Monday in Nature Weekly Photo May 25, 2015

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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. Try to 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 details on guidelines please <a href="/nature-photography-forum/00cgtY">read this helpful information. </a></em></strong><br>

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<p>The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost</p>

<p>Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,<br>

And sorry I could not travel both<br>

And be one traveler, long I stood<br>

And looked down one as far as I could<br>

To where it bent in the undergrowth;</p>

<p>Then took the other, as just as fair<br>

And having perhaps the better claim,<br>

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;<br>

Though as for that the passing there<br>

Had worn them really about the same,</p>

<p>And both that morning equally lay<br>

In leaves no step had trodden black.<br>

Oh, I kept the first for another day!<br>

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,<br>

I doubted if I should ever come back.</p>

<p>I shall be telling this with a sigh<br>

Somewhere ages and ages hence:<br>

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-<br>

I took the one less traveled by,<br>

And that has made all the difference.</p>

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<p>We've been gathering and traveling for 2 years now. In nature, no matter where you are, you're on a map and a path of some kind. It might be topographic and modern, though well worn from use. Or, perhaps some ancient cartographic scratchings only seen in a vision quest. Thanks to everyone who has ever come this way, whether to participate or watch from a distance. Many have left footsteps here and none are forgotten. Where are we going? Who knows? Let's find out.</p>

<p>Happy birthday Monday in Nature. Walk softly and carry a sharp lens.</p><div></div>

<p>Walk softly (yes!), leave no trace, and see. Welsh Poppy, Welsh rain.</p><div></div>

<p>I applaud Laura for getting us & MiN to 2 years. But today rather than walking softly, I will shoot up Yellow Rockets for us all.</p><div></div>

<p>A quick shot of young bucks taken from my patio. It happened and ended quickly and is not really in focus, but I wanted to share. </p><div></div>

<p>Keeping with the theme. Please excuse the post and sign, but it is the actual road less taken! </p><div></div>

<p>A female Painted Turtle decided a corner of my property would be a good place to lay her eggs. </p><div></div>

<p>One small family and one quite large family of Canada Geese.</p><div></div>

<p>Time flies like clouds</p><div></div>

<p>This past week, while out in the bush cutting firewood, I stopped to wipe the sweat from my brow and have a drink of water and happened to look up to see this owl looking down at me. I only had my P&S camera with me so forgive the quality. I don't know how long the owl had been watching me, it continued to keep an eye on me from its perch for the remainder of the afternoon and was still there when I packed up my tools and left.</p><div></div>

<p>Laura, thanks for your dedication to keeping MIN going. Checking out all of the contributions to this thread ensures that I drop by PN at least once a week.</p>

 

<center><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18027411-md.jpg" alt="6D 724" width="680" height="453" border="0" /></center>

<p>Gordon B that's a beautifully composed shot of a barred owl! Here's a shot of a baby armadillo that has taken the less travelled road of is siblings - that is, he is out in the daylight and totally unafraid of human presence.</p><div></div>

<p>A ruffed grouse. It is a popular game bird around here. Hunters spend tens of thousands on ATVs and rifles and countless hours driving bush roads to bag a few each fall season. I have done none of that yet still have managed to kill 5 over the years. How? I washed the windows on the house at what I guess was the wrong time of the year. I give the broken-necked victims to my hunting neighbours who have usually arrived home empty handed.</p><div></div>

<p>Rick, thanks I found the owl's curiosity somewhat comical. Nice shot of the young armadillo. So cute.</p>

<p>John, I bag a few grouse every year via the same Windex methodology. Only in my case I do not give them away, they end up as bacon wrapped grouse breast on my BBQ.</p>

<p>A road less traveled by humans...</p><div></div>

<p>Laura, thanks for all you have done on MiN. Here is a couple more (very young) Canada geese I came across the other day.</p><div></div>

<p>Happy birthday to Monday in Nature and thanks to Laura for getting the whole thing off the ground and keeping it going each week.</p>

<p>This is Goosenecks State Park. It's about 40 minutes from Monument Valley.<br>

<img src="http://akgosdenphotos.smugmug.com/Vacation/Southwest-2015/i-vLstcvT/0/700x700/Southwest-5138-700x700.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<strong>Canon XSi, 10-18 STM, f/13, 1/100s</strong></p>

<p>Here's one from a few years ago - I had completely forgotten about it...</p><div></div>

<p>This morning on my bike ride.</p>

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<p>A close look at a leaf, usually eclipsed by flowers, of a bird of paradise plant. Taken with the macro function of my new Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera and f/1.4 35 mm lens. --Sally</p><div></div>

<p>Laura, I too thank you for starting each week with good humor and promptly. I look foward to Mondays photos....good work, all.</p>

<p>Definitely, a road less traveled by...</p><div></div>

<p>I join the others in thanking Laura for her efforts.</p><div></div>

<p>I think we've got the best frog hatch in years along the creek and bog here in central NJ so I'm taking advantage of these beauties while they last.<br>

Nikon D7100 180mm AF-D f2.8 @ f4 and ISO400<br>

Enjoy!</p><div></div>

<p>I like the simplicity of Honeysuckle. This is probably one of the invasive (locally) Asian vine species.</p><div></div>