Except as noted, all images copyrighted by and should be attributed to E B Hawley.
I had become many eons ago a traveling literary gnome, inquisitive about places I had and had not visited,
walking the same paths of peoples from the past, through places once grand and still grand,
photographing images that now show me the places about which I still dream . . .

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Evening Under the Dome

Superb. The Kemp Center for the Arts held a remarkable event this evening: A storyteller, Ed Harvill; a pianist; Ruth Morrow; and a poet, James Hoggard, stood before an appreciative group of listeners and presented their art.
Noted storyteller and poet Ed Harvill.


Pianist Ruth Morrow played with such feeling that I became teary-eyed.


Poet and also storyteller James Hoggard. I particularly enjoy this photograph of him because I show the piano in the background. Hoggard is a devoted supporter of the symphony orchestra. 

Great Horned Owl

I saw this great-looking bird at Lake Kickapoo.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Fifteen hours, One Snow Storm, and Thirty-four Species

Loaded up the dogs and headed to Lake Kickapoo with MyMrMallory. 

A Mockingbird sits on the rain gauge. 


Nearby, a Golden-fronted Woodpecker hopped from limb to limb on an old Mesquite tree.


I'm keeping an eye on the female Red-tailed Hawk roosting in a tree across the inlet. 


The Purple Martins have arrived. I counted three couples yesterday.


White-crowned Sparrows seemed numerous, and usually with a Harris' or two tagging along with them. 


I brought inside some cuttings from the berry tree the Cedar Waxwings visit every spring. 


It started to snow while an immature White-crowned sparrow picked at the flowers. I took this shot through the screen of the window. 


Rufous-sided Towhee, Eastern type; at home I spotted the Western type earlier this year. 


This picture shows the reason why we call this type of Northern Flicker "Red-shafted." 


It snowed all day on Saturday. 


The Cardinals hunkered in the bushes against the strong wind.


Carolina Chickadee in a Pecan Tree.


I photographed a group of Cedar Waxwings in the Cottonwood tree at the end of the day.


MyMrMallory kept the fire going as it snowed. 


On our way home we spotted a prancing turkey through the thick Mesquite. Like most my photos of turkeys, this one shows one walking away from me. 


Lesser Yellow-legs. 

I identified the following species at Lake Kickapoo: Bewick's Wren, White-crowned Sparrow, English Sparrow, Harris' Sparrow, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Pelicans (flying overhead), House Finch, American Coots, Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Red-tailed Hawks (3), Virginia's Warbler, Gray or Bell's Vireo, Rufous-sided Towhee (Eastern type), Cedar Waxwings, Purple Martins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackle, Snow Geese, Cormorant, Canada Geese, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Starlings, Ring-necked Turtle Dove, or an Eurasian Collared Dove (but I lean toward the Ring-necked because it looked white instead of light brown), Yellow-rumped Warbler (also known as Butter-butt), American Goldfinch, Male Northern Flicker, Gull (flying overhead), American Robin, Brown Thrasher, ducks (flying overhead), Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Carolina Chickadee. Last week I spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker in the Cottonwood tree. On my way home on Highway 367 I spotted Meadowlarks, blackbirds, Kestrel, Lesser Yellowlegs, and American Turkeys. 

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Along Armstrong Drive

A Great Blue Heron hunted on a lake on the north side of Armstrong Drive . . . 


A Bufflehead floated seemingly contentedly on a pond on the south side of Armstrong. 
I took both pictures while sitting in the driver's seat, first through one window, 
and then through the other window.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Quacking Around, Mallard-like

Every day, a Mallard couple ambles through the grass toward the feed that BirdManBob tosses outside his window. Having promised myself not to return to the Wild Bird Rescue Center without my camera, I held it ready for whatever species came around, from Great Blue Herons, to Cooper's Hawks, to warblers. In addition, having learned from Ben to rely on a tripod, I had it available, too. The use of a tripod improves sharpness, and so I prove it again today.
I first spotted the couple coming through the weeds. The male, leading, stopped short when he saw me. The female, hungry and bold, decided I looked harmless, and so overtook her mate and lead the way toward the WBR Center.

