Dreaming of Spring

I cannot wait for winter to be over for there to be more opportunities to get out with the camera. I had been making do with birds at a few of our local parks until about a week ago. Since then we have had combinations of snow and rain that have turned everything into an icy mess. The sun was out yesterday and even though it was cold and very windy I ventured out to one of those parks and the trails over there are currently an absolute disaster, just covered in ice. Luckily I did bring my microspikes to add to my boots so I was able to do a little exploring. Very pretty with the sun glistening off of the ice and the snow. Not much in the way of bird activity though with the cold and the wind. Just a flock of Canada Geese and a few hardy seagulls. There are some photos here.

Also some photos of a Red-tailed Hawk and a Short-eared Owl at the Massachusetts Audubon Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary from a couple of weeks ago - click here.

I will be heading out to northern Arizona at the end of March and spending all of April and into the beginning of May out there. I have two backpacking trips planned for the Grand Canyon while I am out there to get some more Grand Canyon photos. The first trip will be during the second week of April over to a spot called Clear Creek, that is very near and dear to my heart. I had originally hoped to get a permit for this closer to the New Moon to do some Milky Way shooting but I could not get that permit. This trip will be closer to a Full Moon which may still make for some interesting nighttime shooting. The second trip will be closer to the end of the month and I am hoping to be able to do a rim-to-rim-to-rim (a.k.a. R2R2R) at that time. I was only able to get two nights for camping in the Canyon which is going to make it a challenge and I just hope my body is up for it. It’s going to mean hiking for 14-miles, 3 days in a row, with the middle day going up the North Rim and then back to camp: 7 miles up and 7 miles down, with about 4,200’ of elevation change each way.

The photo here is of the Ottoman Amphitheater on the approach to Clear Creek on the Clear Creek Trail.