Category Archives: Nature

Foggy Morning

November 10, 2015 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Disorienting fog hung over the river yesterday morning; the water was like glass where you could see it. Little would you know that the water stretches about 1000 feet to the opposite bank. We could hear plenty of song birds around and a larger bird, perhaps an Eagle, winging up or down the river, but very few came into sight. The woodpeckers’ drilling was muted in the heavy air.

The sun was up and blue sky appeared and disappeared overhead.

The frost on the nude branches formed into drops as the air warmed, adding to the eerie feeling as they drop, drop, dropped.

Nature

Birch Stand

October 30, 2015 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

I like birch trees. They add something to a landscape in all seasons, the white bark providing contrast in any environment. In New England it is not uncommon to see birch trees snapped in two after a heavy snow. The slender trunks bend under the weight and at some point it becomes too much. Even if they don’t break the first time they don’t always stand back up, leaving birch arches, that while pretty, are even more susceptible to damage.

In the above stand of birch at the edge of the big pond at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford each tree is standing tall: a testament to resilience after last winter’s heavy and constant snow. The ones below are listing a little. They have all shed their leaves in preparation for another winter and I hope to see them still standing in the spring.

Flowers, Nature

Gone to Seed

October 18, 2015 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Dried Milkweed pods releasing their feathery seeds to the wind.

Framed prints, unframed prints, and specialty canvas, aluminum and acrylic prints are available for purchase at our online gallery.

Nature, Wildlife

Zoo Animals

October 17, 2015 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Many of the exhibits at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI, are constructed so that visitors can see at least the faces of the animals without looking through fencing, posts or wires. Presumably these exhibits include those animals unable to escape from these enclosures that take advantage of elevation differences, moats, or an animal’s disability.

However, there is a plexiglas barrier between you and the big cats, making for a tough shot of these leopards piled up together on a rock in the sun.

It was late morning on a warm fall day when we went and many of the animals were resting, but the elephants and giraffes were very actively having lunch.

Click on a photo for larger view or slideshow.

Birds, Nature

Autumn View

October 11, 2015 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Vines and leaves are drying up and shrinking back even though we have not yet had a frost in central Connecticut. Views are starting to expand and birds are mores easily seen in spots that have been hidden by summer’s lush foliage.

We walked this morning along a mowed path at the edge of a wooded wildlife management area, easily spotting many species of birds that just weeks ago we could only hear.

Click on any photo below for larger view or slide show.

After a frost that will help make the poison ivy even more visible I’ll venture off the path.

American Southwest, Nature, Transportation

Adventure

September 30, 2015 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

We had driven all around Sedona, Arizona, seeing the red rocks from all the tourist spots at various heights from the top of the airport mesa down to the water at Red Rock State Park. Anywhere you looked there is some size “rock” jutting up into the sky.

The ultimate adventure was to see it from above, where the pace was slow and the air quiet, at the whim of a hot air balloon. I was a little nervous but the skill the crew from Red Rock Balloons demonstrated as they unpacked, rolled out, and inflated our balloon eased my fears. The pilot was clear in his instructions to us, including how to climb into the basket -I’m not that nimble- and what was going to happen when we came down.

The heat from the dancing flames took the chill off the early September morning.

There were three balloons in our group . We were the first to lift off and saw the other two complete their final preparation.

You really couldn’t feel movement as we drifted out into the valley. The sun rose and the light changed rapidly.

In just minutes the entire valley was lit.

We startled a few small groups of mule deer.

In about an hour we were back on the ground. The pilot discharged the end of the fuel to cool the tubing, the balloon came down, and the crew packed everything back in the trailer.