Stories from

Every year thousands of people flock to Letchworth State Park and of course all who come to the park want a look into the Genesee River Gorge, the Grand Canyon of the East. Among the sights in the gorge, several hundred feet below on the river's surface, are what appear to be blips of white. Those blips are waves of white water and all but unnoticed against a panoramic vista from the overlooks. There, high above the river, they appear somewhat obscure, maybe even miniscule -- unless you maneuver over and through those waves via raft or kayak. And only then will you get a real sense of what the Genesee River Gorge is all about.

Might anyone be interested in seeing the gorge from below, Adventure Calls Outfitters is ready to accommodate. Not only is there an opportunity to view the gorge from the "bottom up," one gets to take a thrilling ride at the same time. 

The accompanying whitewater pics, courtesy of the folks at ACO, were taken during the first two weekends of the rafting season on April 12th, 13th and 19th. With snowmelt and spring runoff in high gear, now is the optimum time for a wild ride with Western New York's premier river runners.                        

Adventure Calls Outfitters is owned and operated by Stafford resident Kevin Kretschmer who has spent 32 years as a whitewater guide on the Genesee River Gorge, the Salmon River up at Pulaski and Cattaraugus Creek through Zoar Valley. He has been the owner of ACO for the past 16 years. 

ACO has a large contingent of skilled guides on hand, each of whom love their work and enjoy nothing better than taking customers through some smashing whitewater.                                                                                                   

Midway through every trip, groups stop for pictures at the base of Wolf Creek Waterfall. Here guests have the opportunity to take the "leap of faith" -- a plunge into a hole beneath the falls. Not to worry, no one's ever been lost taking the leap of faith.                                                                                                     

The user-friendly and highly maneuverable inflatable kayak...aka  funyak!      

Riding a wave train along the wall. Is this stuff thrilling? Invigorating?   

You bet it is! BOOYAH!

The ACO rafting season is just getting under way. The season on Cattaraugus Creek runs from April though June. Release dates for the Salmon River are July 5th, 6th, 19th and 20th and Aug. 2nd and 3rd. While rafting is their mainstay, Adventure Calls Outfitters offers a variety of packages and events throughout the season. Check out their Web site at http://www.adventure-calls.com/rafting_letchworth.html

June 1980, Northern Manitoba -- We had a great fishing adventure and a bit of an education as well. I learned that lake trout and brook trout are actually members of the char family. Note the white piping on the pectoral and ventral fins of the laker pictured above, distinctive markings on all char.                   

We also I discovered that it was wasn't necessary to fish deep for lake trout thanks to the frigid temps of subarctic waters. But those cold waters also make for a slow growth rate, as little as a half pound per year. That means the laker I'm holding in the above pic had been around for 48 years.                    

Winter, 1991 -- Slow but steady wins the race...Nick Calarco's hounds had this coyote on the run for a considerable time before it finally stopped for a breather.       

It may be winded but it's still full of fight -- note the hair standing up on its back. 

A young Massasauga rattlesnake. These are known to exist in two locales in all of New York State -- in Genesee County's Bergen Swamp and in the Cicero Swamp north of Syracuse.               

This is what it will look like when it's all grown up.

Playtime for Bandit..........Bandit and his siblings were discovered living between a wall and a partition in a small barn that served as chicken coop. Concerned for his chickens, the owner urged the mother raccoon to relocate, which she did -- one baby at a time. She took the first three and never returned for Bandit. After several days passed Bandit was adopted and nurtured by loving hands.

   Nap time!

There was quite a gathering of grackles around our place recently. Common grackles they were, and over a three day period they alternated between hanging out in the trees, patrolling the lawn and laying seige to the bird feeder.

At first glance, especially from a distance, the grackle appears all black. But depending on the light, they can exhibit a lustrous sheen, displaying iridescent shades of green, blue, purple and bronze.

Despite the brilliant coloration, grackles possess another look, one sinister and menacing in appearance. Looking at this pic I'm reminded of three wildlife dramas involving grackles from years past. My reaction after each varied. The first was not exactly endearing; the second can be described as "WOW!" After the third event my reaction was, surprisingly, a certain degree of admiration.

The first one occurred one summer not so many years ago.

On that day I was thatching the yard with a leaf rake when I noticed a blackbird on the ground, interested in what I first thought to be a small piece of plastic, much like a wadded up bread wrapper, being slowly pushed along by a slight breeze. The blackbird followed after it, striking it repeatedy with its bill. It took a second for my brain to register what I was seeing.

The blackbird was a grackle, and the "piece of plastic" was a fledgling robin that must have either fallen or was robbed from its nest and was doing its best to escape its tormentor.

About that time I let fly with the rake and naturally the grackle took flight. Scooping up the baby robin, I could see it was still alive, but barely. I tucked it in the shade beneath some vines in hopes that its mom was nearby.

Ever vigilant, even during the late March snowstorm.   

A second incident occured when former Batavians Tim Martino, Keith Emminger and I were mowing lawns on Woodcrest Drive. We had just pulled the equipment trailer up to the curb when a small raptor  --  I'm thinking Cooper's hawk  --  slammed into a grackle in midair.  This happened right in front of our pickup truck. The hawk proceded to land atop its fallen prey where it lay in the street. Whether it intended to make a meal of the grackle I can't say as the hawk immediately flew off, perhaps suddenly aware of our presence. 

The third incident caused me to look at grackles in a different light.

It was a spring day when I heard some rustling coming from within a small stand of dry, brittle phragmites. Judging from the sound, it wasn't a large animal but there was definitely something going on. Try as I might, I was only able to see small, dark flashes of movement. Moments later a grackle took flight, a snake dangling from its bill. The snake was limp, and I'm guessing the commotion in the dry reeds was the grackle dispatching its quarry.

Despite the up and down weather this year, the bird life has been nothing short of prolific. April has taken up where February and March left off, by offering up a variety of species. Cardinals have been front and center on the color spectrum around here, and will likely remain so until the orioles show up to scour the apple blossoms for insects.

The absence of foliage makes it an opportune time for pics or simply viewing a wide range of species and a flash of red is sure to catch the eye. His tune is easily recognizable, and it seems like he sings best under a blue sky.

Though strikingly handsome, the bluejay is more noisemaker than songster -- they make many sounds, and in the wild are quick to sound the alarm when intruders are about, be it man or beast.

While not as colorful, the white-breasted nuthatch is quite entertaining and almost comical with its trademark upside down movement.

It can be hard to distinguish between the purple finch and the house finch -- with so much red I'm thinking purple.....is that an oxymoron?!

A classic case of frost beak -- the avian equivalent of frostbite......honest :)

Many of the species share at the feeder, or, at the very least take turns, flitting back and forth between the feeder and the trees......that isn't the case with the bluejays......

The bluejays tend to be a bit of a bully at the bird feeder..... but whereas the smaller birds simply wait nearby while the bluejay gorges itself.........

When the grackles show up the songbirds tend to give them a wide berth, usually vacating the premises altogether. We had a large flock of grackles descend on us last week, and it reminded me of a couple tidbits I want to share with you in my next post.

No sooner had the robins arrived when they discovered it might take a while before any worms were available. With their favorite staple somewhere far below earth's frozen layer, the robins had to make do elsewhere, like chilly sumac drupes.

Likewise, these starlings sampled the sumac.....this was not only the first time I had seen starlings eating sumac, it was the first time I remember starlings eating without making a noisy racket. Several dozen descended on the sumac trees and they hardly made a sound.

As the snow recedes, the whitetails aren't having to work so hard to find a meal.

For now yarding up is still commonplace -- warmer weather and greater food availability will result in herd dispersal.

From a distance I first thought this hawk to be a redtail.....the more I look I'm thinking its a rough-legged hawk.

Here it.s about to take flight.

Mourning doves have been showing up in vast numbers. This pair has been enjoying the spillage from our bird feeder.

With the snow all but gone, the red squirrels can get down to some serious foraging........

Score!!!!..................kinda looks like a meatball cookie with no icing!

The past couple of weeks we've seen an incredible amount of avian activity taking place, species ranging from songbirds to raptors. Among the wide variety were a number of woodpeckers, like the red-bellied woodpecker pictured above. He had been hard at work before sensing my presence and then abruptly snapped to attention.  

After several minutes he decided it was safe to get back to the business at hand.

Pileated wood peckers have been frequent visitors throughout the winter. This is the first frontal pic I've taken - quite by accident as it turned in my direction just as I took his picture.  

Moments later he provided the angle I wanted. Here he's perched on a dead limb of a towering cottonwood.    

Downy woodpeckers have been showing up daily to feast on suet.

It almost seems as if he stopped to check out the falling snow.

