Friday, 8:49 AM - I love this weather! Hurricane Hermine has brought us some strong breezes and a thick, unbroken blanket of quickly moving gray and white cloud cover… perfect photography conditions! There is no harsh glare from the sun, and no discomfort from heat and humidity. Since I am mostly caught up on the animal photos, I treated myself to a quick walk up to the far pond behind the shelter after my initial shelter walk-through. That pond is smaller, but is rimmed by trees and brush and thus more secluded. The more wary birds and wildlife visit that pond more often than the larger, more open pond in view of all the county buildings.

As I approached, I could see a Great Egret (Ardea alba​) on the far end of the pond. I backed away and took to the far edge along the woods in order to obtain a more stealthy approach. As I got closer to where I assumed I was parallel to the bird, I edged up to the pond and took a few shots through the foliage. I watched her fish, and she was having a successful morning. About eight to ten times she thrust her spear-like bill into the water then jerked her head back and swallowed her quarry.

After a few minutes of observation, I got up and walked along with her… she on one side of the pond, and I on the other. She had a fairly high degree of tolerance for my presence. As we neared the narrow end of the pond, I circled around in her direction. Perhaps not wanting to end her easy breakfast, she allowed me to approach fairly close before taking flight.
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Walton County, Georgia

Thursday, 3:13 PM - This baby watersnake was slithering along behind the shelter near where I take the “glamor photos” of the dogs. He was quite the feisty little guy, as most watersnakes tend to be; striking at every movement of my hand. No doubt he was born this summer. Perhaps he is a descendant of a watersnake I photographed here at the shelter in November, 2012.

​Walton County, Georgia

Thursday, 7:25 PM - My daughter and I met about a dozen others from our church to walk through the planned “Haunted Trail” we will be having on the church land on Athena Drive.  The land is a large wooded lot that has gotten somewhat overgrown. We walked up the trail about 60 yards from the road and were standing next to a large pile of rocks and broken cement pieces while our pastor talked about the scenes from previous years’ productions. As the group turned and proceeded up the trail, I saw a movement on top of the stone pile. I couldn’t believe my eyes… a large Copperhead; beautiful burgundy and copper coloring… probably every bit of three feet long. I probably should have kept my mouth shut so as not to freak everybody out, but in my excitement shouted, “Hey, did you see the snake!!!” There were mixed emotions of fear and fascination among the group. But I was most surprised that nobody really knew what kind of snake this was. 

I got a stick and nudged him to urge him to crawl into the crevices underneath the stone pile before someone had the bright idea to stone him to death.  Of course, I didn’t have my camera. Leaving my camera behind always ensures I'll see something incredible. 

Athens, Georgia

Thursday, 6:27 AM - ​The Barred Owls have been quite vocal in the neighborhood lately. Early this morning I could hear one as I worked on translating the Greek New Testament. It had to be close by the house to be heard so clearly from indoors. When I went out to my truck to leave for prayer meeting, I sounded my owl call four times, but it didn’t respond or come.

I had to laugh at one of the recent email posts on the neighborhood Next Door forum: “My husband saw a large winged owl or other winged predator fly over the back deck (on Tabby Lane) tonight. He heard a screetch noise and saw something flying by and looked up and saw it land on our rooftop. The shadow looked like an owl. We have noticed some of the tree frog population has gone down, and our moth and bug population is up these last few nights. I hope that thing isn't eating our other, smaller bug-eating creatures.”

Their impression of 'that thing' was like a vampire bat or predatory pterodactyl that had no right to be in our neighborhood. Luckily, the owls had some intelligent defenders post brief natural history lessons to benefit those not so familiar with nature. 

What kind of impression am I leaving behind? Are my emails and conversations scathing or uncaring? Do I leave a clean print, or are my hands muddied like a raccoon in the mud? Even if they don’t know me directly, am I making a lasting and edifying mark on someone else’s life? ​

Tuesday, 8:20 AM - As I walked out behind the shelter, my attention couldn’t help but be drawn to a noisy bird circling over the Public Works building. One of the Killdeer that is normally darting around on the ground in our parking lot was flying through the air and shouting its name. Peterson's Field Guide describes its call as, "a loud, insistent kill-deeah, repeated." The other Plovers' calls are more pleasantly described as 'a plaintive whistle', 'a musical whistle', or 'a low chucking.' But not the Killdeer, which Peterson’s Field Guide gives a one-word description: 'noisy'.  

