Up, Up, and Away

HAWKS REVEAL THEMSELVES easily in the leafless winter trees where I live. They are plentiful along the highways, perching on utility lines and poles. They frequently hover in the high winds or drop and soar across the fields of my photo hunting grounds.

I make my fair share of hawk images, but it’s still a thrill when you capture one that fully demonstrates the strength and grace that these birds of prey possess. 

Winter of discontent

THE PAST WEEK was one that tested our resolve. Polar air plunged down on Texas, colorbook-shading the entire state blue on weather maps. These images were my momentary escapes from that reality, one in which the state’s electric grid suffered a catastrophic breakdown, leaving millions in the dark and heatless during record cold temperatures. 

My family was without power for 62 hours, during which temperatures stayed well below freezing and bottomed out one night at 0 F. Neighbors were neighborly, and about 40 hours into it, we were lucky to borrow a generator that knocked the chill out of bedrooms and allowed for some hot meals. Our pool froze with damage yet to be determined and, a few counties away, burst water pipes forced my daughter out of her apartment building. Still, we were lucky compared to many. The death toll at this writing stands at 47, a number that will surely grow in the coming days.

With power now restored, a light also will soon shine on the shoddy regulation and poor governance leading to this tragedy. Until then, I’ll find cold comfort in nature’s beauty.

Starry Surprise

This 20-second exposure (2.8/14mm lens at 5000 ISO) features the Milky Way, the Constellation Orion, and the ISS.

CAMPOUTS DON’T DISAPPOINT. The mid-January weekend at Meridian State Park with some work chums was no exception. A shrimp boil was the highlight of the campfire menu, and the 3-plus-mile hike put my recently repaired arteries to the test.

One clear, cold night, I pointed the Canon at the sky, hoping the Milky Way would pop out of the starry new-moon canvas. Despite the perfect, dark conditions, the galaxy pattern was less defined than usual. I was lucky, however, to capture the International Space Station streaking across the sky in three consecutive 20-second exposures. (I confirmed it later with an ISS tracker.) When it proved too cold to sleep well, I rose early and watched the sun rise over Lake Meridian. 

Campouts don’t disappoint.

Breakfast Buffet

SOMETIMES THE BEST NATURE WALK is close and convenient, like the one I’ve been taking on Sunday mornings this winter from my front door to a stealthy viewing perch on my front porch. With warm boots and a coat thrown over my PJs to ward off the chill, I watch a birdie breakfast buffet lit in the warm tones cast from the sunrise slot above the horizon but below the larger limbs of an expansive red oak tree.

The tufted titmouse, with its muted but lovely coloring.

Woody, the red-bellied woodpecker, with his bent beak.

The northern cardinal, red and black and seemingly always angry.

Breakfast buddies, the American goldfinch and downy woodpecker.

The bluejay, with its distinctive back pattern.

The American goldfinch offers a lovely contrast to the cool winter sky canvas.

This house finch keeps a messy house.