Southeast Missouri Bald Eagles

 I really couldn't think of a title for this blog. Something that pertains to the post, but also something that's catchy. I feel like I only accomplished the former. Anyways, my sister and I went to the same Eagle's nest yesterday in hopes of seeing the Eagles out of their nest. To our surprise, there they were... flying around in the sky!

I tried like hell to adjust the settings on my camera in time to catch one of the Eagles in flight. While I didn't get loads of actual in flight photos, I did manage to capture one of the Eagles landing on the tree next to their nest. I don't have many Eagle photos to compare these to, but I can without a doubt say that these are the best Bald Eagle pictures I've ever gotten. 

I won't bore you with too many more details, I'll just attach a few of the pictures that I edited and labeled for Facebook - hence why the tag is different.

Bald Eagle in flight!

Bald Eagle getting ready to land.

Bald Eagle landing with wings spread.

I'm done with the weird caption. Check out how magnificent these guys are!

The wingspan on Bald Eagles is insane!

This is probably my favorite picture of the Bald Eagle landing.

And lastly, both Bald Eagles perched on the branches above their nest.

Full Moon State Of Mind

 The moon was so bright last night. With it being 100% illumination, it's pretty obvious as to why. I love full moons on clear nights, especially in the wintertime. The sky always looks so much more crisp and clear. It's really too bad the Milky Way isn't visible in the winter months, it would make for some amazing photos.

Last night was the perfect opportunity for me to test out my new tripod on my telephoto lens. I can usually get hand held shots of the moon, but only with a high ISO. I prefer a slower shutter speeds when taking pictures of the sky, but shooting with a shutter of around 400 and an ISO around 1200 works just as well.

Of course, I took a couple dozen photos, but narrowed it down to just 4 clear shots. I also cropped them all as my tele only going to 300mm. Hope you enjoy!

PS... My uncles knee surgery was today and everything went great!

Here's the gorgeous full moon on March 5th, 2023.

I need a longer telephoto.

I should just get a mount for my telescope - way cheaper.

That stupid logo of mine is all over the place. I forgot that I cropped these pictures, so the resolution is different in each one. Classy.

Eagle's Nest

 I was turned on to a local Eagle's Nest by someone that came in the store I once worked at. It wasn't until I tried to find an Eagle last week that I remembered it. The details in my mind were very few, but I had a general idea as to where it was. Mind you, I did get terrified a time or two due to all the curves, turns and forks.

Luckily everything worked out and I was able to find the place. I took my telephoto lens with me in hopes of catching a shot, but there were no Eagles to be seen. It wasn't until LaVaughn noticed an Eagle head inside the next in one of her photos. I zoomed in on a couple of mine and, sure enough, there was an Eagle. These pictures are definitely not the best, but at least it was worth the drive. 

I'd like to go back next week or the week after on a warmer, sunnier evening to try and see them outside their next. Fingers crossed!

Here are the not so good pics:

Here's the Eagle's Nest and the tiny Eagle head popping.

Here's the Eagle's Nest from a distance. The picture doesn't do it justice, but this thing is gigantic.

There's a better shot of the Eagle's head.

I'm assuming this is mom and dad is off hunting for his family.

I never would have imagined that an Eagle would make a nest in such opened and exposed place.

I'm fairly certain this tree is dead as well.

But perhaps it's the strongest tree in the area.

I really have no knowledge when it comes to an Eagle's Nest.

I guess it just blows my mind that there's an actual, visual Eagle's Nest in Annapolis, MO.

Last Eagle's Nest picture for the week. Hopefully you can zoom in enough to see the Eagle's head.

COVID Vaccine (and mental health) Update

Here I sit on a very humid Thursday afternoon, contemplating life and the many things I need to do today. I wasn't really sure I was going to blog anymore this week, but since I'm left to only my thoughts, I thought it best to write for a while as a sort of release. 

I'll start by updating you on how I feel post-vaccine. The answer? Better, much better. By late Tuesday night I was feeling good and even my headache subsided. The fatigue was gone, my headache was better (aside from my constant tension headache) and I wasn't really thinking about the shot anymore. My arm, however, was terribly sore all day Tuesday and most of the day yesterday. I have about a half-dollar sized bruise and an equally sized knot to match. It's still sore today, but nothing like the previous days. The knot has also gone down from yesterday, which is fantastic. 