Our Killdeer was exemplifying this boisterous description, and simultaneously living up to his Latin name, Charadrius vociferous. Vociferous is from the Latin vociferari meaning "to shout, yell." If you break it down, vox means "voice", and add it to -ferre, meaning "to carry"; therefore, vociferous describes 'voices that carry'. Vociferous doesn’t just describe volume, but also intimates annoying.

​Its loud cries sounded so persistent and urgent that it seemed to be a distress call to summon help for a fallen comrade. I don’t know the real purpose behind his flight and shouts, but he certainly made it known he was in the area. Stokes’ Guide to Bird Behavior may shed light on his purpose when it says, “At other times he may do small circling-flights over the territory, giving Kideah-calls of any type to advertise his presence to females and other males in the territory.” 

​Walton County, Georgia

Tuesday, 6:32 AM - As a beautiful crescent moon hangs in the sky​, it is noticeably less humid this morning as I leave the house to go to the church to pray before work.  It is also noticeably darker. Perhaps we’ll soon be turning the corner on this very hot and humid summer? For a solid month it has seemed to be the same story each day:  high humidity and 90+ degrees resulting in pop-up thunderstorms in the evenings. (I think the weatherman plays the same recording each day on the radio!) Although it is cooler this morning, the summer is still hanging in there and it will be hot and humid each afternoon this week. 

Athens, Georgia

Friday, 9:19 PM - Athens, Georgia
​And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 
​  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 
  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 
​  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Genesis 9:12-17

Wednesday, 8:54 AM - I know it is disgusting, but it is still a marvel of God’s creation to me. On my way in to work this morning I spotted this lone Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) enjoying a venison breakfast on Jim Daws Road. I drove past him, but decided to turn around and go back for a photo.  And why not?  Can’t we be amazed by even the “gross” things? 

Walton County, Georgia

"We live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you." 2 Corinthians 4:12 New Living Translation
 
Wednesday, 11:16 AM - Nature does not always live up to the romantic notions we have of a calming, peaceful walk in the woods, along pristine trails, besides pure waterfalls. Within the wild, we are often confronted with the harsh reality of survival and death. Though we spend much unconscious effort pushing the reality of death out of our view and consciousness, the certainty of death ever surrounds us.
 
On a hot, muggy Wednesday afternoon I walked to the gravel road that circles the upper pond. Wiping sweat and spider webs from my face as I walked among the dry, dead leaves and pine needles crunching underneath my feet I noticed a morbid scene: the remains of a Blue Jay. It was just a pile of feathers; no bones; no body; no blood. The scene brought up many questions, but only two facts could be ascertained: it was a BlueJay, and it was no longer alive.
 
The scene seemed to raise more questions than it answered. What got it? How did it get it? Was it a fledgling or an adult? Where was the body? Was it plucked and then eaten? Why didn’t it consume the feathers? How could a bird with the capability of flight get caught? Was it caught by another bird, like a hawk? The questions could flow unending.
 
Death often raises questions, especially when it is that of a younger person we feel it was too early to lose. Why did she have to die? Why did God take them? What happens after death? Where do we go when we die? Why happens to our body? Does our mind live on? What can I do to live longer? Even the Christians of Paul’s day had questions in the face of death: “But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’”[i]
 
While considering this photo of the Jay’s remnants and being faced with a journaling ‘dead end’, on a random urging, I put my journal away and flipped to a random entry in the book More than Words. That random entry happened to be “death”. It read, “The death of the body, of course, occurs when physical life leaves it. The Old Testament recognizes the fact that we all die. But the death of Jesus Christ brought about an enormous change in the way Christians think about death. The New Testament teaches us that Christ Himself experienced death and in so doing destroyed its power: He rose from the dead.” Though death can raise many questions, the death and resurrection of Christ are great and certain facts.
 
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”[ii]
 
Though it seems contradictory and is truly a paradox, it is nevertheless true: life comes from death; and nature teaches us as much. It may seem cruel, but some other animal goes on living, nourished by the death of this Jay. It is cruel, but by Jesus’ death comes our life. And not only eternal life, but a more fulfilled life in the present. Although we must still be prepared to meet God, the Christian does not need to be afraid and walk his entire life in anxiety, questioning death. As Paul again wrote, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [iii]

​During the hot and humid summer months here in Georgia, the air conditioner in our office has been working overtime but manages to keep things quite chilly indoors. Each morning, the window on the front door of the building is fogged and dripping with condensation. ​The same happens to my camera lens as soon as I walk outside. It can be an irritatingly long wait for the lens to clear.

This morning, I sat on the edge of the pond waiting for the condensation to clear from my lens to grab a shot of a nearby egret. But instead of impatiently wiping the lens, which usually doesn’t work, I used the fog as a filter to open a new world upon the wildflowers.  

Although I’ve never taken the time to try, I’ve read articles about creative lens filter techniques. From spraying water droplets on the lens, to taping yard or fishing line in front of it, anything can serve as a filter. You could even try smearing some oily ointment on the lens… but I recommend putting on a cheap UV filter first! You can even breathe on your lens to get the same foggy effect created by my rapid move from air conditioning to humid air.
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Be creative. If it doesn’t work, who cares! The filters are free and the delete button works magic! ​

Tuesday, 9:17 AM - I am constantly looking for wildlife to photograph. My camera accompanies me everywhere: on hikes, walks, and even at the ready in the passenger seat of my vehicle each day. But how often, because I am always looking for wildlife, do I fail to see other wonders of creation around me?  

Animals are unpredictable; I never know when I’ll capture (or miss) a great shot. But the majority of the time, nothing is encountered when I’m out looking for wildlife. Like the deer hunter who trudged into the woods at 4 AM only to come home without ever firing a shot, the wildlife photographer can also feel frustration spending hours in the field without a single photograph to show for it.

This morning was no different as far as the wildlife was concerned: I didn’t find anything I was looking for. But, something was different this morning. I didn’t find that for which I was looking; but I saw. I saw different subjects; equally beautiful subjects.

I’m not a bug or flower photographer. I’ve walked past wildflowers on many occasions without notice. That’s not what I’m looking for. But this time, they caught my attention. Rather than looking, I saw; and some beautiful images were captured.
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So instead of going out looking for something in particular, I’ll go out and see what is there. Let the beauty come to me. Stop looking and see! ​

​The religious leaders of Jesus’ day failed to see their Savior because they were looking for something else. They eagerly anticipated a leader that would bring political independence and freedom from Rome’s oppression. They were looking for a Messiah with a scepter; and therefore they failed to see a servant-messiah ‘meek and lowly in heart’ (a self-description of Jesus, Matthew 11:29).  
 
Looking is active; we usually only find that which we seek. Seeing is passive; we are brought to discover what we would normally miss because of our biased expectations. When we look with preconceived expectations, we fail to see. How many have failed to see Jesus because they were looking for something else? The evidence for our Creator and Savior is everywhere. Can you see it? Or are you looking for something else?  

Monday, 3:15 PM - When days here at the shelter get this stressful (21 dogs impounded in the last 3 days) I can get to the point where I want to snap, or at least get snappy with everybody.  It is not easy to balance out a shelter, avoid euthanasia, coordinate adoptions and rescues, and still take Facebook flack for the dogs that don't make it out alive because nobody was interested.  I survive, relieve my stress, and relax by taking walk breaks up to the ponds and woods behind the shelter.  

​How many photos can I take of plain old ordinary Canada Geese? Well, this bunch that came in for the afternoon on Monday looked so calm and relaxed (as compared to my upset disposition) as they preened and rested that it warranted a photo. Relaxation therapy for a stressed animal shelter director! 

​Walton County, Georgia

Monday, 3:23 PM - The vernal pool that connects the upper pond with the swampy area behind the firing range has gotten quite low because of the lack of rain. (Once again, Georgia is under a drought notice.) The shallow water covered in green scum and slime bubbles, the buzz of cicadas and mosquitos, and  the stifling humidity give the pond a bog-like atmosphere. One little turtle with slime clinging to his shell decided to climb out of the muck and sun himself on a deeply textured brown driftwood log.

Instead of simply taking a pretty picture and confirming what I already know, I decided to do a little research and learn something new about this “green scum”.  Duckweed (Lemna spp.)  is considered one of the smallest flowing plants, although their tiny white flowers are seldom seen. A closer look at the “muck” revealed it isn’t gross or slimy at all; it is a tiny clover-like leaf called a thallus. It is very high in protein and therefore a favorite food of waterfowl, especially surface-feeding ducks such as mallards, teals, and wood ducks (a few of which I’ve photographed in this very pond). There have even been some efforts to “farm” duckweed for human consumption.