Change Is Hard

September 8, 2023
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Almost lost track

I took myself to Kensington a week or maybe more ago, hoping to get some great bird photos. There’s always something to see out there, and the warblers are migrating, so maybe…I hoped.

*This is one of my favorite trees, just before the nature center, a little island in the shallow end of the big lake.*

But the entire time I was at the park I had camera lens focus issues.

*The morning sun rose and lit this egret in the middle of his (or her) morning routine.*

My images were so bad I almost forgot about them. But regardless of the quality, I’ll share with you the best of what I consider a pretty sad batch of images, just because no matter what I capture, even if it’s not much of anything new, I’m always glad I went to Kensington.

*There was less light down on the water where I startled this young wood duck.*

And I’m always glad to share with you my adventures, as tame as they often are.

*The blue heron, drying off in the morning light wasn’t interesting in anything moving on the lake below.*

A lot of the time on this walk I took pictures of plants. Because, as I told one photographer last year who was noticing me focusing on berries instead of birds, plants don’t move.

In fact, this trip to Kensington I spent most of my time looking at the way light played in the dark woods.

Turns out it plays rather well, don’t you think?

But of course the birds kept bringing me back as they hovered over me, sometimes landing on my camera lens, asking for something to eat. They are very persistent.

*Hey lady! Did you bring the suet balls or the peanuts today?*

It’s pretty hard to ignore them, even if you aren’t happy with the images you’re getting.

Sometimes I just feed them and don’t even bother trying to capture the magic.

Other times the birds and the light work together and I get something interesting.

*A titmouse backlit by the morning sun.*

I had so much trouble on this walk through the woods, capturing anything the way I wanted to, it got discouraging.

Focusing on plants as a last resort I wandered some more.

*More joe pye this year than I’ve ever seen before.*

I eventually decided it just wasn’t going to be my day, and headed back toward the car.

*Even the chipmunks turned away from me.*

But just before I got to the parking lot I saw one more trail, one that headed out to where I sometimes saw unusual stuff. It wasn’t a long trail.

*Noisy high iso, but the wings are still cool.*

Maybe it was worth a bit more walking.

*A whole family was enjoying a bug buffet.*

And there I found a dead tree, quite a ways away, but full of some sort of woodpecker family.

I thought it might be a group of red headed woodpeckers. The light made it difficult to see anything but silhouettes. But looking at the images later I saw the yellow on the underside of a wing, and I believe this was a flicker family.

*You took my gnat! I’m going to go tell mom!*

Regardless, they were very busy hopping around the tree looking for bugs and flitting from branch to branch.

And while I was focused on them I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, way down at the other end of the bridge. Something fliting around the touch-me-not flowers, far from where I was standing.

*What is that, way down there at the other end of the bridge?*

I shot blindly, not seeing anything in my viewfinder…

…but hoping for something. And the most beautiful female hummingbird showed up when I looked at the images at home.

*I’ve never seen hummingbirds out at the park before.*

She sure made me smile.

And then there was a noise on the other side of the bridge and I found this little female common yellowthroat. She made my day!

So the moral of my story is don’t give up. Walk down that little extra trail even if all you’ve had before is disappointment.

You never know what you’ll find. It could be magic.

*I even found a chipmunk that didn’t turn his back on me!*

And Kensington never disappoints.

*Do you mind? I’m trying to take a nap here!*

Wordless Wednesday

September 6, 2023 by dawnkinster 11 Comments

September 3, 2023
by dawnkinster 43 Comments

Let there be light!

It all started yesterday early afternoon when I noticed a lot of chatter on Facebook about potential aurora borealis that night.

*I ended up just past the sign up on that dune.*

Apparently the indicator numbers were good, and if it weren’t for that pesky 3/4 moon coming up early in the evening there would almost certainly be a spectacular show.

*Love golden light, but not when I’m trying to capture the northern lights!*

So many times I’ve seen notices of potential northern lights and so many times I’ve decided it wasn’t worth the 4+ hour drive over to the western side of Michigan on the off chance there might be a show.

So many times I’ve kicked myself when I see images posted the next day of what I might have seen if I’d gone.

*It was a lovely sunset regardless of how the night played out.*

So this time I decided to just take the chance. I left home at 5 p.m. and was at a dark sky park at Port Crescent in the thumb of Michigan, along Saginaw Bay, by 7:30.

Of course there’s no guarantee that the lights will show up. Or when they might show up. What was guaranteed was the arrival of the moon, about 9:30 which would wash any borealis out.

*At last the sun gave up and sank, leaving those last bits of daylight reaching up into the sky for a few minutes more.*

As you can tell, I sat on the beach and watched the sun set, and then I went back to the car, changed camera lenses, got the camera all ready to go with manual settings and attached to a tripod and snuggled down with a pillow and a blanket to wait for full dark.

*Lots of people on the beach waiting for the next light show to begin.*

I was pretty antsy and never did take a nap. I was worried that I’d be sleeping in my car on one side of the dunes while the light was dancing out over the bay on the other side!

*The view outside my car window, is that faint green I see?*

So as soon as it was close to dark I was out of the car and heading for the dunes. There were plenty of other people already out there, so I found a spot between photographers and decided to practice my Milky Way star focus skills while I waited. After all the moon wasn’t up yet, and I could see the Milky Way right there…even though I wasn’t thrilled with the composition, it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

*No northern lights, so I might as well practice my Milky Way skills.*

And in the middle of my second shot, with me and my camera facing south I heard the woman just down the path from me begin to squeal. I couldn’t turn my camera around fast enough, and when I did this is what I saw.

Well, not exactly saw, because to the naked eye it was just this moving mass of grey out over the black lake. But the camera saw it for what it was, stunning pink and green light.

*I never saw the people on the beach below me until I looked at the imamges on my computer.*

The woman next to me told her family, “See?! Aren’t you glad I dragged you out here for this!” I didn’t hear the kids’ answers, but I’m pretty sure everyone out there last night was glad they were there.

*The light began to shoot up into the sky.*

I kept clicking as fast as I could, trying different fstops, and shutter speeds. At one point I must have accidently touched the focus ring because I have a whole lot of images that are totally out of focus.

I’m not going to show you those. Just know it happens to all of us.

*I like the people included in the image, it shows the perspective and sheer size of the dancing lights.*

Luckily I knew enough to check the focus on occasion, so I was able to salvage the rest. Mostly.

After about 20 minutes over my right shoulder I noticed different light. It was the most beautiful, huge, orange 3/4 moon, creeping up through the limbs of a tree.

*Uh oh. An interloper is coming to spoil the party. Notice the woman on the hill with her camera and tripod?*

I wished I had my other lens on the camera (but it was back at the car). I wished I had two cameras going. But there was no time, so I kept focusing on those lights out over the water, knowing they’d soon be fading.

*One of my favorite images from the night. Someone said I’d captured the one-eyed aliens, and I have to agree it looks like I have!*

The moon crept higher and higher, and the lights began to fade. People began to leave, shining their flashlights in my face and into my frame as they climbed the dune to head back to the parking lot. I was loathe to go, the warm summer night and soft breeze off of the lake complimented the extraordinary sight of the lights dancing and shooting pillars up higher and higher in the sky.

I didn’t leave until the color faded away, and then I reluctantly put the lens cap back on and started down the dune toward the car.

Lots of people were still walking out over the dunes, headed to the beach. Every group stopped me, a person obviously carrying a fancy camera and a tripod, to ask if I’d seen anything.

I couldn’t begin to describe what I’d just experienced. I just told them all it had been wonderful but had faded now.

*The soft faded color was a gentler version of what I had just witnessed.*

I encouraged them all to go out to the beach anyway and stand under the stars to admire the beautiful moon. Most of them did.

As for me? I’m so glad I took a leap of faith and went north to see the lights. I’m so glad I didn’t nap the evening away in my car. I’m so glad the lights decided to cooperate and dance for those 20 or 30 minutes before the moon encroached on our party.

*The big dipper is more obvious once the main show is over.*

And I’m forever grateful to my Milky Way teacher for instilling in me the confidence to stand by myself (along with 20 or 30 other photographers, all strangers, but all united in one goal) out under the stars and appreciate what I see overhead.

I haven’t stopped smiling since I heard that first squeal and turned to watch the magic explode above us.

*That darn moon. Still beautiful even less than full.*

Lessons learned: Don’t think about things too much, just go. Bring bug spray. Long pants and sturdy shoes are a must. Check your focus regularly. Don’t forget to stop and internalize the experience, it’s not all about the pictures. Encourage everyone else to stand out under the stars at least once.

And now I’m encouraging you. If you get the chance…just go.

August 31, 2023
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Like a big pizza pie

Everybody has seen a moon image somewhere on social media today. Or maybe you saw the moon yourself last night, so many of us stood out under the sky as the full moon rose.

I thought about going to a darker location with a clear view of the horizon, but I couldn’t make myself go scout for a place like that before dark fell. So last night, about 9:30, I stood in my front yard and watched the moon rise above the neighbor’s trees.

It was sweet.

I didn’t even mind if I got the shot. It was just nice to be out under the stars watching the moon and thinking about all the people all over the country who were out there doing the same thing.

Night sky photography is a kind of community, even if you never meet any of the others you feel good knowing they’re out there looking at the same sky, no matter where they, and you, are.

Wordless Wednesday

August 30, 2023 by dawnkinster 15 Comments

August 26, 2023
by dawnkinster 31 Comments

My adventure, by Penny-girl

Well. You may have noticed that I was not included in any of mom and my Auntie B’s adventures.

*I don’t know how they could have left me out!*

I would like to point out that I am a big girl now and I think I should be included in everything my people do! Don’t you agree with me?

*Don’t you like the way my fur is starting to flow in the wind?*

After all, I will turn 9 months old next week, and that’s pretty old if you ask me. Don’t ask my folks, they still treat me like a baby.

*Well, OK, sometimes I DO still get a little bit scared.*

Anyway, once mom and Auntie B returned home, with plenty of great smells on them I might add, I insisted on going with them everywhere, and a couple of days that everywhere included a local park next to our town’s small cemetery where my aunt could practice her bagpipes for an upcoming competition she will be in.

*This is my Auntie putting in her ear protection. I noted I didn’t get any ear protection.*

She said she hadn’t played in way too long and she needed to practice somewhere. I guess you can’t play the bagpipes just any ole place.

At first I wasn’t sure about the bagpipe sound, but mom urged me to come with her for a walk and we left my aunt to play in the park while we explored the cemetery next door.

I found out there were lots of whirly-gigs and flags flapping over there and I wasn’t too sure about all that at first.

Then I found this little dog and I tried to talk to him, but he was more the silent type.

And then I saw this little boy and tried to play with him, but he wouldn’t move and suddenly that scared me so I went and hid behind my mom’s legs.

That’s ok, right mom? Whenever I get scared I can hide behind you, right?

*I’ll just rest a moment back here, OK mom?*

Anyway, I practiced sitting pretty a lot, and getting my picture taken. My sister, angel Katie, says that’s just part of the game plan when you live with our mom.

*OK, mom, I’ll sit here. But I’m not going to look happy about it.* *Unless you have cheese?*

I’m getting pretty good at it too, though Katie says I need to be more insistent on getting my share of treats for the work I do modeling.

*Sometimes mom gets kinda close, but I’m not afraid of the camera any more.*

I’m getting prettier and prettier by the day now, so I don’t mind showing off.

*Mom says it’s all about the light, but I know it’s really all about me!*

Meanwhile my Aunt played on.

*She played way on the other side of the park. It sounded cool!*

And the resident cranes listened too.

*Mom wouldn’t let me go say hi to them.*

We all had a very good time, both days we wet to this park, and I guess I’ll call this a mini adventure, but I’m telling you, I’m up for something truly epic.

*This was not really adventurous, mom. Try to do better, OK?*

I hope mom’s planning something great real soon.

August 22, 2023
by dawnkinster 26 Comments

Then there were stars

After the bagpipe parade my sister and I began to prepare for a night trek through the cedar forest and along the sandy beach out to the end of Sunset Point. The wind was picking up and we were worried that waves we heard crashing somewhere out in the lake would be washing over the point.

