Schmeekle Reserve @ MindSay

They've been there every morning for the past month and a half. Waking me up with their incessant honking. It was time to hunt the geese. Get them in their feathery rows and honk back at them. This is what it's like to be a silly goose. Just walking out there, the camera and I, my extra eyes eyeing those long necks...



I could only get as close to them as my zoom could which isn't that far at all. The more distant the geese, the blurrier they appear in the limits of my lens. I need a better "gun" to shoot them with!



There's always one that gets a little curious, gets a little too close to me. Note male goose to the left coming to chase her ass back to the flock.



I like how their reflections seem like up-side-down versions of themselves.



This willow was still holding on to its color. In the distance the geese teased me with their honking. They knew my every move and made sure to stay as far away from me as possible. They really look out for each other.



I love the reflection of the trees and the geese and the dead vine still clinging to the willow. These are the colors of November.



Despite the blur, the reflection of these November colors bleed so comfortably well.



The geese only seem like dots in the distance. In reality they dotted the entire lake with the males aggressively showing me their mighty wings, splashing them over the water, hoot-honking wildly as if to tell me to keep away. With them all in the water swimming so swiftly, all those eyes watching me, the nature reserve seems even more alive.



The geese are all over the place. The prints of their passing are all around me.



While the geese flee to the island in the middle of Lake Joanis, I chill out on a bench, stretching out my feet. I wish I could've planted my toes in the wet sand.



It was around 7am or so. The sky kept changing, both dark and light, gold and blue, the water glowed, the geese relaxed for only moments. As soon as I got up, they swam along the edges of the shore I abandoned.



I turn my attention away from the geese for a bit to capture the beauty around me.









These November mornings it's hard to tell if it's afternoon or dawn, the sky is dark and brooding, promising rain or snow or fog.



I reach over the surface of the murkier parts of the lake for a feather I'll never pick up. It's the only evidence of the geese besides the prints of their webbed feet.



I'm always finding faces in the foliage. Here the dried grass seems to be smiling back at me.



I take a moment to hug a birch!



This is my vantage point.



I spook out more geese hiding along the shore.



The geese soak up the dawning sun.



The island seems even more magical from an askew angle.





The branches reach out like arms to welcome the sunshine. How long will we get the sun? The clouds are still heavy, ever threatening to fall down to earth and create a wall of fog this early in the morning.



Not everything is pretty in the woods this morning. With a larger population of big birds comes some big waves of poo. More evidence we are temporarily invaded by geese.



On the other side of the lake, these cattails are fluffing out.



Can you see the geese dotting the edges of the island in the near distance?



I start to want to fall asleep. I soon don't realize that I've been outside for more than three hours.



As soon as I get back up, I needed to pee BAD! I actually quickly took a pee behind these cattails hoping that no passing joggers would spy my big ass sticking out. Yeah. I used the same "outdoor bathroom" that the geese did!



I took an accidentally-on-purpose photo in an area of the nature reserve where I most often capture orbs of light. This time I caught some kind of ghostly cloud. I thought it was my breath, so next I took another picture of the area with me deliberately breathing over the lens...



Nothing.



Nearby there were these lovely red berries. Are they choke berries? Their brillant red shapes stood out like waxy bits of lipstick.



The other side of the island. Complete with a discarded used condom. Lovely, eh? Takes all types I guess. I didn't notice the condom until I uploaded the photo! Ack.



On the other side the geese got braver, or just more used to me chasing them around.



I love how the wind gently stirs up the water to make the reflections of trees all squiggily.



I was singing my love to the geese at this point.



They stood by for a few moments, then once they saw I didn't have any crumbs or anything to give them, they swam away from me again. It didn't stop me from singing to them, tho.



Before I left, I expressed my love in another way.



If only geese could read.

Early Tuesday morning I got up to find my apartment and neighboring woods enveloped by fog. In the distance I could hear the loud calls of geese and the air was warm, magical. I quickly put on my coat and, still in my pajamas, went out for a walk with my camera to see what I could capture with my lens. It was amazing.



The island seemed imaginary, like a place out of Fairy tale and legend.



I love how the mist transformed the landscape. It was like I was still asleep, walking in my sleep, unsure where I would end up next, or what I would find waiting for me on the other side of the woods.



The water was clear and still, mirroring the trees and revealing fallen leaves. I could've walked across the water to still places unknown... and wet.



Evidence of other creatures appear in muddy prints on some of the rocks along the shore, a sign I wasn't alone. Those geese were out there somewhere. I could hear them call at each other, obviously aware I was there. The sound of them moved away from me in the direction I was walking. Unseen, they were a distant wave of sound breaking the cloudy silence.



There were MANY geese out that morning and they hid in the fog. You can barely make them out on camera as well as by eye sight. I regretted not bringing any bread crumbs. I bet they would've moved toward me and been less afraid if I can come with food. This was as close as I could get to them. Their feathers were evident all along the shore, so were their prints, but they dared not venture close to shore. These were wild geese, avoiding all human contact in a world all their own.



To my delight, I spyed a very large, lonely white-as-a-ghost mute swan swimming a few feet away from the geese on the other side of the island. I just stood there in awe of him. He turned to me, swam a bit closer to me, but like the geese, he didn't get too close to shore. I sang to him a wordless song. Seeing him was like falling in love. I considered his presence a good omen. The mystical swan is a source of legend, an greatly auspicious sign of grace, a poet's boon. I had never seen a swan in the nature reserve. This had me bouncing with joy. I really wanted to capture him on camera, but he appeared as only a ghostly speck of white in the mist.



I am happy that the swan appeared for me this week. He tells me that the new year will bring inspiration and success with song and poetry -- to have the swan as a spirit guide denotes the ability to see into the future, to have the ability to transform ones circumstances for good, and to recognize the beauty within myself and others. I will endeavor to create beauty where ever I go. I have a swan feather at home. Best time is now to use its medicine. The swan is a Samhain bird. He represents the soul, music, poetry, purity... power. Thank you, Swan, for appearing to me.

Before the last two rainy day weeks we've had, I went out with my camera and captured a few memorable scenes from Schmeekle Reserve (my backyard). I love how each day reveals to me, through the camera's eye, the beautiful details of each moment. It's so relaxing to know that those green trees and that lake are only a few steps away from my door!

I got as close as I could to the lake's surface. The day I took this photo, the sky was so bright, the wind barely there, the lake was so clear, you could see to the bottom. After seeing a few fish squirm and swim by, it soon became my ambition to try to capture them with my camera. I was kinda-sorta successful... If you embiggen and look real close, you'll see some fish-shaped creatures, most of them perch, flittering about.




You could say I was fishing without a pole! Or lures. But there's only so much my little digital camera could capture. I soon got bored with the fish and headed deeper into the back woods to meet up with a few of my favorite white-tailed deer. This time they got very, very close up to me. I was self conscious around them, afraid I'd scare them away, so some of the photos are a bit grainy and blurry.

One of the does was faraway from me at first, but as soon as she noticed me she became very protective of another deer who was closer to me. She started to gingerly approach me...


You can just barely see her here. She stuck very close to the trees. Interesting how deer can blend in with the green.

She pretended to be eating, but really she was checking me out. Suddenly, she was RIGHT BEHIND ME!

It's amazing how much you realize how big deer are once they are only a few feet away from you. This is why she got up so close to me:




The other doe, I'm guessing, was young, possibly the one behind me's maturing fawn. She was so close to me and, once I turned to my left to notice her, she immediately sat down in the tall grass. I know it's silly, but I just started talking softly to the deer, trying to indicate to them I meant no harm, that I liked them. And "please don't attack me with those sharp hooves of yours!"



Seems the "Mommy" deer just circled around me and the younger deer to communicate to me that she's the one looking after the younger one. She also seemed to be saying to the young doe to keep her distance from me and/or stay still. Pretty soon both deer relaxed and realized I was no threat and they both got up to continue to eat some of the brilliant green leaves. I soon felt guilty about taking photos of them. Was I interupting their meal? Not really. After a few joggers, a group of noisy kids, and an eldery couple raced by without even noticing the deer I was sharing space with, the deer didn't get spooked and stayed close to me off the trail. I then felt flattered that they considered me cool.

The little one got up once they seemed to get a little bored with me.


I don't think I will EVER get bored with deer. Or any of the wildlife around me. Now if only I could capture the Black Bear in the area on film! But that might not be wise.

I was very impressed with how majestic this tree was!

My feet while I relax high up in a tree house. I always wear Mary Jane style shoes.

Previous visitors have left their marks on the tree house. Every week there's something new written there. It's forest graffiti! These are my favorite lines (which pretty much sum up my sentiments about this place):


Pretty much sums things up.

These are the places where you expect to find faeries, where one step off the path can lead you into another dimension, can find yourself where the wild things are, or you find yourself at peace, free of the fetters that keep you tied to your worries. You never really know who or what you are going to encounter...

From a distance he looked dead. My CSI-influenced mind and morbid imagination had me reaching for the camera to take evidence.

I didn't know who he was and wouldn't wake up when I shook him, but I was relieved to see he was breathing. He stank of alcohol so bad, it stung my nose. He just snored and sucked on his thumb. Just a lost little boy in the woods cradled by the faeries until he was sober enough to go home. Or maybe the faeries did capture him and he's gone somewhere in between the woods and the rest of the world...?


My feet and thoughts turn away from our drunk friend to follow the sun beams into the trees.



Tree pollen outlines the lake with a white mustard yellow. The branches only just bloomed into their green leaves a couple weeks ago. Gone are all the dry browns. Here come the blossom-decked days of late May.





I'm not used to being up so early in the morning. I face the sunlight with my peacock feather earrings on and soak up the energy.

Okay, so I'm a sucker for the woods. Here's evidence to prove how silly I get when out in the green:


Everywhere I go, I find blossoms on every side.


Almost out of the woods, I take a moment to peek back at the island. I am in awe how each different time of day makes such a difference in how the land looks. I might have to wake up early more often, that is, if my love for staying up late at night ever wanes!



It's now time to head back home for breakfast. I follow the joggers along the trail out, stopping to smell the honeysuckle.


I come back later at dusk, right at the moment were every minute is turning darker, darker, darkest. Despite being told that there is a small black bear wandering the same patch of woods as me, I do not fear. Yet a great big part of me wants to cross his path and capture him on film. Very difficult to do even if I did meet him. Black bears are the ninjas of the forest, especially at night. I don't blame him for wanting to live in my neck of the woods. Everywhere is sweet smelling, intoxicating, and I am so in love, it hurts, hurts because I long to share this experience of living here with everyone, knowing the only way I can do just that is to keep taking photos and posting them on my blog. Yes. This is the only way I can interupt your busy lives and drag you along with me on my walks into darkness and sunlight.

Mind you, I'm not exactly alone in the woods tonight. There are others walking the same path. We briefly say hello and move on. Not unlike anything else.





I pause for a moment to touch some trees, to deeply breathe in the air, and swat away a few misquitoes. A good time as any for a few self portraits with my favorite woods.


The island takes on mystery as the sun goes down.

Bringing on the flash, I capture ghost bubbles and lights all along the lake.

Even my face in the dark makes me out to be a kind of ghost.

The branches of trees in night make intricate lace patterns in the fading light.


At night everything in the woods takes on a creepy vibe, like even the trees are asking: "Why aren't you back home yet?" or "Come this way to enter another world more fantasical than your own..."

More ghost light encourages me to explore deeper...

Blurry blossoms moved by night wind recieve an errie glow in the lamplight along the street. We are not completely out of the woods. I am stepping out of the dark into the amber. Night folds over me like a welcome blanket.

Applying some flash light, the blossoms take on a new, clearer look. The dark frames them, making them appear even more bright.




It is soon too dark to take pictures, so once I get to a street light pole it's my cue to head back home.


Good night.