The volunteer mower, thankfully for this image, has not mowed the grass yet. Color is lovely in photography, but see the image below. . . 

Let us play "spot the female Mallard."

They stopped for a few moments and looked up at the doorway of the center, as if expecting to see BirdManBob or Missi's Mom.
 
Male Mallard.

Female Mallard.

Here he reveals his blue wing bar.


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Five Minutes at Wild Bird Rescue

When I visit the Wild Bird Rescue Center, I walk through their door expectant of what species of birds I will see. I've reached the point at which I dare not go there without my camera. Here is today's crop of pictures.
Cedar Waxwings.

Mallards. 

Harris' Sparrow at the bird feeder outside BirdManBob's office window.

An immature White-crowned Sparrow. 

I noticed the male White-crowned Sparrows seemed less territorial than the females.

Junco. 

In late winter, when birds are transitioning from immature to adults, they seem hard to identify. I'll send this picture to Penny and ask her about this bird. 

Sunday, March 14, 2010

At Hackberry Flat

The Red River Photography Club hosted a day trip to the Hackberry Flat, near Frederick, Oklahoma. Visit the Hackberry Flat web site at http://hackberryflat.home.mindspring.com/  I added a few bird sightings to my "life list," but more importantly, I became aware of the importance of wildlife management.
American Coots take off as we approach them. 

Lesser Yellow Legs in flight. In this picture you can see the kind of habitat the birds thrive in, thanks to the wildlife management provided by Oklahoma.

Vesper's Sparrow.

Savannah Sparrow.

Red-tailed Hawks seemed numerous and beautiful. 


We saw a large number of Northern Harriers, too. 

This Northern Harrier appears to keep his eye on us. 

I like to call this picture "Spot the Hawk." The lines and posts seem intriguing even without the profile of the hawk. As with all other birds, the hawk flew away from us. 

The Nexrad I rely on for everyday weather-watching stood at a crow's flight,
if you pardon the pun, from the wildlife management area. 


On our way home, we visited every fascinating barn we saw. 
The door appeared to have the original doorknobs. 


A fertilizer spreader and a television sit abandoned in the next room, along with couches and chairs. 


I particularly enjoy this image, and I think seeing it helped me appreciate the challenge of taking pictures of old barns.


Old wood and new wood. In this barn, Larry found a medicine bottle.
Later, at home he washed the bottle and saw the year 1846 on the bottom of it.
James Polk was serving as US president during that year.


We stopped by for a few images of an "Oklahoma Centennial Barn," 
presumably established in 1900 (that's the number on the gate). 


A vehicle full of photography enthusiasts will more often than not stop at every opportunity for pictures. 
Here we stopped to visit with the dromedary camels on the Hudson Ranch along Highway 287.

The male has a big cranium. 

Ben celebrates the capture of a good shot. 
See his impressive photography at http://photographybybenjacobi.blogspot.com/

Let Lovely Turn of Phrase Begin

JMHawley Gave Me a Kiss to Build a Dream On

Listen, will you? I think that . . . literature, poetry, music and love make the world go round . . . while mathematics explains things; I fill my life with them, then go walking in snowy woods.
Let us go then, you and I
like two etherized patients floating
through life, together feeling prufrockian.
DDB Jr. makes my world go 'round; during his absence, Pachelbel fills it up.
One summer I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, then through the Gulf of Finland to reach Saint Petersburg; I pursued Joseph Brodsky in its alley ways. I dream of making that two summers.
I read “Biking to Electra;” found my way in a Jaguar car, and glanced at the flashing steel grasshoppers at sunset. I’ll follow K.O.P.’s footsteps after he followed N.Scott Momaday’s; find warmth and inspiration on a rainy mountain.
Throw chinese coins for the I Ching.
Save the whales, the spotted owl, the woman in toil.
Cast a fly for trout; my memories of fly fishing under the sunny blue Colorado sky remain; I yearn to build more . . . with more trophy Browns.
Listen for the swan’s calls on the Baltic Sea. Feel KKII's joy, his arms spread wide in Yazilikaya.
Good night, Jimmy Durante, where ever you are.