Beaumont's Cattail Marsh attracting social-distancing walkers

Cattail Marsh's smiling gator

The happy alligator from the Cattail Marsh Scenic Wetlands & Boardwalk in Beaumont Texas.

Sunny flowers brighten backyard

The sunflowers in the backyard are really putting on a show this week.

Alligator enjoys an after lunch nap at Cattail Marsh

This alligator at the Cattail marsh seemed to be enjoying a nap back a good ways from the viewing boardwalk.  He was up on the land to get more heat to help digest his meal of one of his marsh fellows.

Posing lizards thumb noses at gravity.

My brick-scaling, gravity-defying, photo-posing lizards are very active this summer, in case you wanted to know.

They want you to know.

Seattle's aptly named Discovery Park

Having fun with a game of chase under the huge trees in Seattle's Discovery Park which overlooks the Puget Sound.  We could have spent days exploring this wonderland.

Nectar neighbors

It's not just bees busy with nectar searches.

Nectar seeker

Foraging for nectar.

Blackbird well skilled at diversionary tactics

This agitated Red-Winged Blackbird was doing everything he could to catch my attention and draw it away from his nest in Mishawaka's (Indiana) Central Park on the St. Joseph River.  When I turned around, he would fly in front of me to keep me looking at him

I didn't see the nest, but I got a good idea where it was when I walked over to a tree near the overlook by the dam.  He made a couple of close swooshes past me to make sure I was focusing on him.

He was a darned good watchman.

Blue Heron stands watch at Mishawaka Dam in South Bend, IN

This blue heron was standing watch below the Mishawaka Dam at Central Park in South Bend, Indiana where we were visiting my daughter's family last week.
It didn't look like he was having much luck finding lunch. Maybe he was just trying to keep cool in the 90-degree heat.

Butterfly flies off to mythical world

So this butterfly and I were having this photo shoot up in Seattle along the side walk.  I guess she just got tired of waiting for me to set up and take a shot or something.  She just says "to heck with this cameo, I'm out of here."  And just like that she flies off to some mythical world. Oh well, who am I to blow against the wind.

Elusive butterfly

We were in Seattle recently and this butterfly was wandering through the flowers next to the sidewalk as I walked along. I let the others walk along without me while I stopped to spend some time with my new BFF. He proved pretty elusive. (Wait, wasn't that a song?).

Great Egret does a high five

How about a high five?

You always see egrets standing on their legs and rarely see them using them for anything else.  In this case, the Great Egret is getting ready to do some scratching.  It does, however, look like he's doing a high five.

The shot is from a small bayou at the edge of the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana.

Fishing the falls near Seattle

I took this shot several years ago when we were up near Seattle.  I didn't  take this guy long to get a bite at this waterfall fishing hole.

Flower opens for business

Some flowers seem to hide their pollen and nectar displays down deep in a petal tunnel.  Not this one. It's open for business - clearly visible from all directions.

Glacier calving is caught in photo

This is a somewhat close-up view of a glacier as it meets the water from our recent Alaskan trip.  The big blue columns of ice form a wall at the water's edge.  The best I could estimate the size is that the columns are about 200 to 300 feet high.  Periodically, a sliver will fall into the water and create a big splash. You can see that splash at the bottom center of the photo -- I think that splash is about 30-50 feet high.  The process is called calving.

Brilliant Alaska blues beam from lake

 This lake we saw on Alaska journey last year takes your breath away. The blues assault your eyes with their brilliance.

Spider lunch time

This spider, hanging in my back yard, was munching down on his lunch, when I came upon him.  He had a couple future meals  hanging elsewhere on his web.  He probably lost those, though, because later in the day, the wind blew away his spindly fortress.

Ducklings get lessons on grooming

"Okay kids, you had your dinner and your play time,  now it is time to clean up."  A mother duck, sheppards  her ducklings, teaching them good hygiene habits.  The scene is from Lake Washington.

Whale wakes whale watchers with tale show

This shot is from our recent Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Jewel. We took a whale watching tour out of Juneau, and saw quite a few whales from afar.  After about 45 minutes of this, we ended up in a place where whales were mulling around, but not close to our boat. The captain turned off  the motor and decided to wait and see. Just as he was walking to the front to start the boat to leave, this whale and a companion surfaced about 40 feet from us to gasps and "wow" from all of us. This is the Humpback whale's signature move as he starts a deep dive for food.