Now all I have to do is get through the second shot and I'll hopefully be good to go. I'm still going to stress like crazy for the weeks (probably months or years) to follow, but hopefully this will keep me and my family safer.

I've had a rough couple months lately. I don't know why, but I have these crazy thoughts in my head that just won't go away. I keep thinking of old times, times when my gran, mom, dad and other deceased family members were still around and it really gets me down. It's like I can't comprehend the fact that they're gone and I long to have those days back. I know everyone does this, but it seems like it's getting worse the older I get. 

I also keep thinking of the future and worry about losing other people and animals. Sometimes it's worse than others and it all hits me at once. It's like I have a weighted blanket of sadness that I can't get out from under. I don't know if I'm just going through a phase or what. I think a lot of it is due to my anxiety. I've had a couple really bad anxiety attacks this year and it's detrimental to my mental health. I try to stay as positive as I can, but when you have such heavy thoughts, it's hard. 

That's enough of that, but it does help to write about it. I don't really talk to anyone about it because I don't want to bring them down. I also worry that they won't understand and think I'm being weird. Am I the only one that misses being young and naive? I think back to when I was young and how little I worried. I didn't really know about the worries of the world and was completely sheltered. I know there are adults in the world that still have that mindset, but I honestly don't know how. 

I think it's time to close this chapter for now, lol. I'm going to switch gears and talk about the beautiful full moon last night! After LaVaughn and I got back from our walk we drove down the road so that I could try and capture the moon and all its radiant glory. I was, unfortunately, in a rush and couldn't take the time I needed to capture a good image, but I did get a decent one. I so badly want a longer lens for better pics of the moon. I think I want too many lenses, lol. 

Well I guess that's all for now. I'll share a couple pictures of the mood that I took last night. I also just ran outside and took a few rando pics to add to this post.

Full moon last night.

Definitely not my best moon pics, but decent.

I totally need a longer lens.

Potatoes picked from the garden today!

Some of the beautiful begonias that I saved from Rozier's.

Pretty purple flowers.

I can't think of what they're called.

Through My Lens: Part One

 It's safe to say I've taken thousands of pictures over the past few years during my blogging absence. I've narrowed it down to just a handful, despite me wanting to share alllll of them, but I'll spare you. I did skip the majority of 2017 to early 2019, as I didn't want to see certain images that would make sad, so it's basically a handful of photos from 2019 and a bunch from 2020. 

These are your basic flowers, bugs, the occasional landscape photo, but mainly all random stuff that you would find in your own backyard. 

All of these photos were taken with my new (old now) 35mm Nikon lens. Probably one of my favorite lenses I've ever owned. The first few were taken with my original D3300, but the rest were taken with my D5600, which I purchased (used) from a lady in the next town over in early 2019. It's a stellar crop sensor camera and I adore it. I haven't branched out into full frame yet, considering they're a tad more expensive, but I do hope I'm able to purchase one of those next.

Alright, now time for the pictures!

Spider on the meter.

There are far too many pretty purple weeds around the house.

A nice (unedited) landscape shot of the lake.

I have several shots of this purple weed with a bumblebee on it, but it wasn't until I got my face far too close that I realized that there was a decent sized white spider hanging out in the weed.

Clearly obsessed with purple wildflowers.

We're riddled with bats around here (mainly at dusk) and I finally managed to get a decent shot of a bat in flight.

Not too many decent bat pictures, but these one was okay.

Weeds in the darkness. I took a series of these shots.

You can never have too many pictures of a 3/4 moon. Ever since I got my telephoto lens, I'm unstoppable, lol.

Beautiful female cardinal.

Personally, I prefer the female cardinals, but both are stunning.

Did I mention that I branched out into astrophotography? This was my first try from early last year. I've since purchased a remote shutter that I haven't even tried out yet.

More astrophotography. You can vaguely Ursa Minor (little dipper) here. Definitely needed the remote shutter for this shot.

More weeds. The 35mm Nikon lens does amazing for up close non-macro shots.

Flowery weeds in the sun.

These are beautiful blue "fairy garden" flowers by the trunk of a tree. It was difficult to pick just one of the several pics I took of these guys.