At 11 p.m. we decided to head out there and check it out for ourselves. There was a certain amount of anxiety as we wound our way through the woods and along the beach, but we were relieved to find there were no waves anywhere near the point and we were able to set up on a picnic table out on the point with a perfect view of both the Milky Way to the southwest and the Big Dipper to the north.

I lightened these somewhat for Facebook, but you’ll still want to look at them in a dark room if you can, and on a larger screen.

*My first composition included more of the water in the bay. The light on shore is someone with a flashlight, probably also out looking at the meteor shower.*

She sat in a chair and watched the northern sky, exclaiming in excitment every time she saw a meteor streak across the sky. I focused on the Milky Way, deciding to include some of the bay in my first set of images, and then moving slightly to the left to include all the trees in the next series of shots.

*I like this composition too, with more of the trees we walked through to get out to the point included.*

But she was seeing so many streaking meteors that I decided to turn my camera around and see what happened. I liked the rocky point jutting out into the dark lake.

*I was lucky enough to get the meteor in the shot – barely.*

And then I asked her to go sit on a rock at the edge of the gravel, still many yards away from the water, and sit very still for 20 seconds while I took a shot of her watching the sky.

*The green might be air glow, or it might be northern lights. There was some pink in the sky too.*

I love this shot so much. The image looks peaceful, but in actuality the wind and wave noise was so loud I had to signal when the shot was finished by flashing a light at her.

Then we realized I could set up the camera and she could push the remote shutter release while I sat on the rock watching the sky.

This was sooooo cool, to sit out at the end of a rocky peninsula and look at the stars. In this image I think there are 3 meteors, though at the time I didn’t see any of them.

My sister had been watching part of the Milky Way which was directly overhead and she asked if I’d take a picture of that, so I pointed the camera straight up and pressed the shutter release.

But when we looked at what we had we realized the clouds had suddenly moved in. Our night of shooting stars was over. Our window of opportunity had been less than 2 hours. I was very glad we went out there a bit earlier than we had planned. I was happy with what we had captured and we hoofed it back down the point, across the beach and through the woods to our waiting car.

Back in camp, snug in my tent, I scrolled through my images on the back of my camera. I couldn’t see much detail in the small screen, but I knew it was there. I was smiling so big it was hard to go to sleep.

*During our exploration walk out to the point earlier in the day.*

I don’t know if I would have gone out that night, given the roar of the lake and the gusty wind, if my sister hadn’t been with me. Thanks to her we had a magical couple of hours, and now you get to share in it too!

August 21, 2023
by dawnkinster 24 Comments

The adventure continues

Time is marching on, faster and faster, and if I don’t write this post now I will begin to forget all the fun stuff we did on our four night camping trip in Ontario Canada, on the shores of beautiful Lake Huron.

*The beach in downtown Kincardine. It reminded me of the beach on a Caribbean island.*

We were able to stay two nights at Point Farms Provincial Park, but they were booked for the weekend, so we planned on packing up Friday morning and moving to our next reserved campsite at MacGregor Provincial Park about an hour north, beyond the town of Kincardine, where the bagpipe parade would happen on Saturday evening.

*The beach at Point Farms, early in the morning.*

Very early Friday morning the sound of the lake roaring woke us. We hadn’t heard the lake from our site during any part of our two day stay, but Friday morning it was obvious something was going on.

Both of us popped out of our tents and said, “Is that the lake??” Then we scurried down the long set of stairs to the beach to see what there was to see.

The sun was just getting high enough in the sky to start illuminating the water and there were pretty little puffy clouds turning pink along the horizon.

We spent a long time wandering the beach and taking pictures. Good thing we had until 3 to vacate our site!

Eventually we went back up to the campsite and began to pack.

*Didn’t count the steps, best not to know how many.*

Normally it takes about an hour to get everything stowed in the car. It takes longer than that if everything is kind of wet, which it was.

But we only had to go about an hour north, so no worries. Plus there were lots and lots of pretty barns between where we were and where we were going to be.

I guess I’ll show you those in a separate post, there were so many!

