Animals

I haven't been posting lately due to the fact that Iowa can be boring during the winter. Now that spring is starting to peek through, I am starting to see animals again.

This little feller is a Downy Woodpecker and this image was taken sometime last month.

Late last month, I saw a city of Geese hanging out at The Des Moines River, just north of the City.

Here is a closeup of some of the Geese.


I took this image last Friday. This character is a Cedar Waxwing, viewing him at 100% shows a lot of detail.

And the same day I took this image, he is a Mink.





Today after church Cheryl and I decided to go for a walk. These Eagles were hanging out on the other side of the river and I took a few shots.



I saw this cardinal too. Well to be truthful, I heard him first and then had a little trouble seeing him. But I got an image.

And the best image is of .......................












The Cedar Waxwing.

Snow Storm

In very early March, a bad snowstorm moved through Iowa. A few days later, I started taking my walks again and got the following images. Note it was cold and I was wearing boots and a big fur hat and one of my coworkers (A Canadian) started referring to me as "Nanook of the North."

The above image is a personal favorite of my wife.

This is a stream bed that is usually dry. This was a very wet snow and water was draining out of it.
I liked this image.
This storm started with rain and within one hour we got rain, sleet, hail and then snow. Ice stuck to the trees and some trees were brought down. In rural Iowa miles of utility poles were brought down leaving many Iowans without power for 3 or more days.
Another picture showing some damage.

When I took this image I kind of felt like I was in "Dr. Zhivago." The crystalline character didn't come across in the picture, but it is interesting in its own right. This image will probably get uploaded to "The Pikers Press" according to my Wife.
More Damage.


This was a very pretty picture I took from a bridge.

More damage.


And yet more, two weeks later the branch was still sitting on top of the ice. In the last few days it has warmed up into the 50's and the ice probably has melted and the branch taken downstream.

And the best picture for this post is ...