Reflections at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve

Reflections at Turkey Creek at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson, Alabama

Running Wild and Free at Black Creek

Every now and then, Darby and I find a patch of creek where nobody else is within eye-shot or ear-shot, and we get to run around to our hearts' delight. This outing found us at Black Creek just downriver from Black Creek Park near the Rails to Trails in Fultondale, Alabama.

Leaf and Vine over Black Creek, Fultondale

Leaf and Vine over Black Creek, Fultondale, Alabama

Morning Glory in Early Evening Light, Fultondale

Morning Glory photographed in early evening light, near Black Creek Park, Fultondale

Dinner Reservations with the Green Lynx Spider

Dinner Reservations with the Green Lynx Spider in the Garden, Fultondale, Alabama

Green Lynx Spider in the Garden Again

Last year, I encountered a Green Lynx Spider who protected my tomato plants, which I wrote about here. This year another has graced my garden and is standing sentinel...and apparently eating well too. We have a symbiotic relationship - he feeds on fat, juicy little insects, which in turn keeps them from feeding on my fat, juicy little tomatoes.

Photographing Darby with the Agfa Billy Record

Photographing Darby with my 80-year-old Agfa Billy Record, while she's running wide open, was an enjoyable experiment in contrasting existences. This photograph was taken on Black Creek Park's Rails to Trails in Fultondale, Alabama.

Classic Portraiture with Darby

Although she normally goes into playful attack mode as soon as my phone is pointed at her for a photo, on this occasion Darby continued to gaze at whatever she found so intriguing about the lamp. More photos of Darby can be found here.

The Carolina Wren, an Unsympathetic Victim

For a couple of days in early May, our yard was inundated with Carolina Wrens. The perched on the fence, the side of the house, the window screens, and with all this perching, they tortured Darby, our golden retriever.

She stared out the glass door, pointing with all earnestness, and with murder in her heart. In my naivete, I thought that when I opened the back door and let Darby out, the wrens, like all other birds that land in our yard, would scatter to the safety of the woods behind our house.

They did not. Rather they just fluttered further away...and not quickly enough. Twice Darby got one between her jaws, but between their fluttering and my scolding and rescue attempts, we were able to get it them to safety. And by this time, I had begun to lose patience and sympathy with these dimwits, who were not smart enough to take flight. "Survival of the fittest" was a phrase that began to rattle around my brain as Darby continued to see red. And finally she batted one down with her substantial paws, picked it up, and began to "play", but her playmate was not up to the task. Eventually, I got him away, but he had been mortally wounded...and I had no sympathy for it.

Panorama of the Birmingham Barons at Regions Field

Panorama of the Birmingham Barons at Regions Field, Birmingham, Alabama

Paddleboarding at Miramar Beach, Destin, Florida

What's a week spent at the beach in Destin without trying something new?! On this occasion, Blake and I decided to try our hands at paddleboarding, which went better than I had anticipated. A few things I learned: 1) Paddleboarding takes less effort than kayaking; 2) You had better only first attempt this on a day when the water is pretty calm; and 3) When you're on a YOLO Board, it causes you to want to say "YOLO!" about every other sentence, and not because you think it's cool to do so!

A Feeding Frenzy for Dolphins and Gulls, Destin, Florida

On every day of our trip to Destin, Florida, we observed small pods of dolphins and flocks of gulls in feeding frenzies as they demolished schools of fish that were migrating through the area.

Seeing those dorsal fins, I was reminded of a trip to Savannah, Georgia. When I was about chest deep in the water, I observed a triangular fin cutting through the water in my direction. I immediately began hustling for the shore, expecting at any moment to have one of my limbs torn loose from my body in the form of razors for teeth or a chunk of torso to be abruptly removed. By the time, I got about knee deep and had the courage to turn around, I saw a sleek dolphin leaping gracefully from wave to wave.

A Feeding Frenzy of Dolphins and Gulls, Destin, Florida

Vivid Sunset at Miramar Beach in Destin, Florida

Vivid Sunset at Miramar Beach in Destin, Florida

Modica Market, Seaside, Florida

Modica Market in Seaside, Florida