Another red-bellied woodpecker investigates the spillage below the bird feeder.

Depending on who you ask, the winter has been judged somewhat lengthy and at times harsh. While Old Man Winter threw us a curve ball or two, the aftermath was sometimes asthetically pleasing to the eye. And nowhere was this more evident than at the Genesee County Park & Forest.

A trail into the hardwoods. Claudia and I logged several hours at the park this winter, trying to cover every bit of the more than 12 miles of trail.

The hike was always exhilarating, even if the air was frigid at times. Even on the coldest of days, we ran into hikers, cross country skiers, snowshoers, and even two or three hearty souls who were jogging.

Of course we met a good number of people out exercising their dogs, like Batavians Dan and Debbie Barone pictured above.

A cross country skier glides along one of the well-maintained trails.  

Gotta love the Boy Scouts. The park is in great shape thanks to many volunteers.

Snow-covered spruce trees as seen from the Turtle Pond trail.

Surrounded by needled giants, this tiny spruce sees limited sunlight.

We had a couple of unexpected visitors to our place last weekend. Being February and given the sort of winter we've had, it was more than a bit of a surprise to see a pair of bluebirds come calling last Saturday morning.            

A male and female alit in the apple tree and I never thought they'd sit tight with the powerful wind gusts whipping the branches about. But sit they did and I was able to get several shots of the male while the female was obscured by branches.

A female cardinal seems to be shrieking with delight, perhaps celebrating the sunshine and blue sky

This cardinal seems content to sample a snow-capped frozen apple.

A chickadee sticks close to brushy cover.......

while another helps itself to sunflower seed and millet.

Pileated woodpeckers have shown up quite regularly this winter......we often hear their raucous call long before they come into view.

How did this gray squirrel get a snow hat?

He and some friends were digging for the walnuts I had tossed into the briars last autumn. I knew the squirrels would find them, but I never thought they would wait till there were several inches of snow on the ground before doing so.

This guy, meanwhile, appears to be rubbing his paws in anticipation while eyeballing the bird feeder. 

Prior to last weekend, the last bluebird I saw was just before Thanksgiving. Winter set in on us right after that. I've never seen one this early in the year. I've heard or read somewhere that bluebirds sometimes winter here, it all depends on the weather and availability of food. Regardless, I know we've got some single-digit lows coming later this week, but I've always felt Mother Nature was pretty good at predicting the weather.....here's hoping!

This cardinal is no doubt making up for lost time by gorging on what's left of last autumn's wild grapes. Having hunkered down for a few days during last week's blizzard, the usual cast of characters is back in action in and around our neighboring woodlots.

With a poplar directly behind it, a pileated woodpecker knows decaying wood is a better place to find insects, so it pounds away on a dead sumac. There were two pileateds in close proximity on this day, but getting them into the same frame proved futile.

This pileated seems to have found the upper reaches of a dead poplar to its liking.

As the storm descended on us late last Monday afternoon, the last flurry of movement I saw was that of a red squirrel scurrying into our barn. This guy is tightly clutching a dead nub as if expecting the high winds to return at any moment.....

In the next instant it turns and sticks tail high in the air...a bit sassy maybe or perhaps it's suddenly sensing an intruder. If on alert mode, it's with good reason....

Like everything else, this redtail didn't eat for a few days during the storm...    

Hawks have been showing up with greater regularity, what with cottontails, squirrels and, in the warmer months, chipmunks, to prey on.   

Here's the cardinal again...in this photo note the bit of grape stain on his beak.

A gray squirrel gives the once over to a tiny abode that has housed baby wrens for the past few summers.

Sometime before last week's blizzard and after December's flood, we had some freezing rain.....this house finch doesn't seem deterred by the results.

When pine trees bend with heavy snow...and trails are hard to find...the warm glow from the fireplace...brings memories to mind.                                           

I first came across this piece of verse more than forty years ago in a Leanin' Tree Christmas card. Those vintage Leanin' Tree cards beckoned to kindred spirits, especially those whose favorite haunts tended to be somewhere off the beaten path.

Some of those old cards depicted homesteads of yesteryear where kinfolk gathered to celebrate Christ's humble birth and enjoy one another's company. The artists renditions also included a variety of settings, be it a pastoral landscape or wildlife, including but not limited to, songbirds, deer, and waterfowl. There were also those which featured man's best friend, be it hunkered down in a duck blind or flushing pheasants from a swale.

