bluespiderweb
Great Grey Looking Out
It's Winter here on the East Coast, and many of the birds have just moved on, so there isn't much out there unless you get lucky with that, and the weather.
I have been battling some medical issues lately, and haven't been able to get out much either-maybe good timing for not wanting to be out in 20 degree weather with a wind! That was my last experience, and it wasn't a lot of fun!
So, I'm looking out of my window (just like the Great Grey) now that I've been home too much, I know what I look at, but wondered if I'm just weird, or do others do the same when they're stuck at home, or in the field, with no birds or wildlife to look at.
Sure, I see squirrels, Crows, & Starlings (at speed mostly in the evenings), the numbers of obliging Turtle Doves roosted, and once in a while a Turkey Vulture in the sky. My last sighting of a different bird was a week or so ago now, a Tufted Titmouse with a nice orange flank feeding on the berries left on an old Cedar tree at the corner of the alley-so I got a good look with my 10x, all of about 15 SECONDS or so-yeah, so now what? He didn't return.
I am situated in a small town, looking out at the end of an alley that goes for a whole block, and then some trees beyond on a hill. At least the alley with all the garages and garbage cans has some charm-it is tree lined, with all manner of odd framed garages, but the trees are the key, thankfully for that! And it faces Southwest, so I see the sunsets when we have them, unless I'm napping!
Odd observation #1 Contrails-I really enjoy watching them develope, evolve and how intricate they are for fine tuning a binocular. At sunset they can look like they are on fire too, which I think is pretty neat. Yeah, neat-is what I still say-I never converted!
Odd ob #2 Play of light among the leaves as the sun makes its rounds, especially in backlit scenes.
Odd ob #3 Textures in tree trunks, buildings, roofs (especially slate roofs or shingles that are variegated slate).
Odd ob #4 Clouds (who doesn't look at clouds, I know), but I really love looking at them! I saw a Pteradactyl fossil in one single cloud the other day, and an Orange Persian cat with his front leg extended at sunset the same day. Sure, I'm on some medication, but really, who has not seen pictures in the clouds? Of course, they don't have to look like something either-clouds are just fantastic to watch evolve too, and their forms are so varied-and why I bought a cloud identifying book a while back. Like the prismatic colored clouds near sunset in Winter mostly I think-pink, yellow and green are what I see here sometimes-often layered. I believe what someone said or I read that it is from water vapor in the clouds. You can see some of these things without binoculars, but with them, it's so much better!
Odd ob #5 Large water droplets on a dwarf or weeping sour cherry tree in a neighbors yard. This trees thin and many paralell branches seem to hold large drops of water for a while, and if you're lucky, when the sun comes out they glow like Christmas lights in various colors. Of course, the neighbor's string of Christmas lights at night were better, but still-something nature provided was better being unexpected.
Odd ob #6 (last one, I promise) Glass windows reflecting bright, colorful patterns at sunset (green & gold or orange in combination) kind of parabolic like the old way of stacking a sheaf of wheat. I tried taking pictures of it with my telephoto, but it didn't capture it-would have to fool with the settings to be better, which I will do when I feel better.
I used to photograph most evening sunsets after I retired and was at home, which lead to a ton of pictures of the same alley/trees/houses on either side scene in such varied combinations of light, colors and sillouettes that it never bored me. OK, yeah, I'm a simple guy, for sure. But it beats the heck out of just looking a computer screen like I am now for a long time! For me, anyway. Those pictures might be lost now-as my old computer died. I did ask a tech to download them on a disc, but I'm not sure it worked yet.
I would rather be out in the woods and fields though, than anywhere else, with a nice pair of binoculars, and a place to my own. But when you can't be there, then what?! I'm not quite at the point of looking for that big jumping off spot, you know, but it's getting closer, and I can feel it! ; )
How about you guys-what do you like to look at when your favorite choices are limited by circumstance? I tried just looking AT the binoculars for a little while, but hey, I'm not THAT simple! Just kidding-I do like the look of some better than others, no doubt, including some oldies but...you know.
I do know that if you are reading this, you ARE bored, and I'm sorry for that, but maybe you've seen things others haven't, and we can all look for them too when we don't have a lot to look at!
I have been battling some medical issues lately, and haven't been able to get out much either-maybe good timing for not wanting to be out in 20 degree weather with a wind! That was my last experience, and it wasn't a lot of fun!
So, I'm looking out of my window (just like the Great Grey) now that I've been home too much, I know what I look at, but wondered if I'm just weird, or do others do the same when they're stuck at home, or in the field, with no birds or wildlife to look at.
Sure, I see squirrels, Crows, & Starlings (at speed mostly in the evenings), the numbers of obliging Turtle Doves roosted, and once in a while a Turkey Vulture in the sky. My last sighting of a different bird was a week or so ago now, a Tufted Titmouse with a nice orange flank feeding on the berries left on an old Cedar tree at the corner of the alley-so I got a good look with my 10x, all of about 15 SECONDS or so-yeah, so now what? He didn't return.
I am situated in a small town, looking out at the end of an alley that goes for a whole block, and then some trees beyond on a hill. At least the alley with all the garages and garbage cans has some charm-it is tree lined, with all manner of odd framed garages, but the trees are the key, thankfully for that! And it faces Southwest, so I see the sunsets when we have them, unless I'm napping!
Odd observation #1 Contrails-I really enjoy watching them develope, evolve and how intricate they are for fine tuning a binocular. At sunset they can look like they are on fire too, which I think is pretty neat. Yeah, neat-is what I still say-I never converted!
Odd ob #2 Play of light among the leaves as the sun makes its rounds, especially in backlit scenes.
Odd ob #3 Textures in tree trunks, buildings, roofs (especially slate roofs or shingles that are variegated slate).
Odd ob #4 Clouds (who doesn't look at clouds, I know), but I really love looking at them! I saw a Pteradactyl fossil in one single cloud the other day, and an Orange Persian cat with his front leg extended at sunset the same day. Sure, I'm on some medication, but really, who has not seen pictures in the clouds? Of course, they don't have to look like something either-clouds are just fantastic to watch evolve too, and their forms are so varied-and why I bought a cloud identifying book a while back. Like the prismatic colored clouds near sunset in Winter mostly I think-pink, yellow and green are what I see here sometimes-often layered. I believe what someone said or I read that it is from water vapor in the clouds. You can see some of these things without binoculars, but with them, it's so much better!
Odd ob #5 Large water droplets on a dwarf or weeping sour cherry tree in a neighbors yard. This trees thin and many paralell branches seem to hold large drops of water for a while, and if you're lucky, when the sun comes out they glow like Christmas lights in various colors. Of course, the neighbor's string of Christmas lights at night were better, but still-something nature provided was better being unexpected.
Odd ob #6 (last one, I promise) Glass windows reflecting bright, colorful patterns at sunset (green & gold or orange in combination) kind of parabolic like the old way of stacking a sheaf of wheat. I tried taking pictures of it with my telephoto, but it didn't capture it-would have to fool with the settings to be better, which I will do when I feel better.
I used to photograph most evening sunsets after I retired and was at home, which lead to a ton of pictures of the same alley/trees/houses on either side scene in such varied combinations of light, colors and sillouettes that it never bored me. OK, yeah, I'm a simple guy, for sure. But it beats the heck out of just looking a computer screen like I am now for a long time! For me, anyway. Those pictures might be lost now-as my old computer died. I did ask a tech to download them on a disc, but I'm not sure it worked yet.
I would rather be out in the woods and fields though, than anywhere else, with a nice pair of binoculars, and a place to my own. But when you can't be there, then what?! I'm not quite at the point of looking for that big jumping off spot, you know, but it's getting closer, and I can feel it! ; )
How about you guys-what do you like to look at when your favorite choices are limited by circumstance? I tried just looking AT the binoculars for a little while, but hey, I'm not THAT simple! Just kidding-I do like the look of some better than others, no doubt, including some oldies but...you know.
I do know that if you are reading this, you ARE bored, and I'm sorry for that, but maybe you've seen things others haven't, and we can all look for them too when we don't have a lot to look at!