and ask for a photo this time, but I did get this picture as she rode him to a nearby field to let him run a bit. It’s not a fabulous photo, but I like the sunlight and framing of the horse. I also enjoyed watching him gallop in the field.
click for large version. It’s better.
These chickens live across the street from me. Technically across two streets and a canal, I suppose. I get to watch them wander around in the road and into the canal (when it’s dry; they’re not big into swimming) and the rooster is not my best friend in the summer when I have the windows open… But they are very handsome and I really need to start carrying my real camera because the phone picture on barely does them justice.
One of the ranches I walk by has a lot of cattle, including several longhorns. This pair hangs out together a lot and are always very attentive as I walk by.
I get to see a lot of wildlife while I’m walking. There are some wetlands on a ranch that I walk near – the road is above the ranch so I’m looking down. The pond attracts a lot of ducks – in summer it’s covered in algae and in winter part or all of it freezes over.
If you look closely (you may want to click to enlarge the photo) you can see that part of the pond is frozen and the ducks are walking on the ice there! A very entertaining scene, indeed.
Mom and I decided to do a real documentation of the deterioration of one of the gingerbread houses we made – and we picked the Home Depot because it was exceedingly covered in frosting so should last the longest. It was placed outside in their yard in a location where she could easily put her tripod in the same location every few days to take a photo. We had a bit of wind which had moved the Home Depot, so she was thinking she should go out and move it into its proper place. That’s when she saw this (all photos courtesy of my mother):
He just kept snacking – apparently he really enjoyed the gingerbread!
He then took a hard look at her and decided he was done eating gingerbread for the moment….
During the holidays I was gearing up to go out for my daily walk, something my husband has gotten used to me doing. This time he started to put on his shoes and I was surprised. He has some back and joint issues that make long distance walking, and certainly at the pace I do it, not truly feasible. But he wanted to go with me – so I suggested a change in route and that we walk to our local pub and then back, thus having a built-in break at a place we both enjoy hanging out. He thought that was an even better idea, of course.
So off we went. We walked a slower pace than I do alone, but probably similar to what most people would walk. Under a mile in he remarked it was further than he thought – and I was very glad I had suggested what I had! The walk to the pub by a direct route is only a bit over 1.5 miles. That’s a really short walk by my standards!
A bit later he said something much more profound.
Yes. They do. You’re moving slower and you have more time to notice things around you – and you can stop and investigate more closely if you want to. We live in an interesting area; it’s residential and rural simultaneously. We said hello to the steer we passed by (they watched but did not respond). We saw all sorts of birds. We saw more damage from the windstorm – many trees fallen over.
When we were ready to head home he picked a slightly longer route that involved a road I hadn’t walked on before. It has fast become a favorite – we saw goats (big goats!), chickens (also big!), and more cattle. We saw an enormous flock of birds cleaning up residual corn from a large field – when they flew together the noise was impressive. And we saw this building, which I think looks really cool.
Why this survived the wind when other things didn’t is a bit of a mystery (though the angled boards are likely the major part of the answer). I can’t quite make out what the roof once said and it’s possible this wasn’t a business anyway, but just a building that made money letting a business advertise on its roof in farm country. It has a story, and I don’t really want to know it. I like that it’s there. It gives me a nice feeling and I don’t know why.
I’ve decided I will try to get more pictures of the things I enjoy seeing while I walk and share them here. Sometimes I will venture out with my “real” camera in tow maybe even along with tripod (but remember, I’m on foot for many miles!), and other times we’ll be stuck with what I can manage on my cell phone (which honestly can be pretty good sometimes). I hope you enjoy seeing what I see!
@KellyOSullivan 
