Wildman's Best

[Calindy]

Wildman, you are the best Quail photograher I have ever seen! Congrats on your new camera, what lens are you using??

[Wildman]

Thanks.  We just have a lot of them.  I use my 100-400mm telephoto that I had before.

[gypsywolf]

You have an amazing sense for photography.

[Wildman]

Thank you for your kind comments.

The Quail are eternal optimists.  They stand under the sparrow feeder and wait for food to fall from the sky.  At times, there can be a whole lot of feathered mouths waiting to be fed.  This male is no exception. 



The snow last night could us off guard and we didn't cover the hay.  The sunrise over Blue Ridge made up for it with it's soft colors.  The morning view from our front porch.



Coming back from San Bernardino this afternoon and I saw the wind blowing the snow off the mountainside in the pass.  It had to be really blowing.

[Calindy]

I love those Quail photos! I like your commentary too, Wildman! Made me laugh! I too get such joy watching the Quail, they are so funny....

[Wildman]

Watching nature as they live their lives around you is a real gift.  I think of the wall to wall houses where there are no places for hawk or owl to hunt....how sad.

I was watching this bird this fall and couldn't figure out why it kept backing away from the feeder.  I didn't think I was close enough to spook it.  When I looked at the picture, I realized there was a Yellowjacket right where the bird wanted to be.

[Wrightwood]

And has Wildman seen any hummers visting the feeder lately?

I haven't with two feeders out.

[Wildman]

I seem to have two or three still hanging around.  I've gone to Winter feeder mode with two in back and one in front.  Hoping for more snow feeder shots tomorrow.

[Wildman]

One of the first pictures I posted on this thread was a sunrise featuring lenticular clouds over Mountain Top. 




This picture was only several minutes later but already the clouds had changed and the blues had begun to creep into the scene.

[Surfer_Dude]

Wildman, if I didn't know your photos I would think you stole these from NASA Mars mission.  Great shots!

[wwpt]

 
   Amazing Shots! Way to Capture the moment.

[Wildman]

It is amazing what being able to see the sky can do.  For 30 years, we lived in WW proper and were always in the shadow of the mountains.  Here, we get to see both sunrise and sunsets and they are often just spectacular. 

[roseBUD4000]

WOW! you weren't kidding when you said the ponds froze up and the quial were skating across it! very nice pictures wildman! 

[Wildman]

Thanks, roseBud4000.  The weather has warmed up a bit and we've been having winds of around 50 mph.  Thanks for the comment!

[Wildman]

I seem to be seeing some wonderful sunrises.  Here is another one from the
front deck....with the wide angle all the way open.



I've always liked this one.  Could be a Amercian Goldfinch or the Lesser Goldfinch.  Both are plentiful during the winter months and love the expensive seed.

[Stitches]

Beautiful Wildman.   You've got a great eye.    How is that calendar thing going?   It's time to buy the 2007's.

[Wildman]

Yes, it is time.  Been a bit distracted the past few months but will look into it again.

[Wildman]

This Rose bush just gave us one last flower....in spite of the cold temps we had a week ago.  It's gotta be the last one.

[ForestGal]

Wow, Wildman, that beautiful red rose is enough to melt any gal's heart!  What variety is it?  Is it fragrant?

[Wildman]

As most of my friends know, my son and I assisted with the funerals and Memorial for the United States Forest Service Firefighters from Engine 57 who lost their lives on the Esperanza Fire on October 27th. One of the things that was done was to fly five American Flags over their Fire Station, the Forest Service District Headquarters and the Forest Superintendent's Office.

This Forest Service Firefighter is waiting patiently while the fifth flag is flown and folded for presentation to each of the crew's families. It was so important to these Hot Shot firefighters to get each fold on each flag just perfect...to make sure that each flag had flown the identical amount of minutes at each location and that they be ready for Moms, Dads, Grandparents and Wives

As they folded the last one and gave it to her, a single tear ran down her cheek.........and a lot more ran down mine.