Happy New Year 2015!

2014 Photo Contest Display

2014 Photo Contest - be sure to vote!

Holiday Potluck

Photo from our potluck today!

Be warm and safe everyone!

Photo Contest

Mary, Dan, Deb, and I hung 60 entries for the 2014 Photo Contest.  Be sure and come and have a look.  Good job everyone!

camera Club Photo Contest

Handed in my 5 pictures for photo contest today.  Mine are the first ones.  Let's get going everyone.  Judy

Thank you John Arthur 
for the wonderful presentation on Swans at today's meeting. Made me think of this Poem :

The Wild Swans at Coole

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

The trees are in their autumn beauty,   

The woodland paths are dry,

Under the October twilight the water   

Mirrors a still sky;

Upon the brimming water among the stones   

Are nine-and-fifty swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me   

Since I first made my count;

I saw, before I had well finished,

All suddenly mount

And scatter wheeling in great broken rings   

Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,   

And now my heart is sore.

All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,   

The first time on this shore,

The bell-beat of their wings above my head,   

Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,

They paddle in the cold

Companionable streams or climb the air;   

Their hearts have not grown old;

Passion or conquest, wander where they will,   

Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,   

Mysterious, beautiful;   

Among what rushes will they build,

By what lake's edge or pool

Delight men's eyes when I awake some day   

To find they have flown away?

Colors of Fall

Someone told me that FSSP isn't known for it's fall colors...but I beg to differ!  These photos are from Oct 25th.  

Crex Outings

We had a spectacular show with an overflowing abundance of cranes and a glorious sunset yesterday. I traveled with Janos, Christa, Gene, and Gene's friend John. (I am thinking of asking them to start a band just so I can use the shots below for "really hip" front and back album covers.)  Others we meet on the dikes included Leon, Ruth, May, Dan, and Judy.

I got a glimpse of some of Leon's work while he was resting his trigger finger waiting for his camera to cool down (look out Mary there is another fast gun in town!). I saw some spectacular shots  and vids from his tripod mounted Canon 300MM f2.8 setup. I am looking forward to hearing/seeing more from last weeks outing.  I suggest that we set up an album for sharing and would like to discuss possibly developing a collaborative work.

While you were sleeping last night, tucked securely in your warm bed, others of
us braved the cool temperatures, to capture a very rare and exciting event that
only some can dream of.

If you would post this to the Camera Club I will be for ever in your debt.

Leon and Ruth

p.s. Yes even Ruth was out watching me and thinking what the hell are we doing
out here

p.s.s. Used a Tamron 70 ? 300mm lens hand held

Raccoon in a tree

Raccoon in a tree - can you see it?

Are the deer hungry?

Photo taken last week and you can see his rib cage!  Shouldn't he have a bit more fat going into fall and winter?  Or maybe this is normal?

Young Buck Posing for the Camera

This little guy was posing for me today, on the trail over at Pike Island.

Big Bucks

Found a three of these big bucks last Saturday morning (out on Pike Island) but could only get two of them in the same photo.  These two are getting ready to cross an open area, following a couple of does and the other buck.

Flood aftermath

Doug and I decided to have a picnic at the park.  We went over by shelter B to a picnic table we had been at last year.  There was something different about the site.  Doug and I felt a little taller!  We grew so much in the last year,  the grill was waist high last year.

Albino Squirrel at FSSP

Albino squirrel eating a nut, right along the entrance road opposite side from the boat launch.  The red eyes are kind of creepy!  Photo taken Tues 8/19 around 5pm at Fort Snelling State Park.

Google says:  Not all white squirrel's are albinos.  You can tell by looking at the eyes - red, blue, pink usually means albino.  Only a few white squirrels are albinos as each parent must the gene.  Albino squirrels have vision problems and are at a disadvantage in the wild.  Most white squirrels in North America are genetic color variants of the gray squirrel.

