How Lucky Was That?

    Sunday morning I went out very early with my camera. Each time I step into the woods I remind myself that I never know what I might see. This might be the day I photograph a four hundred pound bear or a fourteen pound bobcat. Either of those would be a big "first" for me.

    I settled down with my back against a tree and waited patiently, trying not to fall asleep. Soon I heard a dog barking in the distance. A small herd of deer came crashing by. They were in passing gear and the only photo I took was too blurred to show anyone.

    Fifteen minutes later the dog came by, panting heavily and laboring to climb a hill. She was in 4-wheel drive low and clearly posed no threat to the deer. I thought about getting up from my hiding place to take her picture just for fun, but you might think that was silly.

    The woods settled back down and so did I. In the woods, if you are quiet and still a squirrel may let down his guard and come within camera range. Last year a squirrel leaned so far out from his branch high above that he fell to the ground at my feet with a thump. He nearly gave me a heart attack. 

    On this Sunday morning a little male squirrel scampered through the leaves to check me out. I took his picture, but you have seen plenty of squirrels and I didn't think you would want to see another.

    It was almost nine o'clock and beginning to look like another day in the woods with nothing to show for it. Grand Baby and his mother were coming for coffee and I did not want to be late. I began working my way slowly back to the house while checking the ground carefully. I hoped to see a fawn that might have been left sleeping under a tree while his mom went in search of her breakfast.

    I was almost home when I discovered a blackberry bush growing wild. What a great find! Every wild animal loves to eat blackberries. I stopped for a few minutes to look through my camera lens and think about how I could exploit this new location on my next trip into the woods. A movement to my left caught my eye and so I swung my lens around to catch something I have never seen before. It was a little hummingbird collecting white fluffy material from the weeds to add to her nest.

The average hummingbird weighs eleven grams or less than the weight of five pennies. So this is a very small "first" for me.