Steven Helmer Publications

My walk today came with some sadness because I came across a deceased muskrat. I'm not sure what happened to it other than it possibly was attacked by a hawk or something that was then scared off before it could eat. It seemed fairly recent though because the fur looked like it was still wet. Anyway, despite that, it did turn out to be a decent walk. I wound up skipping some trails because I didn't want to scare some green herons that were perched in the way but still got quite a few photos. Here are some of them: This frog was a bit of a surprise because it was some distance away from any of the ponds. Hopefully, it hopped back before it dried out (or was eaten by a snake). I mentioned the green herons. There were multiple birds hanging out around the largest pond, giving me plenty of opportunities to get photos from far enough away to keep from scaring them. I still haven't been able to photograph the large snapping turtles that have been swimming near the shore but did g...

It was a halfway decent day today, sunny without being super warm or humid, so my walk was a bit more pleasant than it has been. Plus, I had some company today. My wife was in her sewing studio (in the basement of the same building my office is in) so she joined me. Since she was wearing sandals, I avoided some of the trails I normally would check out. However, I still managed to get a few photos. Here are some of them: This wasn't the most cooperative butterfly, but I did manage to snap this photo when it took a short break from flying around. I almost didn't spot this blue heron from a distance against the backdrop but spotted it just in time to get a photo while it was hunting. This is the rock I normally see turtles on. They weren't there today, for obvious reasons. I haven't seen a lot of frogs this year but today, we had to avoid stepping on a couple of them. I grabbed this shot when one was hiding. _________________________________________________________________...

It was a little warm out there, making the steeper parts of my walk a bit more difficult, but I managed to get one in today just the same. There was surprisingly not a whole lot in terms of wildlife today, though I am certain I heard a deer walking just beyond my sightline. As a result, I once again focused primarily on the dragonflies and butterflies, not counting the frog I saw along the way. Here are some of my photos:   ___________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Morning Walk Photos (6/15/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/8/2026) Morning Walk Photos 7/6/2017 Lunchtime Walk Photos 9/15/2017

After some uncomfortably hot weather the past several days, we are back to some cooler temps. This made my walk at lunch a bit more enjoyable because I didn't end up drenched in sweat.  The city recently did some landscape work at the park, opening up some areas that were previously difficult to get to because of high grass. This did lead to me getting some photos, like the one of the sandhill cranes below that I probably wouldn't have gotten.  Here are some of the photos I took: _____________________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (7/6/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (7/21/2026) Morning Walk Photos 4/27/2018 Some Heron Photos

It is the first day in a while where it is neither raining or dangerously hot/humid outside, so I found the time to take a walk with my camera at lunch.  It was somewhat quiet there, with very few signs of life, but I did still manage to get at least some photos. Here are a few of them: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/13/2026) A Couple Trail Camera Squirrel Photos (2/14/2026) Morning Walk Photos 4/27/2018 Some Bird Photos from Around the Yard

So far, so good with the new camera. I am still figuring some things out, but there is a clear difference when using it, including being able to get most subjects in focus a whole lot easier plus I noticed a significant difference in the color. Clearly, I was right about my long-time camera starting to show wear from use. I did get out at lunch today and was surprised the warm, sunny weather wasn't bringing a whole lot of life out. I didn't even see a single turtle and I would think they'd be sunning themselves by the dozen. I did, however, manage to get a few. Here they are: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (4/30/2025) Family Walk Photos 8/8/2017 Lunchtime Walk Photos 6/14/2018 Morning Walk Photos 9/12/2017

My decision to take a walk at lunch today was made at the last minute because of on-and-off rain all morning (and now in the afternoon, so much for mowing the lawn later). I didn't get a ton of photos, mostly because I wasn't sure how long it would stay dry and rushed my walk as a result. I did, however, snap a photo of this frog, which was nice enough to pose for me.

Considering this is one of the very few spring days we've had that was both sunny and not super windy, I was a little surprised when there wasn't anyone else at the park when I was there. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I do like being able to get my walk in without someone being ahead of me and scaring off my photos. Here are some of the shots I took today:

I caught myself doing something interesting today. Apparently, and I just realized this was the case, I have a habit of telling the various animals, insects, etc. I photograph "thank you," each time. Well, maybe not all of them, just the cooperative ones. Still, knowing they probably don't understand me, I guess I'm just that polite of a guy. Then again, maybe it helps with karma and ensures some of them will pose for me, as was the case today, when I had plenty of reasons to say thank you. Here are some of the photos:

I'm not looking forward to winter being around the corner, but these mild September days aren't so bad. At least I can go for a walk without being swarmed by a bunch of mosquitos most days now.  Anyway, I managed to get out with the camera today and, other than just missing a blue heron that stayed well-hidden up until the point it took off and didn't let me get a pic, I had a moderately successful walk. Here are some of the photos.

I think I am going to refer to this one as my "frog" walk because there was a stretch of trail that seemed to have a frog pop out at every step. I ended up with quite a few frog photos as a result, though I managed to get some heron photos with my camera as well. Here are some of what I got: