We were at that moment approaching a bird about which I felt a stronger curiosity,—a snake-bird, or water-turkey, sitting in a willow shrub at the further end of the bay. “Pull me as near it as it will let us come,” I said. “I want to see as much of it as possible.” At every rod or two I stopped the boat and put up my glasses, till we were within perhaps sixty feet of the bird. Then it took wing, but instead of flying away went sweeping about us. On getting round to the willows again it made as if it would alight, uttering at the same time some faint ejaculations, like “Ah! Ah! Ah!” but it kept on for a second sweep of the circle. Then it perched in its old place, but faced us a little less directly, so that I could see the beautiful silver tracery of its wings, like the finest of embroidery, as I thought. 

"A good many of my jaunts took me past the gallinule swamp before mentioned, and almost always I stopped and went near. It was worth while to hear the poultry cries of the gallinules if nothing more; and often several of the birds would be seen swimming about among the big white lilies and the green tussocks. Once I discovered one of them sitting upright on a stake,—a precarious seat, off which he soon tumbled awkwardly into the water. At another time, on the same stake, sat some dark, strange-looking object. The opera-glass showed it at once to be a large bird sitting with its back toward me, and holding its wings uplifted in the familiar heraldic, e-pluribus-unum attitude of our American spread-eagle; but even then it was some seconds before I recognized it as an anhinga,—water turkey,—though it was a male in full nuptial garb. I drew nearer and nearer, and meanwhile it turned squarely about,—a slow and ticklish operation,—so that its back was presented to the sun; as if it had dried one side of its wings and tail,—for the latter, too, was fully spread,—and now would dry the other. There for some time it sat preening its feathers, with monstrous twistings and untwistings of its snaky neck."  

"​THE verges and islets of the lagoon were elegantly embellished with flowering plants and shrubs; the laughing coots with wings half spread were tripping over the little coves and hiding themselves in the tufts of grass; young broods of the painted summer teal, skimming the still surface of the waters, and following the watchful parent unconscious of danger, were frequently surprised by the voracious trout, and he in turn, as often by the subtle, greedy alligator. Behold him rushing forth from the flags and reeds. His enormous body swells. His plaited tail brandished high, floats upon the lake. The waters like a cataract descend from his opening jaws. Clouds of smoke issue from his dilated nostrils. The earth trembles with his thunder. When immediately from the opposite coast of the lagoon, emerges from the deep his rival champion. They suddenly dart upon each other. The boiling surface of the lake marks their rapid course, and a terrific conflict commences. They now sink to the bottom folded together in horrid wreaths. The water becomes thick and discoloured. Again they rise, their jaws clap together, re-echoing through the deep surrounding forests. Again they sink, when the contest ends at the muddy bottom of the lake, and the vanquished makes a hazardous escape, hiding himself in the muddy turbulent waters and sedge on a distant shore. The proud victor exulting returns to the place of action. The shores and forests resound his dreadful roar, together with the triumphing shouts of the plaited tribes around, witnesses of the horrid combat."  Part II, Chapter V

"They delight to sit in little peaceable communities, on the dry limbs of trees, hanging over the still waters, with their wings and tails expanded, I suppose to cool and air themselves, when at the same time they behold their images in the watery mirror: at such times, when we approach them, they drop off the limbs into the water as if dead, and for a minute or two are not to be seen; when on a sudden at a vast distance, their long slender head and neck only appear, and have very much the appearance of a snake, and no other part of them are to be seen when swimming in the water, except some the tip end of their tail. In the heat of the day they are seen in great numbers, sailing very high in the air, over lakes and rivers."  Part II, Chapter V

Two identical Coonhounds, brought in two days apart, from the same rural area of the county. I suppose that isn’t too strange, except for the fact that the first man said he found his dog ten days earlier, and the lady who brought in “Dawson” found him that day.

“Dawson” was just as photogenic as his brother (I assume they are siblings), but a little less goofy. Such a handsome boy being highlighted by the shine of the sunrise in the background… surely he’ll get noticed too!  (“Bogie” got an adoption application the very day his photos were posted!)
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Coming back into the admin building to edit and post the photos, I realized I ignored one of my photo tips: watch the background. In one shot that I wasn’t paying attention, “Dawson” looked a bit comical with a tree growing out of the top of his head!  

“Bogie” was a very handsome Coonhound surrendered to the shelter on March 1, 2017. The gentleman that brought him in said he found him ten days earlier but didn’t provide any other history. “Bogie” perhaps didn’t seem like the brightest dog in the kennel, but he was quite a people-person… or, quite a people-dog, I should say. He stuck close to my legs while on leash. During his photo shoot, he was a bit preoccupied with looking off into the distance. Not sure if he was looking out for a raccoon to chase, or trying to find that owner he was missing.
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I’m still getting familiar with handling the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens just purchased for the shelter through a small grant. It is a much heavier lens than my old lens, so my holding the camera with one hand and tossing up dog toys with the other isn’t working as well.

It is a used lens, but the final photos are amazing, mainly because of the f/2.8 aperture! Not only does it produce some great quality shots with creamy background, but it also does better in lower light, allowing me even more early morning hours to shoot the dogs. More time is a huge resource when the impounds pick up! 

I can’t wait until I get more proficient with the lens! It will surely help get the pups noticed and into new homes even more quickly than before! Thank you Andrew for the grant, and Barbara for referring us to him!