Playing with the effects I used to create the glass bird from a couple of days ago yielded these little beauties tonight. One definitely resembles a duck, the other…. who knows? But, I like it!

A local landowner converted cropland into this wetland. While driving through the country the other afternoon, I could see from the road there were many ducks taking advantage of the water and in fact, that is the purpose. According to — EPA, America’s Wetlands: Our Vital Link Between Land and Water — “Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants and promote the development of characteristic wetlands soils.”

I was a good distance away sitting on the road and there is a no trespassing sign clearly visible on a corner fence post. I dearly would love to sneak up that bank and try to get a closer shot. Unless I get permission, I’ll simply have to be satisfied with taking pictures from the road or investing in a longer telephoto lens. It is quite a treat to see even though there isn’t enough detail in the photo to tell what species of ducks are swimming about.

…. and quite possibly the last of Challenge 276…. EVER…. and that’s a long, long time!

We don’t know the identity of the family on the porch. However, we do know the gentleman holding the horse is Ed’s grandfather and this photo was probably taken around 1900 or before. I’m not sure anyone I know, including me, could survive in those simpler times. Here’s one thing I am sure of, those children knew how to run and play and entertain themselves without the aid of a mouse or a game controller!

Samanthie says: “Obviously this challenge object looks like an art palette but it can either be decorated with paint or made to look like a part of something….. whatever the imagination brings. Distortions and mirrors are allowed as long as original shape can still be identified.”

I went with the palette and the top of a drink can.

I was so excited the last couple of days about the hawk (could you tell?) I had totally forgotten I took the picture of this handsome mule. This one was actually shot through the passenger side glass. I was amazed to see it was easily enhanced and I wanted to share it. Seems the last picture or the last graphic image I work on is my favorite at the time. This photo is no exception, I love the sun illuminating his face. For the record, cause I do like to keep records, the darkened areas in the perimeters of the picture were added in my Paint Shop Pro.

After reworking this image in Paint Shop Pro, version X, it might be my favorite of the hawk on the side of the road. The bird’s left eye was not visible in the original due to the sunlight and the picture was fuzzy. After a friend pointed out she really liked this one, I worked on it by fixing the eye, sharpening, lightening and adjusting the color and was very pleased with the outcome.

Weather permitting, I ride around every afternoon looking for photo opportunities when making animal checking rounds. Sometimes the husband is with me, sometimes, in fact many times not. Today was a good day, actually an awesome day for being out and about. The weather was beautiful and mild with the sun shining brightly and that lovely afternoon glow that is perfect for taking photos.

This gorgeous creature was in the ditch on the side of the road enjoying his meal when I happened upon him. Normally, they flee in flight if they get any indications you are slowing down. This fellow just didn’t care. I stopped, backed up, rolled down my window and started shooting. I snapped pictures from 5:01 p.m. until 5:04 p.m. with many shots in that three minutes. All but one of the 23 pictures I took in that time frame are good. A second full-sized photo of this handsome bird is on my photoblog also.

To see the hawk’s behavior, you can click on the slide show below. These photos are not that great cause they’ve been resized and optimized, but you can see it wasn’t a bit intimidated by me.

This colt is another one of our friend’s animals and was born on November 19, 2007. He is still a tiny little steed. Have I told you to be considered miniature the animal has to be 36 inches or below in height? A horse is measured from the ground to the top of the withers, not the top of their heads. This one lives behind our shop and we have enjoyed watching him grow. Most of the time the mares won’t allow them to come to the fence and visit with strangers, but this one disobeyed and was more than happy to head my way. We had a nice visit and photo session and yes, I do like to talk to the animals!