Steven Helmer Publications

It was a bit windy, but I managed to get out before the weather turned bad today. I didn't see much for signs of life, likely because the animals were taking shelter. However, I managed to get a few photos. Here are some of them.

Timing is everything when it comes to nature photography. Some days (like yesterday), I'll go for a walk and not see anything worth taking a photo of. Other days (like today), I'll walk around a corner and there will be a snake with a frog in its mouth.

It's been too cold at night to plant my garden. But, fortunately, it has been warm enough during the day for me to get outside a bit. I got another walk in at lunch. Here are some of the photos.

I didn't have a whole lot of luck when out for my walk at lunch today. The weather couldn't have been better, but none of the critters I saw were being very cooperative when it came to photos. The lone exception was this garter snake, which stopped and posed for me.

It was a bit overcast today but still warm enough to get outside for some social distancing. And, fortunately, I wound up having the whole park to myself so I could go where I wanted without running into anyone. I managed to get some photos too.

As I was out walking today, I thought of a great scene for a horror movie. It involves a man (or woman) walking nature trails at a park and, as he is walking, is surrounded by hundreds of crickets and grasshoppers, which are surprisingly loud when they are hopping around. As a result of that noise, he doesn't hear the serial killer sneaking up behind him (you're welcome Hollywood. Be sure to reach out to me regarding my fee). Fortunately, despite all the noise from the previously-mentioned insects, I was still able to concentrate and managed some photos, especially of the frogs and snakes I also encountered on the trail (likely finding their lunch). Here are some of the photos I took: You can't see me.

It wound up being a much warmer and nicer today than it was when I tried to go for a walk at lunch yesterday and, while the wind was still somewhat strong at times, it wasn't constant like it was on the last walk. As a result, I did end up seeing a lot more on my walk this time around and wound up with more photos as well. Here are some of the ones I took:

At first, I thought this snake was dead because, even though I didn't spot it until I was almost on top of it, it didn't budge. Plus, I couldn't find its head (it's not uncommon to find beheaded snakes after they mow the paths). However, as it turns out, it was still alive. It was just busy trying to catch a grasshopper that had hidden itself in the dirt. It pretty much ignored me as a result. But, unfortunately, I couldn't get a better photo because, by the time I got in a better position, it had its lunch and was slithering into the taller grass.