*Well, OK, here’s one of the pretty barns we saw that day.*

Finally we arrived at Kincardine, but we were too early to check into MacGregor Provincial Park and our site. So we explored the town’s beach, watching beautiful sailboats and clouds move at the horizon…

*A steady wind caused both the boat and the clouds to move right along.*

…and a very large boat come into the marina….

*The boat’s name was 2nd Seabatical, and it was from Houston.*

….and of course we saw the town’s lighthouse.

*The photogenic lighthouse next to the marina.*

Kincardine is another pretty town, and we enjoyed walking on the beach…

…and eating a quick lunch sitting on a bench along the boardwalk watching people and their dogs.

*We talked to this doggy grandma about her dogs and the town of Kincardine.*

Eventually we made our way to McGregor Provincial Park.

*This is a giant bat house near the ranger office. They said no bats lived in it, they chose to live somewhere else. Silly bats.*

This park had sites tucked in among the trees and brush, so there was quite a bit of privacy, though noise from other sites certainly carried over to us.

*Setting up at our very nice site, which was surrounded by poison ivy.*

We explored the park; the beach that didn’t allow dogs…

….and the beach allowing dogs. The dog beach was definitely the better choice.

And then we walked out to the end of sunset point, to consider whether that might be a prime stargazing location. It seemed promising.

*Friday afternoon out on Sunset Point. There would be no stars that night.*

But we were really there to see the bagpipe parade, the parade that had sparked this entire trip. So… did we find the parade? Well of course we did! Even better, as we walked into the park where the bagpipers were congregating, we met Quinton, a beautiful little sheltie boy and his owner.

*Quinton showing off his tricks and getting a treat, of course.*

We had a great conversation with Quinton’s dad, learning some of the history of Kincardine, what the winters were like (not as snowy as they used to be), why the parade route was altered (Queen street was being dug up to replace ancient pipes underneath), our mutual love of shelties (he had 2 before Quinton, one died of kidney failure at age 7), and where to stand to get the best view of the parade.

Then we went to listen to the bagpipes warm up, talked to one of the pipers and headed over to the parade route, smiling in anticipation.

The sun was setting over Lake Huron as the pipers began to march and play.

It was pretty magical, though odd, as they marched down the street for a block, then did a complicated turn and marched back up the block again, then turned and marched part of the way down again.

I hope when Queen Street is opened again they might be able to march further in one direction. I imagine they hope so too.

*They do this every Saturday evening all summer!*

After the ‘parade’ the musicians moved to the center of the park, formed a big circle and played for the several hundred members of the appreciative audience that had settled on chairs and picnic tables.

*It felt like the whole town turned out.*

Kids played in the grass, neighbors caught up on their personal news, extended families gathered, people nodded and tapped their toes to the music. It was a beautiful evening of community togetherness.

*Even the lighthouse showed up to give high fives!*

My sister and I were both smiling as we made our way back down to the beach where we had parked. Mission accomplished, we’d seen the bagpipe parade, the event that spurred this entire trip.

*One of many beautiful buildings on our walk back to the car.*

But….would there finally be stars on this, Saturday night, our last night in Canada?

I guess you’ll have to wait and see.

August 19, 2023
by dawnkinster 32 Comments

Canada isn’t just about yellow brick

I jumped ahead with that last post about the yellow brick, because it was post something yellow week, but I should probably tell you why we were in Canada at all.

My sister has retired and is finally in a position to travel and we decided just about a year ago that we were going to visit Kincardine, Ontario, because there’s a bagpipe parade there every Saturday evening during the summer months.

You might wonder how we knew that.

Well, the wonderful blogger and photographer Backyard Bird Nerd visited the town last summer and wrote about how beautiful it was. Given my sister is a bagpiper I thought she’d be interested and forwarded her the blog post. Together we decided we’d go check it out someday, and that someday turned out to be last week!

On Wednesday we packed up the car with two tents and enough stuff to house a small army and set off across the Bluewater Bridge from Port Huron Michigan into Sarnia Ontario. We had camping reservations at two parks, Points Farm for Wednesday and Thursday and MacGregor for Friday and Saturday nights. She was hoping to see a bagpipe parade. I was hoping to see the Milky Way.

