Birds! Birds! Birds!

I've taken a few pictures of birds on my recent hiking trips. Most common seem to be the red-winged blackbirds. They were really abundant in the prairies of Whitewater Canyon- that's where I snapped both of these shots.

Of course the robins are always plentiful as well. Though they don't seem to sit still long enough to get a good shot of them. This one sitting in a tree one day in Plum Creek Park cooperated with me:

This hawk was flying around as I was leaving Indian Bluffs. I was still very much in picture-taking mode, even though I had taken around 60 pictures while hiking. I just had to pull over and snap a shot of this one!

This pair of birds was running around the prairie area of Whitewater Canyon. I don't know what they are, so if anyone out there knows, please tell me. They were pretty quick- I had a hard time keeping up to them and trying to take their pictures!

This last one is a cardinal I caught checking out my front yard. I just happened to glance out the window and caught a flash of red. I was so happy that he stayed while I got my camera. Cardinals are one of my favorites!

Wildflowers and Wilderness

I've been doing a lot of hiking lately, and have remembered to bring my camera with me. I have mostly been focused on taking pictures of wildflowers, but I've also gotten some good shots of birds, fungi, and trees.

One unfortunate side affect of all the hiking, is all the ticks I have brought home. I have had a total of nine wood ticks on me already this year. I got six of them on one hiking trip to Pictured Rocks alone! I really need to put a scarf around my dreads on these trips in the future! Here's one of the little buggers that I found in my hair while on the trail:

I have taken a boatload of pictures- I've got tons more for future posts. Plus, I entered a photo contest by the Jones County Conservation Board. I sent in four photos for that and the boys had to help me pick because I was having trouble whittling them down.

My husband had to work every day for the last week, so I didn't get out hiking. I can't wait for the boys to get a little older so that they can hike farther. Tate can go a decent ways, but walks really slowly on the way back. Sully's little legs won't take him really far, and a lot of parks don't have trails that will accommodate the stroller.

I'm going to keep a running list of all the parks I hike at this year. So far: Indian Bluffs, Pictured Rocks, Indian Hills, Plum Creek Park, Bailey's Ford, Milo Forest, and Pin Oak. Not a bad list for May!