Monday in Nature Jan. 4, 2016

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<p><strong>Basic Guidelines</strong>: Nature based subject matter. Please, declare captive subjects. Keep your image at/under 700 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing and try to keep file size under 300kb. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc. Feel free to link your image to a larger version. <strong><em>In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include hand of man elements. Please refrain from images with obvious buildings or large man made structures like roads, fences, walls. Minimize man made features and keep the focus on nature. </em></strong><br>

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<strong><em>Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week. For more <a href="/nature-photography-forum/00cgtY">details on guidelines</a> please read this helpful information. </em></strong></p>

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<p>Monday Greetings,<br>

Happy New Year to all. We have another year of Mondays in the future and there's no telling what they may bring. But what about other places? In that galaxy far, far away they don't even mention days of the week. Is there a Monday on Risa, or is it perpetual Friday...night that is. With it's many suns the nature photography would be wonderful. Step through a Stargate on Monday and who knows what day it will be on the other side? How many Mondays passed from sunset on Caprica to a new dawn as a weary crew landed on nature rich Earth?</p>

<p>Closer to home and reality there are 258 known planetary systems, including our own. There are plenty of Mondays, but sometimes they fly by pretty quickly. It zips by on 51 Peg b, with an orbit of only .01158 Earth years. Head to epsilon Reticulum (sounds like fungal sci-fi) and it's lone planet has just a few more Mondays that we do. What kind of nature would be posted on a Monday in the iota Draconis Planetary System? What celestial nature would be visible from the second planet in the Ursae Majoris System with it's 7 year orbit? Whether you're on the first, third, or fifth rock from 55 rho Canceri A, you'll have more Mondays than can be imagined. You can check out more <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/~willman/planetary_systems/">here</a>.</p>

<p>Grab a guide and hitch a ride to any planet with a Monday, Monday in Nature that is.</p><div></div>

<p>For the first Monday in Nature thread for 2016, I am posting an image captured on new year's day.</p>

<p>Sandhill Cranes (<em >Grus canadensis</em>), Staten Island (Sacramento area), California, not far from the Cosumnes River Preserve. Nikon D7200 with 600mm lens.</p><div></div>

<p>I haven't ventured out yet, in 2016. These ice balls formed in January 2015 on the Lake Michigan shoreline, as a combination of cold, wind and wave action.</p><div></div>

<p>On New Years Day I found this <strong>Black-Crested Titmouse</strong> at Pedernales Falls SP in central Texas. </p><div></div>

<p>On a more local scale, it finally turned cold here, but why let that get in the way of a good hike.</p><div></div>

<p>All of my photography from the past week included elements of "the hand of man" so I'll go back to an August morning, out paddling my canoe, for this one, </p><div></div>

<p>New year, old friend.</p><div></div>

<p>Speaking of galaxies...<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18150787-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="451" /><br>

Starfish (Sea star) Cape San Blas, Florida. Pentax K3, 100 f2.8 DAW macro </p>

<p>Beech tree-scape</p><div></div>

<p><strong>Kestrel Poses On Mullein</strong></p>

<p><a title="Kestrel Poses On Mullein" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1537/23718770120_f56098e783_c.jpg" alt="Kestrel Poses On Mullein" width="640" height="800" /></a></p>

<p>A shot from the bottom of our planet - Paradise Bay, Antarctica. A leopard seal basks in the sun on it's own private island of ice, mouth open to help keep cool, as an unseen penguin swims below.</p><div></div>

<p>Rick, fantastic over/under shot.</p>

<p>David... spectacular photo of the kestral!</p>

<p>My photo for this week is of a much more common bird. Made in my yard a few weeks ago.</p>

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<p>Grand Canyon for the grand opening of 2016? It was snowing and none of this grandeur was visible where I perched my tripod. Then the wind came and, voila, the fog opened up for the sun to shine through, and yours truly furiously clicked, clicked, and clicked, before the thick fog once again took the splendor away from mere mortals.</p><div></div>

<p>Lucky you, Mary Doo. I also lucked out and got the GC under snow. Your shot looks great.</p>

<p>Thanks David. Grand Canyon seems to look more 3-D with the contrast weaved by gentle light and snow in the winter, doesn't it? Btw, your Kestro is lovely.</p>

<p>Great shot, Mary Doo! Shun, Staten Island is full of Sandhill Cranes this year. Good shot.<br>

Last week went to Yosemite Valley on a snowy day and captured El Capitan in clouds</p><div></div>

<p>Just a small version of beach reality.</p><div></div>

<p>Rick Du Boisson, would you care to expand on your description? I'd love to know more about how you captured this and what equipment you used. Anything at all that you'd care to share. Even how and why you were there. It's mesmorizing. <br /> Thanks.</p>

<p>Thanks <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=5135302">Bill Nelson</a>. I noticed that you have posted crane images from Cosumnes before. We were there on December 31 and was disappointed to find no cranes there, nor at near-by Desmond Road as suggested to us.</p>

<p>Eventually a volunteer suggested Staten Island to us. Since we lived in the New York/New Jersey area for years, Staten Island meant a borough in New York City. But the one in the Sacramento area indeed had a lot of sandhill cranes on January 1.</p>

<p>The past week on South Vancouver Island has seen clear days with temperatures dipping below freezing at night. As a result my hummingbird feeder freezes solid if left out, so it's brought inside after dark and replaced at dawn. Fortunately warming weather is on the way so I'll soon be able to sleep in a little longer. The Rosemary bush is blooming early this year so at least the hummers have a backup food source.<br>

Am hoping the Hummingbirds use my garden to raise another family this year. I've left last years nest in place in case they decide to reuse it. My photo from a couple days ago shows an Anna's Hummingbird (female?) perched in one of my apple trees.</p>

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<p>Cold morning by the Snake River, Idaho.</p><div></div>

<p>Wow! There are lots of really artful pix this week.</p>

<p>Great way to start the year.</p>

<p><img src="/photo/18147331" alt="" /> I agree with David Stevens - great shots this week.<br>

Here is an October shot in Candiac Quebec even though I took my first winter shot today.</p><div></div>

<p>well-eaten bolete</p><div></div>