And so our agenda was set.

*Visit this place if you’re ever in the area!*

But along the way we found other wonderful things, the first of which was a beautiful blueberry farm just past a stunning sunflower field. We actually turned around and went back to the blueberry farm, intent on buying some fruit to snack on. But we found so much more.

The owners are wonderful, happy and friendly people who have spent years improving this farm. Along with the blueberries there is an art gallery featuring work from local artists. And they have plans to expand into other areas, including medicinal plants.

*Proud papa, mom and a couple of babies were on the floor of the pen.*

They gave us a tour of the property and it’s truly beautiful. If you’re ever traveling Canada’s Highway 402, not far east of Sarnia, take a few moments to stop in, and definitely buy something!

*They added a pond to the farm for added beautify.*

And then it was on to the lake. Just like my Lake Michigan, the eastern shore of Lake Huron is sandy and beautiful, with the same Caribbean blue and green water.

We had a lovely wide campsite, the bathrooms were clean, there was a beach that allowed dogs, and wonderful walking trails.

*A nice wide site with lots of space between neighboring campers.*

The first full day there we went into the closest town, Goderich, to use the library’s internet. We wanted to find out more about Kincardine’s pipe parade.

*Just one corner of a large central downtown square.*

The town is adorable, with a central square and shops all around it. As we got out of the car I thought I heard bagpipes. But it was Thursday afternoon, and we weren’t even in the right town. Maybe it was my imagination.

But when I heard it again we followed our ears to the center of the square where we found an outdoor stage with a bagpiper, a fiddle player, a keyboard player and a bass player! They were doing a sound check for a Celtic concert that was happening that evening!

*Several people sat and listened to the sound check.*

Well, forget going to the library! We sat there and listened to them warm up and play and then we went to an early dinner at a local restaurant while we waited for the show to start.

*The food was good but the service was oh sooooo slow.*

What a fun evening! Three groups played, the whole town looked to be in attendance, people were swaying and taping their toes and singing along. Some even danced.

Little kids ran around and danced to the music up front. Everyone was smiling.

*These little girls danced for the entire hour and a half concert.*

It turns out we stumbled onto a Celtic festival week in Goderich that apparently happens every year, where professional musicians teach classes during the week and put on a festival over the weekend, along with this free outdoor concert on Thursday night.

*The harp music was beautiful and unexpected.*

And we just happened to be there.

Friday we went back to the library and looked up the information we needed to find the pipe parade on Saturday evening. The library had a turret just like the library I used to go to as a 7 year old a few decades ago.

I felt right at home.

*So similar to the library I went to as a kid.*

So how did the star search go? Well, other than seeing a few Celtic stars we didn’t have much luck. Wednesday and Thursday nights were cloudy.

We had a big storm blow through one night and we got a little ~~damp~~ wet.

But that’s another story. More to come.

*It always rains at least once on any camping trip. That’s some sort of universal rule.*

August 17, 2023
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

Follow the yellow brick homes

Terri over at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives has challenged us to post about all things yellow. This works out perfectly for me because I’m just home from four days spent camping in Canada, where one thing became very obvious — some time in the last century building beautiful homes out of yellow brick was a thing.

We were driving up highway 21 through small towns along the eastern coast of Lake Huron and every town had a lot of yellow brick houses. They were all beautiful, big or small.

Some were out in the country.

Many were along shady streets in town.

The town of Kincardine had so many of these beauties along one street that we just had to park and walk a few blocks admiring the houses and their gardens.

I’ve traveled in Canada a few times and have always noticed how beautiful their gardens are. On this street almost every house had flowers in full bloom from the front porch to the street.

I’ve got lots to show you from our four day camping/bagpiping/starry night trip, but I still have lots of images to sort through.

Bur I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to show you yellow from a Canadian point of view. I hope you enjoyed seeing these beautiful homes.

If you ever get a chance to drive up the eastern shore of Lake Huron you’ll find the same thing we did; friendly, happy people, cute little towns and stunning landscapes.

I’ll show you more soon.