Those cards captured many wilderness moments, compelling its reader to take time to see the wonder of nature and the signature handiwork of an awesome Creator.   

It can be seen in graceful symmetry...

or in beauty sublime.

It can be seen in the love of friend for friend...

Its displayed in vivid, resplendant hues...

and in the amber halo in the eyes of a faithful companion.

The outdoors and the inhabitants of the wild beckoned to the hearts of the writers and wildlife artists who created those Christmas cards of yesteryear. Perhaps they found truth in nature, a natural world in tune with its Maker, a loving God who two thousand years ago sent us a Savior.

To Howard and Billie, the staff of The Batavian and all of its readers, may the joy and wonder of Christmas be yours this holiday season!

The sun was barely up Thursday morning when this bluebird and downy woodpecker showed up to sample the frost-covered sumac. Thanks to their "built in" barometers, bird and other wildlife movement often precedes an impending storm or inclement weather.

This female "downy" opted to try her luck on the apple tree. In her search for a meal, she'll look high and low.....

and probe every nook and cranny, leaving nothing to chance in her quest to locate insects. 

How many times a second do you think she can rat-a-tat-tat the tree trunk? ......go ahead.....count 'em!

Later in in the morning, long after the frost has melted away, the male downy is still giving the sumac drupes a thorough going over.

Mr. & Mrs. house finch take a respite in the upper branches of the apple tree.

High atop the cottonwood, some 80 feet up the air, a lone crow keeps tabs on the surroundings below.

Pair of wild tom's scouring a harvested grain field for kernels of corn. 

For the past couple of days there was a good deal of wildlife movement around our neck of the woods. But that has already ceased, even as I write this. Everything seems to be hunkered down, waiting for whatever it is that's coming our way to pass through.   

That's Tate, our chocolate lab and his sidekick Ernie, a feisty little mix-breed. Like most dogs, they love to hear the magic words, "wanna go outside?" Better yet, once outside, these two long to hear the words, "let's go out back." With that, they're off and running for the creek bank.

Tate's routine never deviates -- he sniffs his way along the small woodlot before working his way along the creek, stopping only briefly to wonder at the occassional green blur that darts through the grass at his feet. Tate poses no threat to the leopard frogs -- he's only interested investigating the numerous scents he comes across.

Ernie, while feisty at times, likes to relax when out back. He does seem to take an interest in the  wood ducks, watching intently as they take flight upon our arrival.

He's content to watch the world go by, paying no mind to the gray squirrels that like to feed on the mast from our hickory trees.

When I say, "let's go" and start walking back toward the house, as you might guess by his expression, Tate appears to be thinking..,"but we just got here!" 

Meanwhile, Ernie becomes invisible!

It's hard to figure which they like better, a run out by the creek or a roadtrip!

With 12 miles of trail, there is no shortage of hikeable terrain in the Genesee County Park & Forest.

If you enjoy nature, the park is both a relaxing getaway and outdoor classroom. The variety of flora and fauna found within the park is prolific. As autumn progresses, these Hawthorn hips have turned a deeper shade of red.

This couple from the Buffalo area, along with pets Angus and Bailey, spent the afternoon geocaching.   

The trails offer a bit of diversity in the form of knolls, hills and flat ground.

With an algae-covered pond in the background, a sugar maple stands out in contrast amid a stand of pines.

The fire break trail carpeted with fallen leaves

Looking into the colorful canopy of a sugar maple

The smaller of the park's two wetlands....the other encompasses four acres

This trail, lined with black cherry and beech trees, is narrow compared to the others depicted here....

with an understory of young maple and beech trees, this trail through a stand of pines seems narrower still. Just an optical illusion - it's nowhere near the tight squeeze it appears to be!

Whatever your choice of activity, whether it be bird watching, mountain biking, leisure hiking, geocaching and - come winter - snowshoeing and cross country skiing, there is plenty of room for everyone.

This stretch of the Little Tonawanda was perhaps my favorite place in the world during my formative years. Here I stalked crayfish, hunted fossils, discovered water snakes and later, in my teen years, learned the place was teeming with creek chubs, suckers, shiners, and dace. Claudia was 16 years old the first time she helped me drag a 4' x 12' minnow seine through knee-deep water along this stretch of the creek! While taking this photo I couldn't help thinking, so much of our world has changed, but the riffles of the Little T still make the same sound they did in those early years.

