Every year right around New Year I visit a local park to check out the birds, plants, water and ice, and whatever else is evident.
This year I chose Hidden Pond Nature Center, a park less than two miles away--part of the Fairfax County (Va.) park system.
Today, the temperature was in the low 50's--quite balmy for the end of December. I started at the Nature Center and then wandered around the various trails, finishing at the caretaker's home.
This white breasted nuthatch was moving quickly along a tree along the perimeter of the pond--I was fortunate to catch this view of it!
Two items of note: I experimented with a Canon Power Shot SD 4000 IS Digital Elyph camera for the first time--Steve Ingraham recommends it for use with Zeiss spotting scopes; I thought I'd give it a try in a conventional manner. Second, I wore a pair of NEOS overshoes through the muddy trails--these were a Christmas present from my wife. These are awesome! Excellent tread; they fit over my regular shoes--and are waterproof, as high as below my knee. There'll be a picture below.
This white breasted nuthatch was moving quickly along a tree along the perimeter of the pond--I was fortunate to catch this view of it!
This tufted titmouse was the next bird I saw.
The pond was slightly frozen and snow covered.
I found several patterns that caught my attention:
When I walked the trails and stream below the pond, I came across ice:
Crystals:
A nice ice block:
Finally, a faux ice floe:
A spillway below the pond provided me with some nice images:
I particularly like the pattern just upstream of the drop:
There were interesting dead wood and reflections in the pond:
The next one makes me think about a small petrified dinosaur:
I found some dried leaves that caught my attention:
It was so warm that even a small bee came out to some grasses that were in the sunlight:
My Powershot SD 4000 camera has an interesting feature: built-in means to create fish-eye lens effect.
I first tried it on the pond:
Then I tried it on a large picnic table--before:
and after:
The neat NEOS Overshoes, acquired through Arthus Morris' on-line store--great for getting around in marshes, muddy trails, and fording small streams--a great Christmas present from my wife! Note the velcro flap enclosures running the length of the overshoe!
I visited the caretaker's cottage--and I saw that someone had a sense of humor: I saw a half dozen pair of boot and sneakers thrown over tree limbs in the back yard--this is one of six!
Finally, here is what the sky looked like when I started into the park--a glorious day!
