Serious...

Serious, but sweet.

Decisions, decisions...

Sometimes I can't decide which crop I prefer....portrait or landscape?

My favorite species...

Of course, my favorite species to photograph are the humans.  A bit of silliness from these two!

Other wildlife...

Also seen on this visit:  a Texas spiny softshell turtle (ugly in my opinion) and a Diamondback water snake.  (Both species were identified by my friend Kala King...wildlife photog extraordinaire). 

Duckling...

We saw this one mallard with her baby there also.  So unusual to see only ONE baby.  We feel sure she must have hatched others, but we're guessing the snapping turtles got the others.  This was one so cute and TINY!

Color and texture...

Just a bit of color and texture we spotted on our walk to the college. 

Already teenagers...

In just three short weeks, the goslings have transformed from little fuzzballs to gawky teenagers.  You can see they are beginning to develop their bluish fledgling feathers (especially noticeable on the top pic).   The second pic must be a slightly younger family as their heads still have some of the yellowish fuzz.  So cute!

Mosh pit...

I love how babies cuddle up together....love that long neck reaching up in the top pic and all the little nappers in the second. 

Happy Mother's Day!

It's way past Mother's Day now, but this was shot on Mother's Day.  I thought this was super sweet.  I walked towards the babies and they all scurried away to hide close to mama.  So precious!

New spot for photos...

In our search for the goslings, we crossed to the other side of the creek.  This is exactly opposite from where we took our Christmas photos last year.  I actually think I may like this side better.  I love the line of trees....with just the hint of creek peeking between them.  And that little model can't be beat! 

Be still my heart....

On Mother's Day, Kara and I took H to the college by herself to see the goslings.  A stayed home since she had been there several times.  Wouldn't you know, the geese were hiding...so H let me take a shot of her before we headed home.  I just love this....the wildflowers...that cute denim dress...the buildings in the background and those killer blue eyes!

Swimming lessons...

FINALLY caught them in the water. 

Other wildlife...

If we're lucky we get to see some other wildlife on our walks.  I think the top bird is a heron...and of course....we have PLENTY of squirrels. 

Duck feet...

Not the greatest shot in the world, but one of the few shots where you can see their feet.  We haven't been back to the college for a couple of weeks and I'm already wondering how big these little guys are now.  I think they grow VERY quickly, so they probably don't have any yellow anymore and are beginning to look more like mom and dad.  Hopefully we can get back to see them before long!

"But Mom....."

This was by far my favorite shot of the babies.  I just happened to catch this one little moment between mama and baby.  I wonder what they were saying to one another. 

Herding her babies...

Check out how mama herds her babies in the top pic....Her tongue is out because she's hissing. 
And they DID go where she told them to. 

Watchful...

The parents are very protective of their littles, as you can imagine.  Check out the posture of the mama goose in the top pic...standing on one leg (almost like a ballet arabesque).  She was totally warning me not to get any closer.

Puddle jumpers...

We FINALLY got to see the babies!  So stinkin' cute!!!

Artist at work...

We really enjoyed watching this young woman working on her art project by the creek.  What a good idea for her to bring it outdoors instead of working in the stuffy art building.  She was kind enough to let me take her picture.  I asked if her hands hurt after carving on the wood for hours and she said...YES...especially her index finger.  Looking at the bottom shot, I can see why.  Such beautiful work.  I have no idea how many hours of work it represented.  I wish I'd asked if she had plans to stain it or how she would finish her work.

Nesting..

Hard to see in this pic, but the college erected some stands along the creek and the Canada geese actually chose to nest in them.  Above is a distant view.

We crossed the creek for a closer look.  I should have taken a shot of the father goose.  He was on the ground hissing at us.  But I was probably 10 feet away from mama goose here.  She was wary, but calm.  I love seeing the downy stuff in her nest.  I would have LOVED to see the babies newly hatched or even seen eggs, but that didn't happen. 

Stay tuned tho....in a few days, I'll post pictures of the goslings.  There were at least 3 separate families with over 10 babies total.  SO CUTE!

Ducklings...

Searching...

Our purpose for our walk was to find the baby Canada geese we'd heard were recently hatched.  Sadly, we found NONE on this day.  But Bob and A were enjoying some mallard ducklings in the distance here. 

Beautiful view...

Love this creek view and the college buildings in the distance.  I have an old photo of H that I took here so we thought we'd try with A too.  It's tricky for exposure, because there's so much reflection off the creek in the background. These probably aren't perfect, but best I could do.  She's getting more an more cooperative for pictures.  Guess we just have to be patient with littles, right?

Favorite rock...

We took a walk on a recent Grammy Day to the college.  A always wants to stop at her favorite rock on the way for a picture.  Cutie Pie!