Gator reflection on an unusually cool august morning

"Reflections"
I went to my "Walden Pond" this hot August day to escape  the rigors of  life in a fast high flying society of superficial  thoughts and actions by humans that care only for greed. 
In the solitude of the swamps and boonies much reality can be found and savored like fine wine without the clatter and non-sense of humanoids that chatter on subjects whence they have ought knowledge.
This gator was sunning on this log and the reflections caught my attention. When I see these things I cannot refrain from thinking how beautiful simple nature is and what a blessing God gives us for free.

"Peace and Tranquility"

Sunrise from Arkansas Grand Canyon

This is the way I would like to start each and every day, with a view of Gods beauty, absent the mental and physical clutter of mankind. Nature can clean the soul of all phony thoughts obtained in a plastic world and give one the desire to seek more of the beauty that is free for the taking. We let  society  dictate and fill our mind with things that matter not. Humans loose sight of what is real and what is important, but in the solitude of nature one finds time to sort through the trash and decide what to keep and what to discard. For me, the free beauty outweighs all the material things we purchase and hoard.

Photos; Wildlife, Summer Tanager, Blue Martins at Pond Creek, Arkansas

Monday I traveled north to Pond Creek Wildlife Management Area for some "Wildlife Time" with my camera. Early in the morning the temperature was nice, however we experienced our first ninety- plus day. The recent rains here and up north in Oklahoma had the two rivers (The Skull Crusher and the Little River) out of bank and rolling. This put a damper on the gator photography and most of the other wildlife. However, it was a fair day for photographing "Wild thangs". We viewed many deer and one doe with a newborn  nursing, it was too far for a good shot and we did not want to stress mom any more than she already was.

We have our lunch on a high bluff over looking the Little River on "Yellow Bluff". On this day the water was almost to the top of the bluff. While we were resting after lunch (napping) the Blue Martins put on a show for us and I practiced on shots in motion. Shortly afterwards we found a Summer Tanager, a rare find for me.

It was a great day for owls and hawks also, most of all it was nice to be in solitude with nature. We experienced the company of only two souls the entire day and they were moving through the area and in a hurry.

Red Slider---(Trachemys Scripta Elegans)

From:Yellow-bluff across to the slough

                                                   Blue Martin catching an insect

Beauty and the  Beast

Summer Tanager

Getting an early start tomorrow morning; car packed tonight, cleaned cameras, snacks and drinks packed, batteries charged.

I plan on being in place by daybreak at Pond Creek waiting on whatever wildlife needs photographing. The sloughs and creeks will be full since we have had so much rain this past week. The temperature is going to peak around ninety-five and this is about the time I find a shade in a cool place along the river.

Coyote in Town

I spend much time looking for wildlife photography ops and traveling to locations where I may find unusual and different species.A few weeks ago I was relaxing outside with family and friends cooking gumbo on my smoker trailer. My son-in-law and their friends from Dallas-McKinney were sitting on the driveway where the cooking was taking place, talking. I noticed a strange look come over the friends face as he was looking in the direction of my front yard. The word "coyote" spilled from his mouth and I thought "This City Slicker" does not know a domestic dog from a coyote. I raised from my chair to look around the corner of the house and there stood "Mr Coyote"  (The name "coyote" is borrowed from Mexican Spanish coyote, ultimately ... Its scientific name, Canis latrans, means "barking dog" in Latin) 

I did not have time to retrieve my camera from the house. he was gone in a flash.I found this situation unique;I search far and wide and here it is in my yard. 

The coyote, also known as the American jackal, brush wolf, or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Wikipedia

Scientific name: Canis latrans Rank: Species Higher classification: Canis

A Sunday stroll through Pond Creek

Today I went to my "Walden Pond" (Pond Creek), I wanted to find some different critters to photograph. However, I found some of my old friends and not much new. I promised myself I would not photograph more deer! But when they put on shows for the camera,the trigger finger responds. We found another LARGE SNAKE, he was going south so I photographed him and we went North. The deer were plentiful so I filled the card and deleted when I got to the cave. I cannot resist photographing the Egrets in flight and so I photographed "more egrets". A bore coon made his way across the road and was never seen again.

On the way up we stopped in Ashdown and bought fried catfish to go for lunch, it never made it to the swamps. A great day for me and my camera, hope the photographs are viewed and enjoyed.

Damm!!!! That fool with a camera,again !

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"The Swamp Creek Monster" of Pond Creek"

The Need for the Ponca and Boxley Valley

 It is time for me to escape and head North to the Boston mountains and the valley, time to visit the elk and visit the critters to regain composer and respect for life. These photographs are from past visits and are re-post that I view when I long for the "Boston Mountains" and solitude.

Nature Happenings: Just a Thinking about the Boston Mountains and Dreaming

Nature Happenings: Just a Thinking about the Boston Mountains and Dreaming

Nature Happenings: Just a Thinking about the Boston Mountains and Dre...

Nature Happenings: Just a Thinking about the Boston Mountains and Dre...: It is time for some Mountain time up in the Boston mountains, time for thoughts and few humans with their inputs and advise about things th...

Just a Thinking about the Boston Mountains and Dreaming

It is time for some Mountain time up in the Boston mountains, time for thoughts and few humans with their inputs and advise about things they know little about. I am ready to find a lonely tree to keep company with and a mountain stream to listen to it's music.

I would like to hear the rumble of thunder across the mountain tops and the sound of rain on the tin roof of a simple cabin. The wildlife roaming in the mornings while I consume my "jo" on a front porch, and the sounds of the owl at bedtime. These wishes are simple but so hard to obtain in this fast and furious world we have created. We chase the green paper and the demands of people we do not know or care to be friends with. We glue our face to the tube to hear the latest gloom and doom from a government that no longer is of the people and for the people.