Monday, December 31, 2007

A look back at 2007 in Photographs.

Before Megan and I left for Maine (where it snowed eight more inches last night, putting about two feet on the ground total) I looked through the photographs that we each took from the past year. We were busy! Trips to New York City, Montana, Colorado and Maine were some of the highlights. But since this is the Ohio nature blog, all but the first shot are from Ohio. Happy New Year.

This is the Glen Span arch, Central Park, New York City. Megan and I were visiting her grandparents, and Megan helped care for her ailing grandfather. Central Park is quite a place. There are nooks and crannies where we could find solitude from the massess of people and the concrete jungle of buildings.

This is my February pick. These roots of an Ohio Buckeye are exposed in an overflow channel of the Olentangy River near our house in Columbus.

For me, March is a time to go salamander hunting! I introduced Megan to the practice of slapping on a pair of boots and heading out to the local pond to look for these creatures. We struck out at Gahanna Woods near Columbus, but with the help of Ron Etling, we found this beautiful spotted salamander in Hiram Township in Portage County.

In Ohio, April is a spectacular time for ephemeral wildflowers. These plants leaf out, bloom, and fade away by june with little evidence they exist. This photo is the flower of bloodroot. You have to time seeing a bloodroot flower just right, as they are extremely delicate and shed their petals quickly. The leaves in the background are from another ephermal, Dutchman's breeches.

I love reptiles and amphibians, and southern Ohio is still a great place to find beautiful eastern box turtles like this one we found on an outing in May.

Although non-native, cabbage white butterflies are the most common species in our yard. I think I captured this shot while I was home during my lunchbreak. Look out, coming in for a landing!

Megan and I have a large water garden in the back yard, and it is full of goldfish. They spend the year in the pond and even reproduce, so there are new colors and shapes in the pond each year. The goldfish also attracted this great blue heron, which was able to navigate the maze of overhead wires in the backyard. In July Megan took this shot as she stepped out of the house, quite surprised that the heron had alighted on our shed!

Can you guess what this plant is? This photo reminds me of the back of a highlights magazine. Close up shots of things that you had to guess what they were. Any guess here? This photo is from northern Ohio, taken in hot and steamy August.

Megan and I took a walk at Whetstone Park, which has a fabulous prairie created by Columbus Wild Ones. Although the prairie was past peak in august, there was still plenty to see, including this fabulous Monarch butterfly.


Reptiles and amphibians are still out and about in October, and Megan and I watched this bullfrog at Slate Run Metropark, southeast of Columbus, while on a hike.



While at Blendon Woods Metropark, Megan and I spotted this red-breasted nuthatch feeding with chickadees, white throated sparrows, juncos, and tufted titmice. This was the first time I we saw this species, and what a neat little bird that is a uncommon winter visitor from the north woods.

And what better way to end a year with a sunset. In early December, Columbus had several back-to back spectacular evening shows. I timed my commute so that I could watching the changing colors and get home in time to snap a few shots!

And that is 2007 in pictures. What awaits everyone in 2008? Happy New Year.

Tom and Megan

13 comments:

  1. You have the most spectacular pics on your blog!! Happy New Year! :)

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  2. sorry...put wrong link!

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  3. Such amazing photos and thanks for sharing all these with us! I also love Salamander Searching in March! Must wear your rubber books for sure when looking for them! Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  4. Thanks Nikita. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

    Chris, It was touch choosing which pictures to post. There is nothing like salamander hunting in the spring!

    Tom

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  5. What a great trip of last year via your wonderful photos! Your photos are always terrific. Keep up the great work.

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  6. Thank you Chris!

    2007 was quite a year.

    Tom

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  7. Amazing photos! I really love the butterfly landing. I've tried many times to get this photo, but never got one as good as this.

    I wouldn't have any idea what that "Unidentified Floral Object" is - please tell me when you release it's name!

    Cheers,

    David

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  8. Thanks David,

    The crazy looking unknown floral object is a closeup view of the American water lotus, Nelumbo lutea This plant grows in shallow water marshes and Bays along the coast of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes here in the U.S.

    It has very large emergent or floating leaves that repel water. Try to make the water stick...you can't, the drops roll right of the leaves. The flowers are bright yellow and bloom in July.

    Tom

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  9. Fantastic photos! I can't imagine seeing a blue heron in my yard!

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  10. Thanks drowsemonkey. We live about a quarter of a mile from the Olentangy River here in Columbus, so we are pretty lucky to see many different types of birds that stray into our neighborhood.

    Tom

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  11. Hi...:) Wow, I love the sunset, really seeps inside my heart, like I was the one who was sitting there inside the woods behind those trees and quietly watching the light of day slowly rest and give in to night... :)

    Hmm...that's how the pic makes me feel.

    Blessings,
    Gratcia

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  12. Thank you for your kind words Gratcia. Come back anytime.

    Tom

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  13. I'm envious of your success at finding spotted salamanders--I'm planning to try, again, this spring.

    We have that fantastic Lotus near us, too. And it was a photographer's paradise--approaching in a canoe, neck-deep in blossoms!

    Nature Remains

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