Steven Helmer Publications

I had some mixed emotions while on my walk today. I saw some sandhill cranes and, while I loved seeing them (I think they are beautiful birds), I know it also means they are getting ready to fly south again because winter is fast approaching. And, to be honest, I'm really not ready for the cold weather yet. I was starting to enjoy the warmer temps and being able to go for a morning walk without having to wear a jacket. But, I guess I still have the changing leaves to look forward to. Here are some of my photos (of the sandhill cranes and others) I took today:

The shoreline was somewhat busy this morning when I went for my walk and, because of that, I wasn't able to see as much on the lake as I normally would that early. However, as I was walking, I spotted this heron standing along the far end of the shore. It was surprisingly cooperative and I was able to get close to it and get quite a few photos without it flying away (though there were a couple times when it was definitely considering it). After getting my photos, I walked away and it went about its business again.