These crab apples look as though they've been spit shined. Like every other apple tree, this year's crab apples were also laden with fruit.

I've seen abundant wildlife along the power line clear-cut over the years....even the critters like to travel the path of least resistance.

Maple leaves in tints of yellow, red and orange.....photo taken along the Little T where it flows past the old Judge Kone place, a favorite among pike fishermen in the '50s and '60s.

Day fades into night.....dusk along the power lines - diurnal creatures have foraged and retired; the nocturnal denizens are just beginning their watch. 

Their pods burst, these milkweed seeds will become windborne, the leaves of the new plants  providing food for next year's monarch butterfly caterpillars.

The first hint of dawn was on the Eastern horizon when Jeff Bartz pulled off the highway and onto the dirt lane that wound its way through a farm field. In the passenger seat was my grandson, 14-year-old Sammy Bartz who has accompanied his father on numerous hunts in recent years, but only in the role of an observer. On this day the roles would be reversed.

It was the first day of New York State's Youth Firearms Deer Hunt. In only its second year, the program allows junior hunters aged 14 and 15, and accompanied by a mentor who possesses a valid big game hunting license, to hunt deer. Under the terms of the hunt, the mentor is not allowed to carry a firearm, he/she is there for guidance only.

Despite the low light, as the Bartz' vehicle moved slowly along the dirt lane they were able to see several does feeding in the field beside them. On a nearby knoll, silhouetted by the first light of day, was a buck that the father and son estimated to be a six-point. Moments later Jeff and Sammy began the slow walk to their tree stand a quarter mile away through a hardwoods.

"On the way to our stand I could hear deer running off, just kicking up the leaves in their haste," said Jeff. "I figured we botched our hunt."

Not to worry. Not only would the elder Bartz' original plan for the morning pay off, there would be plenty of action forthcoming. Theirs was a strategy that began during midsummer when Jeff and Sammy first scouted a variety of locations before the actual placement of their tree stands. One such location was a large woodlot with an abundance of shagbark hickory and a smattering of beech trees. Last Saturday morning found the pair in those same woods, situated 12 feet off the ground in a buddy stand, a pre-fab ladder stand built for two hunters. Cradled in Sammy's arms was an Ithaca Featherlite 20-gauge, the same shotgun used by his great-grandfather.

The father and son tandem weren't seated very long when the action began.

"Four does came in first," said Sammy. No doubt they were intent on feeding on the bumper crop of hickory nuts that now littered the forest floor.

"A six-point came in right after that," he continued, "and then another buck right behind him. That one was a six-point, too." That's when a skirmish ensued as the two combatants squared off and began shoving back and forth. When asked what the does did at this time, Sammy said, "they all stopped eating to watch." 

At this point Sammy turned to his father and asked, "What should I do?", to which Jeff replied that it was his son's own decision to make. Sammy didn't know it yet, but he was about to have his decision made for him.

The two bucks were still going at it when a newcomer arrived on the scene. Both bucks stopped battling as another buck, an eight-point, strutted onto the scene. Sammy raised the Ithaca 20, but with the big buck walking broadside behind leafy growth at 75 yards, he wasn't afforded a clear shot. Noting the direction the buck was headed, Sammy picked an opening between two tree trunks and waited. The opening was slight so once the deer moved into it Sammy had little time. With the buck still on the move, the young hunter took the shot and the buck went down, flailing on the forest floor only briefly before it was up and bounding away.

Both father and son got a good look at the directon in which the deer ran off and decided to wait 45 minutes before climbing down out of their stand. After what must have been an incredibly long wait for Sammy -- no doubt his adrenaline pumping to beat the band- - they began the tracking process. After 20 minutes and 150 yards, Sammy let out a loud whoop after spotting the antlers.

His cheeks flush, a broad smile on his face said it all. Certainly the events that unfolded on this morning will be forever embedded in his mind. And as for Jeff, who has put a great deal of venison in the family freezer over the years, how did this outing rank among all the others? Savoring the moment he said, "This was by far the best hunt I've ever experienced."

From beginning to end, September was a great month to be outdoors. Apple trees already heavy-laden with fruit were showing deep hues of red.

This conjunction of a waxing crescent moon and Venus was visible in the early evening early in September.

Further downstream this woodland waterway entered a meadow, there the stream widened and was thick with submerged vegetation.....a favorite haunt of dragonflies that feed on aquatic insects and other tiny bugs. 

This is guy is called a Half-banded Toper....

Don't know how it was so-named but I really like the deep red color. 

The gossamer wings of a Jagged-edged Saddlebag

The markings along its abdomen are no doubt the "saddlebags."

This leopard frog lives in a damp, grassy section of the meadow, less than a stone's throw from where the stream exits the woods. He needs to lay low, as seen here, for this is also the hunting ground of a Great Blue heron.

Judging from its color phase, this leopard frog spends less time in the tall grass.

Smaller than a Concord grape and somewhat tart, wild grapes are edible and do make a great jam.

Poke berries, on the other hand, should be avoided.

Hawthorn guards the entrance to a woodland trail in Genesee County Park.

A wooly bear catepillar, a seasonal harbinger, checks out a leaf in the roadway of Genesee County Park.

Already deep red, these maple leaves, like the wooly bear, are an early indication that autumn is well under way.

Fall asters are prolific in our local outdoors -- and they really add color to the countryside.

The sun had barely cleared the horizon when I pulled out of the driveway Tuesday morning. And with the camera case on the seat beside me, I really wasn't sure where I was going. The last thing I expected on a rather chilly morning was a bald eagle perched in a dead tree overlooking Tonawanda Creek.

Nearly an hour earlier, while watching the news and having coffee, I mulled over where I would go. At first I contemplated going either to the swamps, Genesee County Park or dragging the canoe out back and paddling upstream on the Tonawanda. These have all been productive in the past but this morning, for some reason, I opted for something different. But still, I couldn't make up my mind on where to go....so I just got in the truck and drove. There was also a catch....I didn't have great deal of time to kill as I had an appointment at 11 a.m.

The sun was making its way up the eastern horizon when I eased down a grassy bank of the Tonawanda where it flows along Stegman Road north of the Bushville bridge. Despite the bright sun on this morning, far less light penetrates shoreline canopy in this stretch. That would change farther downstream. The rock-studded shoreline is a good indication this is smallmouth territory.

Steam rising off the surface -- a good indication the water was considerably warmer than the chilly 45 degree air.   

Farther downstream is where I came across the bald eagle -- in surroundings more suitable for surveying its domain, scanning the creek and the surrounding area for a meal. Fish, muskrats, rabbits -- when you have a bill and talons that big and sharp, the menu is limitless.

Turning its head nearly 180 degrees enables him to watch his backside and prevent potential prey from slinking past.

Further upstream, blended in among fallen limbs, a trio of wood ducks are oblivious to the threat from above. 

Taking leave of their temporary haven, the woodies wisely head upstream -- toward the cover of the canopy.

This cottontail no sooner emerged from dense cover when it rose up on its hind legs to sample the green growth from which it came......

but rather than opting for fresh greens, it chooses some brown drying growth - not that it matters, for this is but an appetizer. His main course is waiting beneath the apple tree.

Regardless of the season, there is never a shortage of furry visitors to our yard and this time of year, be it rabbit, chipmunk, squirrel or woodchuck, they all come to feast on the apples.  

Unlike the rabbits and woodchucks, this red squirrel isn't limited to dining on the ground. I'm sure he would much rather have pine cones from a Norway spruce but he's learned to take what he can get. And speaking of woodchucks, that green growth in the background is a travel corridor, so to speak.....

it's one of my wife's flower beds and the woodchuck uses it for cover. Here he's slinking past the ferns and hostas on the way to his dinner. Once he's sure the coast is clear, he'll waddle out into the open and grab an apple. If undisturbed, he will then stand on his haunches and begin gnawing away.

It seems that everywhere we went this month there were outdoor photo ops, one of which was this bullfrog basking in the morning sun while waiting for an easy meal.

This Circumpolar Bluet rested on shoreline vegetation long enough for its photo to be taken.    

Unlike its older and bolder counterpart, this young bullfrog remains mostly hidden, keeping only its head above the soggy vegetation. It's learned early on that it can be the hunter one second before becoming the hunted moments later.

Long-legged waders such as herons and egrets consider frogs choice morsels.

Frogs needn't worry about this fella. Strictly a herbivore, this young forkhorn will be shedding his velvet in the coming days.

Teasle highlighted by the sun, in the background a shaded brook covered with duck weed.

August provided us with a number of interesting cloud formations -- this one occurring in early evening.

Last week's full moon on the rise, climbing above the upper branches of our apple tree....

and several hours later its descent in the Southwestern sky.