Some Amish Farm Scenes

One of the things I enjoy about walking at the reservoir is that the path, on top of the high bank surrounding the water, allows good views of the Amish farms that surround the reservoir. Following are several photos  taken at the reservoir on June 19th.

Amish woman cutting hay

An open gate between pastures

An Amish barn

A panorama view showing two houses and the same barn from the prior photo

Solar Panels

This is the farm where the construction was going on in a previous post.

Many of the Amish have built separate buildings on their property, where they can host the church meetings when their turn comes up in the rotation. Church meetings used to always be in the homes of the various families in the district, but more and more of these separate buildings are appearing on Amish farms.

And here is one last picture of an Amish farm.:

  

This one is not near the reservoir but can be seen from a highway that we frequently travel. It was a late-afternoon drive-by shot.

Birds and Wildflowers at the Reservoir

These photos were captured during my walks last week at the reservoir.

Red-Winged Blackbird


Meadowlark  

Yellow Wildflowers

Another Yellow Wildflower

Chicory

Chicory


Milkweed Flower


Insect on Milkweed Flower

I wasn't satisfied with the picture I took of the milkweed flower and was going to delete it. But, first, I thought I'd try cropping it. Sometimes, when the overall picture is disappointing, cropping to a small section of the photo provides a more pleasing result. It wasn't until I began looking at different sections of the image that I saw the insect. I discovered that I rather liked that section of the photograph. I've included the original, uncropped, photograph, to show what it looked like before the editing.

Butterflies at the Reservoir

Today, I want to share some images of butterflies, seen enjoying the wildflowers at the reservoir during my walk on June 19th.

I'm becoming a fan of my new camera.

Drama in the Sky

On my walk at the reservoir on Wednesday morning, I watched as two male Red-Winged Blackbirds attacked a Red-Tailed Hawk, apparently in an attempt to drive him away from their nesting area.

These photos aren't great quality because the action took place at some distance. In order to bring the images in close enough to be able to see any detail, I had to do some serious cropping.

Here, one blackbird is on the back of the hawk; and the other is coming in for a landing.

The action moved out of the range of my camera as the blackbirds successfully drove the intruder from the area.

Amish Drive-Bys

Doug and I spent Sunday afternoon in our backyard, reading and enjoying the sunshine. I positioned myself with my camera, where I had a small window of photo opportunity between the house and the trees, where I was able to take photos of the Amish traffic passing by, hopefully unnoticed by them.

The backdrop wasn't the best. I need to get the neighbor across the road to take down that beautiful blue spruce tree so that my subjects can be more clearly seen. And, while I'm at it, I should see if they couldn't reposition that utility pole, too.

So much for remaining unnoticed.

I love this horse's coloring and gait.

Little boys holding their hats always make me want to reach for a camera.

I have the utmost respect for the Amish and never want to offend them, but I confess to trying for photographs whenever I think I can do it without offense.

I love horses, and living among Amish is the next best thing to having my own. I can enjoy the beauty of their animals...without any of the work involved with their care. And the Amish in our county have some of the most beautiful horses you'll find anywhere. Many of them could compete successfully in the show ring.

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse of Amish life.



A Walk at the Reservoir

On Friday, I went for a walk at the reservoir and decided not to carry my camera. Of course, you all know how that goes. I saw a green heron. I'd never seen one before and wouldn't have even known what it was if I hadn't seen pictures that other bloggers had posted. This one gave me ample opportunities for photographs, but it wasn't willing to wait for me to go to the car for my camera.

So, when my friend, Pat, suggested that we walk together at the reservoir on Saturday, I made sure to carry the camera with me. Of course, there was no green heron. But I did find other things to photograph.

A lovely chicory blossom

Unfortunately, this picture doesn't show the red on the wings of the Red-Winged Blackbird.

Two Mute Swans flew over, and I snapped a quick shot.

The path around the reservoir looks down on Amish farms. This little guy, leading his pony in from the pasture, was too cute to resist.

There was a workday going on at this Amish farm. Some of the buggies are visible here.

Several men were busily at work erecting a new building on the property.

This buggy and wagon was headed for the work site.

Even with this closer look, I'm not sure what that cargo is.

Bird Watching at Ouabache State Park

Sometimes, Doug and I enjoy going to a nearby state park and just spending the afternoon reading under a shade tree next to the lake. Of course, the camera always goes along, too. This series of photos is from last week's visit to Ouabache State Park.

(The official pronunciation of "Ouabache" is "Wabash," but the locals almost always refer to it as "Kwa-botch-ee." So you just go ahead and pronounce it any way you want to.)

A female Eastern Bluebird

A fairly large nest, but I don't know what made it.

A baby Eastern Bluebird. There was an adult sitting lower on the same branch.

Male Eastern Bluebird

Doug thought this might be a flycatcher of some sort. (Eastern Phoebe, perhaps?)

Cedar Waxwing

Female Eastern Bluebird

I don't know what this one is...possibly another flycatcher? (Eastern Pewee, perhaps?)

Red-Bellied Woodpecker