Empty Nest #9
Bozeman, Montana
2017

A similar shot to yesterday’s, this one emphasizing the delicate feather lining of the nest.

Empty Nest #8
Bozeman, Montana
2017

This is the time of year we start cleaning out our birdhouses as well as bird nests we find in various impromptu places around the house. Mostly we come across robin’s nests and those of house wrens. I don’t recall ever finding an old robin’s nest still with eggs still in it, but for whatever reason it is quite common with the house wrens even though they nest in more protected spaces. Although the breakage in the egg on the right in the photo appears to have occurred from the outside, on first glance it gives the impression that a chick was pecking its way out but never made it to freedom for whatever reason.

Bits and Pieces
Goldfield, Nevada
2017

Not From Around Here
Goldfield, Nevada
2017

Where’s the Fire?
Goldfield, Nevada
2017

Battling Elk
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2017

I wish I could say I took this photo of two back-lit elk bulls just as the sun was going down when I was out in the woods the other day. But in reality it was taken mid-day on the lawn between some administrative buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs. The low back light? That was courtesy of the early afternoon sun reflecting off of a car windshield.

Telling Secrets
Yellowstone National Park, Montana
2017

Noon Rest
Yellowstone National Park, Montana
2017

A cloud passing between the sun and the far valley behind the ridge provided some dramatic lighting for this shot.

Straight-On
Yellowstone National Park, Montana
2017

High up on a ridge above the Rescue Creek trail in Yellowstone a couple of days ago, a herd of 6-8 bighorn sheep rams let me hang out with them for a while. They were mostly indifferent to my presence, but occasionally looked my way to check on me, allowing me to take their portraits.

Breaking Down the Walls
Harrison, Montana
2017