Great Blue Heron and American Coot, Lake Guntersville

Panorama of a Great Blue Heron and American Coot
at Lake Guntersville, in Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama

Find this and other photos of bird and wildlife in the Galleries.

Deadwood Piercing the Surface of Lake Guntersville

Deadwood Piercing the Surface of Lake Guntersville in Alabama

13th Annual Mercedes Half Marathon, Birmingham

On this 13th Annual Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 16, 2014, I had the opportunity to run my fifth (and only injury-free) half marathon and second running of this particular race (which I ran for the first time in 2011).

My favorite thing about the start of any race once all the runners have congregated in the chute, aside from the chest-thumpingly-loud music and the pre-race realization that you suddenly need to pee, is that it looks like a Skittles factory exploded. But that's really about the last opportunity to soak anything in for the next couple of hours.

My favorite thing during any race is the great lengths people go to to invest real creativity into clever sign-making. And my favorite thing about finishing is...finishing...and a huge post-race breakfast. This year, I placed 1044th among half-marathoners, which puts me in the top one-third, and about an 800 place improvement over my previous running - that's progress.

Abstract of Driftwood from Lake Guntersville

Abstract of Driftwood from Lake Guntersville, in Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama

Outtake from the Black Tailed Deer Session

Prior to seeing a picture on my friend's social media page in which one of the baby deer at Lake Guntersville State Park had its head up to the car window and was allowing itself to be petted, I was much more impressed with my own experience. But impressions are fluid things, and at least I caught this one sticking its tongue out at me, even if she was ten yards away rather than at my fingertips.

A Black Tailed Deer blows a raspberry while I photograph her at Lake Guntersville, Alabama

Black Tailed Deer at Lake Guntersville, Alabama

Black Tailed Deer at Lake Guntersville, in Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama

You can also find the doe, along with other Alabama wildlife, at the Fauna gallery.

Portrait of a Black Tailed Deer at Lake Guntersville

Portrait of a Black Tailed Deer at Lake Guntersville, in Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama

This and other creatures native to the State of Alabama can be found in the Galleries.

Enduring Signs of the Snowpocalypse, Birmingham

Despite the turn of weather, which has brought us back to the mean as to what Southerners can expect during Winter, all around the Birmingham area, there are still evidences and subtle reminders of the winter storm that was, whether you want to call it one of many monikers it was given: Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, Winter Gridlock 2014, and let's not forget...Leon.

Van in a gully, having slid off the road during the Birmingham winter storm in January 2014

Withstanding the Dreary Winter Weather with Darby

Despite the beatdown that I and many other reasonable people like me feel winter to be, there are those among us who inexplicably thrive for the cold temperatures and blustery winds. During no other time of year does Darby seem to have more life and vivacity than when the mercury in the thermometer plummets and she gets to put that fur coat to good use.

Withstanding the Winter with Darby on the Rails to Trails

at Black Creek Park in Fultondale, Alabama

Other photos and videos of Darby, from puppyhood to present, can be found here.