~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #191: Curves ~

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

So many gorgeous curves in my archives, and everywhere I look in the gardens. Thank you Anne Christine for an opportunity to show a few.

Pacific Ocean storm swells wheel steadily toward the bulging berm in the shot above, taken from the deck of our condominium at Long Beach, Washington. A metal sculpture (bicycle rack) points the way up the slightly curved pathway to the beach, while dune grass bends in the strong wind.

After storms pass, often the beach is strewn with tangles of bull kelp and stranded jellyfish. This small Moon Jelly baby, surrounded by foam bubbles is a favorite image. Maybe eight inches in diameter, it has all kinds of crooks, twists and loops.

From surfs edge to the fringe to the dunes. Below another Dune Rune image etched into the sand by night-writer Alloniscus.

Pacific Ocean shoreline, dunes and sky give us curves that challenge us, ground us and elevate us. Below an immature Bald Eagle lifts off from the beach.

Bald Eagle – Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Wherever you are, please honor our earth, continue to be kind and stay safe.🐾

https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2022/03/19/lens-artists-challenge-191-curves/
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~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Signs of the Season ~

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

Peter Cottontail
Daffodil Joy
Primroses & Raindrops
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~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 190: Closer and Closer ~

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

A seagull, is a seagull is a seagull is a shorebird. Often raucous and bothersome to people, they are a welcome friend in flocks of other shorebirds, and are native gleaner-cleaners along the surf of the Long Beach Peninsula.

Laurus occidentalis

Determined not to just call them generic gulls, I took many shots of those I encountered, and then studied bird guidebooks to identify the specific species. What a journey in circles I entered! In the photo above there are four gulls that look similar, one that is smaller, and the two on the log have different feather colors and beaks. All are Western Seafulls.

Little did I know when I started this quest that, much like Bald Eagles, Western Seagulls transition to adult plumage (and beaks) over four years. The three above are all immature. They have the characteristic pink legs, large black beaks and mottled feathers with dark tails.

This bird is close to adulthood. Its black beak is gradually turning to the yellow-orange it will be when it matures.

A mature Western Seagull sporting its bright yellow-orange beak with a teardrop of red on the underside of the bill, dark eyes and pink legs. Its breast feathers are now almost pure white.

An adult pair of Western Seagulls, one with damage to its bill. “Seagulls live long lives, up to 30-40 years, and mate for life, but will rapidly re-mate if original mate is lost.” (Birds of the Puget Sound Region, Paulson et al.)

Closer and closer is Patti Moed’s challenge this week. Hope you enjoyed this birds-eye view of a common, yet unheralded member of our avian community.

Wherever your camera takes you, please honor our earth, be kind and stay safe.🐾

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #190: Close and Closer
Posted in Birding, birds, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, ornithology, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Sunrise – Sunset ~

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

Wherever you are under the sun, please honor our earth, be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #189: Odds and Ends ~

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

Yippee! Tina offers us a chance to look through the archives at all those snaps taken along the way, that never quite made the cut for a post, and now have a chance to be seen.

Odell Lake, Oregon

How many mossy stumps have I photographed over the years?! There’s just something about the textures of bark, shrubbery and velvety moss that attracts me every time. So, today I open with a beauty taken near Princess Creek Campground in the Deschutes National Forest.

Lavender Lady Gardens

Cee Neuner got me started looking for and snapping photos of unusual signs along the pathways I wander. This one cracked me up, from the Lavender Lady’s Gardens near Ilwaco, WA.

Oxeye Daisy

Juxtaposing nature-made with man-made forms is another of my particular fetishes. These pretty little Oxeye Daisies reaching to the sun next to a hogwire fence is a prime example!

Priest Lake, ID

My family has a long history with Priest Lake, from when I was in high school, to the present. Before retiring and moving to Corvallis, OR, my parents had a vacation cabin at Priest Lake, which they sold when they moved. Though I visit the area rarely now, my niece and her family take summer vacation there yearly. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by woods coming right down to the shoreline. This bumper sticker shows the shape of Priest Lake from an aerial viewpoint.

leucistic Dark-eyed Junco

For two winters I have seen this bird and added it to my weekly Project FeederWatch count as a Snow Bunting. Although Vancouver is way out of its range, that was the only bird I could find in my field guides of this size and so white. This past February, I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count and included this bird in my count. Subsequently I was contacted by a volunteer from Cornell, who informed me it actually is an albino Junco. I’m always learning, and love it!

Max & Daisy snooze cruising.

We are out at our condo in Long Beach, WA this week and next. Max and Daisy are adjusting well, and love my big purple barrel chair as much as I do!

Lens-Artists Challenge #189 – Odds and Ends

Posted in Beagles, Birding, birds, Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Sanderling and Friends ~

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq
Sanderling and other shorebirds in flight.
Sanderling racing from incoming tide surge.
Sanderling at rest.

🐾 Wherever your camera takes you, please honor our earth, be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in Birding, birds, nature, nature photography, ornithology, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #188: A Special Place ~

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

Over the years I have featured many of my favorite places, almost always in nature and close to a body of water. For this challenge from Karina of Murtaghs Meadow, I thought I would get interior and feature the inside of our condo at Long Beach, in particular “my” big purple barrel chair.

In this corner I set up my laptop computer, a small music system, and settle in to read, write, and create my WordPress posts, all while being able to look out upon the beauty of the grounds, the marshes/meadows and on to the ocean.

And when my daytime activities of walks to the beach, exploring the peninsula and taking care of my responsibilities are finished, I lean back with a glass of lovely wine and watch nightfall.

Thanks to Karina for guest hosting this week, and a special shout out of thanks to Anne Sandler for her Water challenge last week. I was so undone by the news, I could barely get my thoughts and photos posted, and forgot to acknowledge her at the time. I’m still reeling from the war Russia has brought on the world, though maybe a bit more composed this week. Praying for the people of Ukraine.

🐾 Wherever your special place is, please honor our earth, continue to be kind and stay safe.🐾

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #188: A Special Place

Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, pacific northwest, photography, travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Signs of Spring ~

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq
Spotted or Rufous-sided Towhee
Primroses
Cyclamen

🐾Wherever you find yourself, please honor our earth, be kind and stay safe.🐾

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~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 187: Water ~

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq

From way up here the earth looks very small,
It’s just a little ball of rock and sea and sand,
No bigger than my hand.

From way up here the earth looks very small,
They shouldn’t fight at all
Down there upon that little sphere.

Their time is short, a life is just a day,
You think they’d find a way.
You think they’d get along
And fill their sunlit days with song.

From way up here the earth is very small,
It’s just a little ball, so small, so beautiful and dear.

Their time is short, a life is just a day,
Must be a better way
To use the time that runs among the distant suns.

From way up here the earth is very small,
It’s just a little ball, so small, so beautiful and dear

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: P. Seeger / M. Reynoldsh

Wherever you are, please honor our earth, continue to be kind and stay safe.🐾

Lens-Artists Challenge #187: Water
Posted in Lens-Artists, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Late Winter ~

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Lindy Le Coq
Max & Daisy
Max

Wherever you walk, please honor our earth, continue to be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in Beagles, dogs, pacific northwest, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment