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...

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get a walk in today or if it would start raining around lunchtime. Once I knew for sure the weather was going to remain dry, I decided to go.  We did get rain yesterday though and, since I both knew some of the trails would be muddy as a result and I had no desire to contend with mosquitos, I didn't walk as far as I normally do. Despite this, I was still able to get some photos. Here is a selection of them: This monarch was a consolation photo. I missed out on three garter snakes on the same path because they were slithering into higher grass by the time I noticed them. This butterfly presented a bit of a challenge because it simply would not stay still. This was the best out of about thirty attempts to photograph it. The dragonflies were a bit more of a challenge than usual today too. Every time I'd have one in the perfect position/in focus, a fish would make a splash and startle it. Not my best turtle photo but I was able to get a pictu...

I ended up cutting my walk a bit shorter today, both because I had a lot of work to do at the office and because I didn't want to scare a heron (last photo) that was fishing near one of the trails. I did still manage to get some photographs though. Here are some of them: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (7/6/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/3/2026) Morning Walk Photos 7/26/2017 Some More Walk Photos

I wasn't sure if I would get an opportunity to get a walk in at lunch today because of a surprisingly busy Tuesday. However, there was enough of a lull for me to get out for a short while and that's all I needed to get some great photo opportunities, including making eye contact with the deer I thought had moved out of the park weeks ago as I was walking past one of the ponds. Here are some of the photos: ____________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos 4/30/2018 Lunchtime Walk Photos 8/14/2017 Lunchtime Walk Photos 3/18/2019 Lunchtime Walk Photos 5/15/2019

I managed to get a quick walk in between rain showers today and, overall, it wound up being a bit uneventful with surprisingly few creatures stirring, including not many birds for some reason.  I did, however, spotted the green heron I saw yesterday (at least I think it is the same one) and got another photo of it. __________________________________________________________________ Here are some more bird photos: Heron With Breakfast In Flight Bird Feeder Photos 11/10/2018

Wisconsin's weather can be a bit unpredictable at times. In the course of about a month, we've gone from needing the furnace to needing the air conditioner and then some place in between while also braving multiple bad storms that caused one of our local landmarks to collapse and tons of damage in a neighboring community. I would describe today's weather as mild. It was warm enough to not need a jacket but not hot either. The sun is out but there's also a steady wind. Basically, a perfect day for a walk at lunch that turned out to be productive photograph wise. This includes photos of both a blue and green heron as well as a newborn snapping turtle. Here are some of the photos: __________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/11/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (10/9/2024) Lunchtime Walk Photos (9/10/2024) A Couple Pelican Photos

The weather finally cooperated enough for me to get out for a walk at lunch with my camera today and, even though it was a bit cool and cloudy, I did end up seeing quite a bit, including another deer hanging out in the middle of the park (I ended up changing my route so I wouldn't scare it).  Here are some of the photos: __________________________________________________ Lunchtime Walk Photos 8/14/2017 Lunchtime Walk Photos 5/15/2019 Lunchtime Walk Photos (9/10/2024)

I was unsure if I was going to go for a walk today or not. The weather was nice but getting to the park requires going through some road construction and I nearly got into a head-on collision yesterday when someone ignored the temporary traffic light.  However, after some thought, I decided to grab my camera and go. As it turns out, it was a productive walk photo wise. Here are some of the ones I got. Camera: Kodak PIXPRO AZ-425

The weather has been nice enough to go for a walk at lunch. However, thanks to all that rain we had, the mosquitoes are pretty much unbearable right now so, other than a failed attempt yesterday (I lasted all of 10 minutes), I haven't been going. I have, however, been still getting the occasional photo before heading into the office in the morning. Here is a selection of those (as well as one I did manage to take before giving up on my walk yesterday).