another bike ride . . .
As you know, I went to Robinson Preserve on Wednesday for my first big bike ride. I rested on Thursday, and then went back again on Friday, this time at 6:30 a.m! I took Little Red, along with my Nikon big lens, too. I carried Little Red in my shirt pocket, and it was so handy for a lot of the pictures because I didn’t’ have to stop and get off my bike and unpack my camera, I could just stop, stay on the bike, pull out the camera and take a picture.
We didn’t see any spoonbills Friday, but saw a few other birds and took several pictures of “first light” and of the preserve. The early day was so beautiful there, with the sun just coming up and the soft light, soon turning to a sharper light. We must have ridden at least five miles or more. I want to get an odometer.
I never thought riding a bike would be so much fun, and so freeing and exhilarating! When I used to try and walk in the preserve, I would never get too far in because it was grueling on my back and hips after a short while with no place to sit down and hardly any shade, and the weight of carrying the camera added to it.
It was pretty neat to be there in the almost darkness at first.
The sun had not even come up over the horizon yet, but it was still lighting up the sky and clouds all around me. I turned in all directions to take these . . . .
See the tower way in the distance. It is such a huge place, and I use the tower for my landmark a lot of the time so I don't get lost.
The tower is just to the left . . .
The sun finally peeked over the trees . . .
Getting lighter . . .
Standing at the base of the tower . . .
Reflections at base of the tower . . .
When we got to the tower, on the west side, there was a Reddish Egret and he was hungry and on a mission to get some breakfast. The light was still dim and to my back . . .
Reddish Egrets are one of the most active birds I've ever seen as they hunt for fish. They are lightning fast and almost seem to dance across the water twisting and turning every which way. They spread their wings, creating shadows that small fish are attracted to for some reason, perhaps to hide in the dark places, and the egret gets his meal.
Here he spots something and takes off across the water . . .
Makes a quick turn and spreads his wings . . .
And -- got it!
And another one . . .
Then an ibis eventually flew in and joined the egret.
Some photos of the lay of the land, the many foot bridges and misc. things.
Spider web glinting in the sun as I walked across one of the bridges . . .
Some kind of strange daisy bush or plant that had this lacy green stuff all over it and even growing up the trunk . . .
We didn’t see any spoonbills Friday, but saw a few other birds and took several pictures of “first light” and of the preserve. The early day was so beautiful there, with the sun just coming up and the soft light, soon turning to a sharper light. We must have ridden at least five miles or more. I want to get an odometer.
I never thought riding a bike would be so much fun, and so freeing and exhilarating! When I used to try and walk in the preserve, I would never get too far in because it was grueling on my back and hips after a short while with no place to sit down and hardly any shade, and the weight of carrying the camera added to it.
It was pretty neat to be there in the almost darkness at first.
The sun had not even come up over the horizon yet, but it was still lighting up the sky and clouds all around me. I turned in all directions to take these . . . .
See the tower way in the distance. It is such a huge place, and I use the tower for my landmark a lot of the time so I don't get lost.
The tower is just to the left . . .
The sun finally peeked over the trees . . .
Getting lighter . . .
Standing at the base of the tower . . .
Reflections at base of the tower . . .
When we got to the tower, on the west side, there was a Reddish Egret and he was hungry and on a mission to get some breakfast. The light was still dim and to my back . . .
Reddish Egrets are one of the most active birds I've ever seen as they hunt for fish. They are lightning fast and almost seem to dance across the water twisting and turning every which way. They spread their wings, creating shadows that small fish are attracted to for some reason, perhaps to hide in the dark places, and the egret gets his meal.
Here he spots something and takes off across the water . . .
Makes a quick turn and spreads his wings . . .
And -- got it!
And another one . . .
Then an ibis eventually flew in and joined the egret.
Some photos of the lay of the land, the many foot bridges and misc. things.
Spider web glinting in the sun as I walked across one of the bridges . . .
Some kind of strange daisy bush or plant that had this lacy green stuff all over it and even growing up the trunk . . .