Steven Helmer Publications

I haven't been able to take a lunchtime walk the past couple of days but, despite it looking like it might rain, did managed to get out to the park and squeeze one in today. However, as far as photos go, it was a little bit of a disappointment. It was a bit too chilly for the turtles and snakes to be out, the various birds and insects I saw didn't seem to be overly cooperative and even something as simple as a flower was hard to photograph because of the wind. Fortunately, I did manage to snap this photo as I was finishing up my walk so I didn't leave completely empty-handed.

I snapped this photo yesterday afternoon while on my lunchtime walk. The geese are starting to migrate and, as is the case every fall (as well as every spring), they take a break in our local ponds.

There's nothing overly special about this video. I just found, when I'm extra stressed, watching/listening to nature often will help calm my nerves. And, since I know there's a lot going on in the world at the moment that might be causing everyone else some added stress, I figured I would videotape and share these ducks.

I went for my morning walk along the lake this morning and spotted this pair of mallards washing themselves up near the shoreline. They originally gave me the evil eye and looked like they would swim or fly away. But, they ultimately stuck around long enough for me to get the photo.

I took the garbage out to the dumpster on the other side of the parking lot and, on my way back into my office, I noticed a moth flailing around on the ground. I wasn't sure what was going on at first but soon realized it was being attacked by this black-and-yellow devil. I'm pretty sure it was eating the moth too, which is not something I would expect to see.

It was a fairly nice day for a walk today. The sun was out, it was warm and, unlike the past few days, it wasn't overly windy out. I ended up seeing quite a bit on my walk, including some of the migratory birds that are starting to head south for the winter. Here are some of the photos I was able to get: It landed right at my feet. The pond is starting to get full of ducks. This was one noisy bird. I heard it pecking at that branch from the other end of the park. The thing that surprised me most about this snake is how it didn't move when it saw me. I think it was stalking something for lunch.

It's been really chilly out the past couple of mornings. In fact, as I was walking along the shoreline this morning, I realized I probably should start wearing gloves (my hands are always the first to freeze). All I can say is, it's way too early for it to be this cold already. I know it's Wisconsin and we can get winter-like weather as early as September. But, just a couple of weeks ago, the temps were in the 80s. I know it's going to get cold eventually. I just wish it would be a bit more gradual. The critters are apparently starting to notice as well. The only thing along the shore this morning were gulls (which usually stay all winter). Most of the other birds were hiding from the cold temps. Either that, or they are already heading south.

I didn't see much on my morning walk this morning, mostly because there were several people already at the lake first thing (it's amazing how many people don't have to go to work on a Wednesday) and the critters were keeping their distance as a result. I did, however, find a few cans to add to my recycling efforts and, as I was walking back to the car, I was able to snap this photo of a couple gulls as they were standing on some rocks.

The weather has been kind of cruddy today and I wasn't able to go for a walk this morning or at lunch as a result. However, I did manage to duck out of the office for a few minutes so I could at least walk around the building a couple times. As I was walking, I noticed the groundhog that lives in the hill behind the building was out. Unfortunately, it went back in its hole before I could grab my camera out of my car. But, I still managed to get a photo of it sticking its head out.

It was warm and a bit muggy out when I took my lunchtime walk today and, as a result of that, I didn't go as far as I normally do (mostly, I avoided any hills). I did manage to see a few critters while I was out though and that included this dragonfly, which I photographed while it was hanging out on a blade of grass. I loved how the sun was sparkling off of its wings in the photo.

It's still too wet to go for a walk on my normal trails so I stopped off at the lake again this morning and saw this mother duck on the shore with her kin. I got a photo but also made sure to keep my distance because the waves were really rough and I didn't want her to feel threatened to the point she took the little ones into that water.

There's no special reason why I took a photo of these flowers. I just thought they looked pretty and, since I wasn't sure if I would find anything else worth taking a photograph of, I took a pic of them. I've been getting a lot of photos of dragonflies lately because they are beautiful to look at (and have quite a few varieties) and because they are fearless. I can walk right up on one, take as many photos as I need and it won't budge. I got somewhat lucky with this goldfinch photo. I didn't see it at first and was only able to take one shot before it flew away. I saw this little guy flying around as I was trying to catch my breath after climbing up a hill (I'm not REALLY that out of shape, it's just very humid out right now). I tried, several times, to get a photo of a bee on a flower but failed each time because they simply would not hold still long enough to get them in focus. I did, however, get a photo of this one on a leaf....

I once again braved the heat today and went out for a walk at lunch. I brought my camera with, as usual, but didn't have much luck photo-wise. I did, however, see this beautiful dragonfly and was able to get a couple photos of it before it flew off.