The Fisher Kings

Photos taken May 25, 2015 at LSU Lakes. This was a super fun afternoon sitting on the bank watching these experts at work. I was about 12-15 feet from them.

The bird with the "golden slippers" and black beak is the Snowy Egret; yellow beak and black feet is the Great Egret. The Snowy wins the prize for most fish caught.

Thanks to Anni for hosting!

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Peaceful Paddle

Late one evening at the end of June, my friend Theresa and I, drove to my favorite place to kayak: Lake Martin. She was taking a lesson from Pack and Paddle, so I hitched a ride with her.

Kayaking relatively late in the evening - 5:45 to 7:45 - was a most pleasant experience. Since I was alone (Theresa was with the P&P group), I stayed in the open areas instead of paddling through the abundant cypress. Alligators were croaking, but thankfully I never saw any. Being alone and mostly floating, I was able to get pretty close to the wildlife. A great experience!

Great Egret

Charming sign in the lake. Many people hate that the lake has become so touristy,
but it doesn't bother me.

American Lotus or Yellow Lotus

Male Anhinga drying his wings.

Male Anhinga vocalizing.

Female Anhinga

Tourists

Juvenile Little Blue Heron eating grub worms from the lily pads.

Female Red-winged Blackbird trying to scare me away or warn the others.

Nerdy Birdies

I really wanted to post my hawk pictures today, but I can't figure our what type of hawk it is. So in the meantime, you get these goober-heads.

Unknown hawk with both nictating membranes showing. Spooky!

Female mallard striking a pose.

Muscovy getting his bath on.

A different muscovy who spent the whole time I was there with his mouth open.

This is Grace.

Poor thing, she can't help it. One of her toes is bent backwards. I see how she struggles to fish and get food.
God bless her! We've gotten to know each other quite well.

Grace is looking like she's cutting a rug...er...rock. But she's trying to run from the
Great Egret who keeps chasing her off his favorite spot. Bless her heart.

I hope everyone had a bountiful and blessed Thanksgiving. Ours was great...a visit here...a visit there. My house is now decorated for my daughter and her fiancee's arrival on Saturday. Yes! This Saturday. I'm tickled pink. Cannot wait to see them. Four days will FLY. God, help me enjoy each moment and not worry how quickly it will all go by.

Happy birthday to Deanna Lynn, my sister. She would have been 51 today. May God grant her eternal rest and peace.

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The Fisher Kings

Greetings from Baton Rouge, Louisiana!

This past weekend was amazing! If you're friends with me on Facebook you saw the giant alligator that scared me and my friend to death last Friday. He was a good 15 feet, if not longer. The wind was pushing our kayaks closer and closer. Finally, I anchored myself against a tree that was probably 25 feet away to get pics with my phone. When the gator lifted his head, my heart leapt out of my chest and splashed into the water. Haha, I exaggerate, but I was pretty scared. Then he slithered into the water while we paddled as fast as our arms could manage. My friend Cathy kept looking backwards. I kept yelling at her to keep paddling! Later, while putting her kayak onto the roof of the SUV we were attacked by a swarm of ladybugs! Let me tell you those things sting!

Sorry for the poor quality, but you at least get the idea of size.

After my cousin's delightful lunch on Sunday, we drove to LSU Lakes. Double D helped me corral a Great and Snowy Egret onto a small dam that separates the lakes. He is such a good husband. The egrets love to stand there and catch fish that swim unknowingly into the trap.

Even the ducks were in on the action.

They always took their catch to the banks and ate there.

This snowy egret was the most successful fishing. After a while he stood there for a long time
with his mouth open like this. I don't know if he got stuck by a fin, bone, or what.

Double D took this one of me shooting the snowy egret.
My legs are wrapped around my tripod for extra stability.

Wishing each of you a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!! See you next week.

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Itchy

Hello gang! I hope the weather is as beautiful where you are as it is here. After enduring the sweltering heat for four months, the cool, crisp mornings and evenings are a welcome change.

I spotted this Great Egret in a pond outside of Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center. I sat on the pond's edge and watched for an hour, clicking intermittently. My mind would occasionally (and rudely) interrupt and say, "Don't you think it's time to move on?" Each time I would respond with, "Why?" Why indeed! I'm tired of my life being ruled by the clock. It shouldn't be so difficult to just sit and be. Who is this tormentor robbing me of inner peace? I shouldn't feel like I'm missing something just because I am sitting still and enjoying that moment. It's a constant battle to just relax. Another one of my little rants...just ignore me!

I am leaving tomorrow for Mississippi to go fishing with my dad. We are staying at a beautiful hunting lodge; a grand home that sits on thousands of acres. I'm very excited to fish in such luxurious surroundings. Photos to come! Maybe this trip will reignite my love of blogging. I think I'm having a bit of blogging fatigue.

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Weekend Update

Howdy folks! The arts and crafts fair put on by St. Luke's Episcopal Church was a great experience. I loved spending the day with Sweet B and her equally sweet son. We met a lot of people, even making some contacts for future work. A lady from St. Amant purchased cards from both of us and asked us to photograph her horses and stables. There were three ladies who wanted photography lessons, and the guy in the booth next to us was interested in buying art for three locations of a business he was expanding. So even though sales were a little lackluster, we made some great contacts! Our minds were swirling with ideas like getting a web site, etc. Not sure where all this will lead, but I feel hopeful.

Some of you asked which notecards sold at the arts and crafts fair. Below are the ones that sold. You've seen them all before here at some point.

I have been a little worn out from the experience, so I promise to catch up with everyone during the week. Oh, and since I have so much extra card stock I am going to host a couple of give-aways in the near future. Y'all be good and have a great week!

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