Golden Eagle

As we were "rocking down the highway" nearly to Kemmerer, Wyoming, we spotted a Golden Eagle sitting on a fence post just off the road. Normally, just the act of slowing the vehicle is enough to send them flying, but we did everything right in this instance.

First of all, I did not react quickly, but traveled on a fair piece before coming to a stop and slowly turning around. So far so good. I then slowly drove back toward the eagle and it let us get directly across from him without reacting.

I had my camera ready and began immediately firing off a series of rapid-fire images. He just sat there posing.



Then he turned his head slightly to look at us. . .

Squatted down. . .

And launched!

He didn't fly very far, but landed on a snow fence about a hundred yards back up the road. We decided that lightning could strike in the same place twice, so I drove very slowly with my camera at the ready until we got along side once more. Just as I stopped and raised the camera, he took off and this time it seemed he was in earnest.

I got out of the truck and made a few images as he grew smaller and smaller. I had given up and was climbing back into the truck when I noticed he had turned around and was headed right toward us.  The following sequence was as he passed by!

Golden Eagle, Lincoln County, Wyoming, USA, May 14, 2017, Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, Manual Exposure Mode, f/8 for 1/1600 of a second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC. (All images.)

Living On the Edge

When I walked out onto the catwalk at Kepler Cascades, this is the first thing I noticed. Not to say that the cascades are not impressive, they are, but it was this upside-down skeleton of a tree hanging precariously to the cliff that really caught my eye. To be fair it was not even the only tree image I made here, but it was the first.

Kepler Cascades, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/10 for 1/50 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

A little boy once fell out of bed, and when someone asked him how it happened he said, "I suppose I went to sleep too close to where I got in."

We all take chances in life. We have to. Nothing of consequence is achieved without stepping out beyond our perceived borders. However, it is also important to keep our risk taking well out of the extreme range. It is always good to go to sleep well within the bed so we don't risk falling out. John Donne said, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind: and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Others are depending on us, you know!

Hang In There

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." I am not sure that is true. I certainly hope it is not in general and even more in particular for those I know and love. We all experience adversity in our lives. It is, in fact, a necessary part of living - muscles do not grow strong without some resistance, nor does anything else. William Shakespeare put it this way, "They say the best men are molded out of faults. And, for the most, become much more the better for being a little bad in the physical sense."

Kepler Cascades, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/10 for 1/200 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

The tree in the center of this image is a great example! It is growing on a cliff to begin with - if you choose your circumstances poorly, don't be surprised when adversity comes calling! When it was knocked down, it could have simply died. Instead, it continued to reach heavenward toward the light and thus became the subject of this object lesson.

So, when the winds of adversity blow into your life, as surely they will, keep going and striving to be the person you wish to be. Treat others with dignity and respect and exercise those muscles. You will be strengthened rather than beaten down. The choice is yours.

Mount Timpanogos

"There once was an Indian maiden by the name of Utahna. . . ." Or, so the tale begins, of how this mountain looks like a reclining Indian maiden. Whether there ever was such a Native American tale or not, BYU professor Eugene Lusk "Timp" Roberts first published it in 1922 in an effort to bolster interest in the Annual Hike Timp pilgrimage to the summit from Aspen Grove. Regardless of its origins, all my life I have been told that Mount Timpanogos looks like a sleeping Indian maiden.  And I can see it. The really funny thing is that my wife sees it too, but in the opposite direction from how I do!

Timpanogos Sunset

Mount Timpanogos, Lehi, Utah County, Utah, USA, May 8, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/4.5 for 1/80 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

The name Timpanogos is from the Timpanogots Ute language. It translates as "rock" (tumpi-), and "water mouth" or "canyon" (panogos). The mountain dominates the skyline over Utah Valley, being 7000 feet taller than the valley floor at 11,752 feet and about a mile long (5,270 feet of vertical prominence), making it the 47-th most prominent mountain in the contiguous states.

Last Rays

Mount Timpanogos, Saratoga Springs, Utah County, Utah, USA, April 1, 2016. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/4.5 for 1/100 second, ISO 320, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

There have been a lot of stories about the mountain's glacier. Some say it is melting and used to be more prominent. Others say it is completely gone. The truth is, a little of all the stories is correct. Long ago, there was a cirque glacier that was clearly visible in the deeply recessed hanging valley below and to the north of the main summit. That glacier disappears during the dust-bowl of the 1930s leaving a talus surface in its place. It was assumed that the glacier was gone, even though there are visible snowfields year round most years. Then, in 1994 a crevasse opened up revealing a glacier still did and does exist beneath the talus slope. The debate, however, rages on over whether this actually is classified as a glacier or not. You decide.

First Sunlight

Mount Timpanogos, Orem, Utah County, Utah, USA, January 2, 2014. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 95mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/4.5 for 1/125 second, ISO 900, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

I have lived within sight of this mountain for most of my adult life, yet, have never climbed to its summit. That is unusual only because it is the most climbed peak in the entire Rocky Mountains. It is however one of our favorite places to get away for an afternoon/evening to just enjoy being out and to make good inmages.

Nearly Winter

Mount Timpanogos, Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah County, Utah, USA, October 5, 2015. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/5.6 for 1/125 second, ISO 320, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Swainson's Hawks

The Swainson's Hawk is a long-distance migrant, sometimes travelling more than 14,000 miles each way. It is found in North America only during the Spring and Summer, and spends its winters in Argentina. During their marathon migrations which can last up to two-months each, they travel every clear day that has a wind blowing in the direction they are headed. They circle on rising thermals to gain altitude, then set their wings and close their tails and start a slow, gradual descent until they find another rising thermal and then repeat the process.

There are two color morphs, light and dark. The vast majority of them are of the light color morph, except in the extreme Western edge of their range. They hunt small mammals primarily during the breeding and nesting period to feed their young. The rest of the year, they subsist primarily on insects - grasshoppers and locusts being their favorites. However, they also relish dragonflies and dobsonflies and pretty much any large insect.

We spotted this dark morph circling and stopped to snap a few images. Right after I got this image, it did a vertical dive down to the ground in a field just off the road from where I was standing. It was so quick, that I could not follow it with the camera. It landed on the ground with its mate that had already managed to capture dinner for the kids.

Swainson's Hawk - Dark Morph

Swainson's Hawk, Saratoga Springs, Utah County, Utah, USA, May 5, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/8 for 1/800 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

I took this while they were loafing around in the weeds, the male on the left and the female on the right. More than other raptors, they are comfortable on the ground and do much of their hunting and foraging by hopping around catching their prey. They hung out for a few minutes on the ground letting me get a few images of them together in the weeds before flying off one at a time to their nest.

Matched Pair

Swainson's Hawks, Saratoga Springs, Utah County, Utah, USA, May 5, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/8 for 1/800 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

The female left for the nest first, followed about a minute later by the male carrying dinner in its beak.

Dad Taking Home Dinner

Swainson's Hawk, Saratoga Springs, Utah County, Utah, USA, May 5, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/8 for 1/800 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.