Quarry Island Hike

     This Sunday, August 17th at 9:00 a.m. the camera club will be meeting at the overlook on the Eagan side of the Minnesota River.  The overlook is located just west of Hwy 13 and Mendota Heights Road.
    At the overlook I'll give a brief description of the area and share some of the interesting historic landmarks.  I have lived in the Eagan and Mendota area for most of my adult life and have always felt lucky to live so close to this park and all it has to offer.
     The first thing I would like to do before we hike out to Quarry Island is take a short ride down into Mendota and take a look at some of the historic building and introduce you to a trail that will take you all the way from the town of Mendota to the Cedar Avenue Bridge.  This we can do at a later date.
     From there we will drive to a parking lot that is located under the 494 overpass just off of Hwy 13.  This is where we will begin our hike.  It is an easy 20 minute walk out to Quarry Island.  There are some trails on the island, but the flood waters did mess them up some and the weeds are tall.  This is why I recommend wearing light long pants.  Once at the island we will be able to split up and explore the area.
     Once we get back to the cars I'll get an idea of how people are doing and see if we have time for one more site.  This would require us to carpool once again to the Gravel Pit Lakes area, which is also part of Fort Snelling State Park.  This is about 2 miles from the overplook parking lot.

Hope to see you Sunday!
John Plut  
651-456-9007

Saw some big and tiny deer tracks in the mud on Picnic Island (gates still closed). Finally found this fawn and Doe. Anyone know who the doe is?

Tour the grounds around the Upper Post and a look inside the Clock Tour building.

Sunday, July27th 9:00 a.m.

Everyone is invited, this Sunday, to tour the Upper Post Buildings that are part of historic Fort Snelling. Listen to state park ranger, Larry Peterson, explain the history of the buildings and future plans that include some refurbishing. Larry is enthusiastically knowledgeable about the post and familiar with our club.  

This should make for a memorable morning for all of us as we discover and share new photo experiences in this deserted haunting environment that is normally off limits to the public.

Meet at the front gate, across from the golf course, at 9:00 a.m. sharp.

John Plut 651 315-6146

Some of you might wonder what a piece of "Double Lemon Pie" has to do with a Photo Shoot road trip to Wisconsin. Well you just will have to ask my traveling companions Deb and Judy. Special thanks go to them for putting up with me.

Walked down the Bergen trail from the upper fort today. Here are some pics of the flood and also some from out on the Mendota bridge. I couldn't see the bridge to Pike Island though it may have been blocked by the trees but usually I can see it going across the Mendota bridge so it may be all the way under water.

 Kiosk in front of the visitor's center.

Native American memorial.

Sargent Lake parking lot. 

Road to visitor center from near Sargent Lake parking lot.

Visitor center from Mendota bridge. 

Yes, the visitor center was open. Jill had to hike down the Bergen trail same as I did.

FSSP is closed due to flooding

From the DNR site:  "Fort Snelling State Park is currently closed. We are experiencing many flood impacts at this time. The main roads and all trails in the Park are currently under water. Please check back for updates."

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/fort_snelling/index.html

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron fishing at the Snelling Lake boat launch.  He stayed even when two people came by with their dog and launched a canoe.  Photos taken Sat 6/14.

Gray Catbird. Found along main road on river side. Note rusty color under tail.

Barred Owlet

I finally got a few photos of one of the baby owls!  I think this is Parker, the non-banded owlet.  In his usual place, but a bit closer to the big tree that touches the road.  His mama was across the road keeping a close eye on her baby (and on us photographers, I imagine!)

Two Little Deer Friends

Saw these two little deer at FSSP sticking very close to each other.  They were rubbing faces together for a bit - very cute.  Photos taken Sunday 6/8 from the main road before the first beach parking lot.

One-legged heron

Here's a link to a photo on the FSSP Camera Club Facebook page. It's a one-legged Heron!
https://m.facebook.com/groups/182758201742798?view=permalink&id=799773683374577

Just an FYI - As we are taking our flower photos for this months challenge, please be aware that this particular yellow flower is called Leafy Spurge and is considered a noxious weed/invasive plant.  There is more information on the DNR website.

If you are in an area where this plant exists, please make sure that you wipe off your shoes as you leave the area to help prevent the spread of the seeds of this plant to other parks.    :)

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialplants/herbaceous/leafyspurge.html

Barred Owl - This is the mother of the two owlets (named Bling and Parker).  She sat very nicely for quite a while, which really helps with the photo taking!

Painted turtle near closed gate going to Picnic Island. Had to lay flat on the ground to get this angle. Photo taken last weekend (6/4/14).

What part of the park?

6/4/2014

Barred owl babies are out and about. In the wooded area next to the beach parking lot closest to the fishing pier end. 

First one looks like the older of the two. Second one was banded by the Raptor Center after someone saw it on the ground in the water below the nesting area and called them.