Cardinal

There are at least three couples of cardinals that have been eating at the feeders lately, and i'm always impressed with their colors. Along with the blue jays that come, they are the most colorful, although the female cardinals are a more muted color, with more browns and grays. Sadly i don't seem to have the camera ready when they are all there, or i just miss them. 

Infrared Street view

This is a shot out of my front upstairs window, with my new correct sized infrared filter. It seems to be a slightly different color but also seems to get the effect of the trees better. That could also be since it's very sunny and clear out, but still kind of cold at 10F (-12C) with a wind chill of -2F (-19C), so it's almost tropical after the last few days. ;) Hard to tell how much snow has fallen too, but there was quite a bit of it the other night and it made for slick roads. 

Same area facing south

This is an infrared view from the road where i took the last photo, but facing south. There is a school to the right, and this is a large open area where people play sports and such. Not much use during winter other than walking through and snowmobiles. 

I'm missing that 40 degree weather the other day. It rained yesterday morning when the temperature was still in the high 30s and then dropped to about zero during the day. Then it snowed. Now it's -4F (-20C) with a wind chill of around -23F (-31C) and the roads are ice covered with snow on top of that. Almost all schools are closed from what it looks like and the roads are slick. Except for the roads, this is the weather that looks like the rest of the week is going to be this cold. 

Hoffman park

This is actually my first attempt at infrared digital photography, on my un-modified camera with a filter that doesn't actually quite fit the lens. I'm not sure if i'm doing it exactly right, but i took this as the sun was going down and it was pretty overcast. Hoffman Park is on the north east side of town, and as you can see here, covered in snow. I was kind of surprised saturday got near 40F, but a blizzard with freezing rain is predicted, so i should enjoy it while it lasts. 

Library entrance

This is the entrance to the local library, i had planned on taking pictures inside, but it was closed. Kind of surprised it was closed for "Cleaning and inventory" on a Friday afternoon. I counted at least ten people go up to the door and notice it was closed in the few minutes it took me to take this picture. This was taken with a fish eye lens, the pillars are all straight. 

South Pointe

This is South Pointe, from what i gather it's a senior living place. I first noticed it after not driving south of town for a while and it's pretty massive. There are buildings behind this building. Located almost right on the city limits south of town. 

River Falls Academy

This is what i believe to be the River Falls Academy, i'm not too sure what goes on in there, but i've always been impressed with the building. This was taken today, which has started out sunny and clear, but now is working on being overcast. Still pretty cold though, 12F (-11C), but seeing as how i know it will be colder later on, this isn't too bad when the sun is out. I'd talk more about the school, but honestly i know very little, the web site probably has more than i know and can say. 

Upside down

This guy was eating like this as the other one was eating below. Normally they fight when they see each other, but this time they were sharing nicely. 

Snowy face

One of the many squirrels that get food from the feeders. This one was rooting under the snow, which there was plenty of after the last storm, some places got a half a foot. I had other pictures that i was wanting to use, but i wasn't thinking and they were all over exposed and not good looking. 

Geese

This is a shot of several Canadian geese (at least i think so) downtown in the river at the same time as the construction pictures. There is probably a lot more snow now there, but i think they are still hanging out there like they seem to enjoy doing. 

TtV Snow

Oh look, more snow. ;) I'm having a feeling this winter is going to have a lot of snow and be pretty cold, even though it took a while to get going. It seems to start out slowly up here, and then around January or February really take off with cold and snow. We already have somewhere around a half a foot or so on the ground. This photo is one of those Through the Viewfinder ones i've been playing with. 

More snow

Here is another picture of snow, as it was snowing when i got back from the dentist (root canal second part if you were wonderng). This wasn't as long as the other day, but the flakes were much bigger and fell slowly. You can even see a lot of them in this photo out onto my deck if you enbiggen the image. I also didn't notice the squirrel on the leftmost feeder until i looked closer. 

Big snow

Yesterday we had a big snow, not sure how deep, but this was taken as it was still falling. Ignore the reflections in the window, i didn't see them when i was taking this but i liked how it looked otherwise.

Best Western downtown

This is the new hotel being built downtown across from Kwik Trip, from what i hear it's going to be a Best Western. It seems like ages since they started this, but that could be because it causes a little traffic snarl. Seems like a good choice location for a hotel (or motel, not sure there) since it's also right across the street from the local university. The other ones i know of are closer to the north side of town about two miles or so from here. 

New City Hall

From what i'm told, this is the new city hall being built. This was actually taken a little while ago today, so if you compare it to the earlier picture of the same construction a bit down the blog, you can see they are zooming right along. Faster than the Best Western also downtown it seems, but i know very little about what goes into building something like this. 

Ladybug

Kind of surprised to keep seeing these in my house, the first big snow that is going to stay just happened today, so i figured they would be gone soon. Surprisingly they do bite, not often, but you'll feel a nip sometimes when they land on you. I'm guessing what they normally eat isn't very common in my house. 

Black Friday

Today is considered "Black Friday" for the amount of Chirstmas shopping people do that i sets their accounts in the black. Or so i'm told. This insect was on my door a few weeks ago drinking a water drop after a rain. What do the two have to do with each other? Nothing other than i hate going out during Black Friday and i hate to be stung by these, at least i think i would, i've never been stung by them. 

Happy Thanksgiving

These are wild turkeys at my parent's house not too far from here, so not technically River Falls, but since i didn't have something so fitting i wanted to post, i am using it. My parents live in a small town, right near the edge and these turkeys, several actually with there being over a dozen this day, so these are illegal to hunt which makes me happy. 

Hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving. 

Chrysalis

I have been keeping to myself a lot, not going out and getting photographs, and while in i have been trying to clean more. While cleaning i found these. I'm a little afraid to know what came out of them, but they seem sort of symbolic for what i'm trying to do. I've been letting my fears, depression, and all that rule my life, so now i'm going to try harder to come out of my shell and be more like how i would like to be.

I took this here in River Falls, so to me it counts. ;)

Yard Bunnies

Here are two of the wild rabbits that hang out in my yard. The one in the foreground either heard me or saw me in the window with the camera. I have a pretty good yard for them, lots of cover and such, with lots of clover they seem to love eating. Seeing bunnies other than those that live with me happy is something that brings a bit of joy to me, i know mine are happy as i spoil them rotten. This was taken a day or two ago.

Monarch

This is a picture of a monarch butterfly, not actually in River Falls, but at my parent's house a couple of hours away. I haven't seen any this year up here, or for a couple of years at least, but i do remember seeing them around. People mention the bees are going away, but i haven't heard much about the butterflies.

Same Construction

This is another view of the construction, this time looking towards downtown. I wish all construction sites had signs saying what was being built, i know i'm always curious, especially when it's this big.

Construction

I guess this is a good indicator of how much i have been out of it, i just noticed this construction yesterday. There is more large construction south of where this is, but i've never noticed this before, and have no clue what it is going to be.

Been a while

It's been a rough couple of months, which started with a very dear friend of mine taking her own life, and the motivation to get out there and get photos or even post old ones here just wasn't there. Hopefully i can get back into the groove now.

Here is one of my favorite things to do, take photographs of the wild bunny that lives in my yard. This was taken earlier this summer, when the dandelions were going crazy. The little guy eats them, along with the clover that grows a lot in my yard, so that's good, hopefully they avoid the gardens around here, i know that upsets the gardeners.

Snake

Here is a common snake, although i forget which type, i'm thinking it's a grass snake. One of my friends saw it first, and sadly there is a twig in the way of it on my photo, but i still like it.

Structure

I'm not sure what this structure is, but it was along the river. Could have been someone just decided to make it, or whatever. It didn't seem like it had been used in a while though so i may never find out.

Beaver tree

This was a pleasant surprise, seeing a tree cut down by a beaver down by the river. I love seeing nature doing its thing, even when i don't get to see the actual animals doing it. I feel this is one advantage of living in a smaller town, seeing more variety of animals and nature, and this is in the city limits too.

People on the river

Here are some people enjoying the river and the lovely day. This is the more southern damn, where we went for a walk. They waved at us right after this picture, but i didn't get that.

Lower part of the river

Yesterday some friends of mine took me on a walk through a part of town that i hadn't been to before and didn't even really know how to get to. There are trails down the south part of the river past another damn. Here is a wider shot of river and the path is on the left side, which winds around and around, up and down hills. Took us about an hour and a half to walk the parts we went on, and was awesome exercise. I have a lot of photos from the walk that i will probably follow up on.

Memorial Day

Today is when we observe Memorial Day in America. I've never really understood why they move the holiday so there is a three day weekend, you could just have it so there is a day off and leave the holiday on its day. It was very sunny and quite warm while taking these, and my allergies were getting to me. Hopefully there won't be storms like last night where several people were injured not far from here and grapefruit sized hail. It was clear earlier but now there are lots of clouds and stronger wind.

Pollen

This is a picture of hyacinth pollen. The reason is that my allergies are going crazy, worst attacks in years, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, all that. Almost non-stop too, and it's getting annoying. I don't know about everyone else, but it seems stronger this spring, maybe the cooler weather made the plants act different, i don't have a clue. Thankfully it rained today after getting above 80F.

Flowers

Here are some of the blooming flowers in my yard. I love seeing the blooming flowers and green now that spring has come. I was worried after the late snow not long ago that what had come up had been killed by frost or cold. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case.

Mourning dove

I know i take a lot of pictures of these birds, but i love them. I especially like this one, as i've never noticed the part by the neck that is kind of shimmery and iridescent looking. The weather is getting good during the day, and my foot is getting back to normal, so hopefully i will be able to get out more and get more varied photographs.

Tree bud

This is a picture of one of buds on one of my trees. I am bad at knowing what types of trees are which, but it's good to see leaves coming back to the trees. Even though my allergies are going crazy, it's good spring is more here.

River the other way

This is a TtV shot of the river from the swinging bridge facing the other way, east i believe. Hopefully now that my foot is feeling better i can get out there and get some more recent shots as the flowers are starting to bloom and green is showing more. It's supposed to rain more sunday, Mother's day. Happy Mothers day to all out there.

Stump

This is a stump in the park with the bridge. I liked the fungus on it, and it was pretty large, about two hands large. Nothing rare or special, just something i thought was interesting.

sign in park

This is a sign in the park next to the swinging bridge. I didn't get any pictures of what the sign is talking about, if you can read it when you make it bigger, so you will have to use your imagination. ;)

Power Plant TtV

This is the power plant from the river, right near where i fell in actually. The river down there isn't too deep, a couple of feet or so from what i saw, but there is a warning sign by the hole on the building saying to stay clear. It seems to churn a lot more there and could be dangerous if someone wasn't careful.

River from the bridge

Here is another TtV photo from the swinging bridge looking down on the river. You can sort of see where i fell in later on. There were people fishing and just enjoying the weather, later they were laughing. The trees are finally starting to get buds on them, but you can't really tell from these pictures.

Swinging bridge

This is one of the pictures i took before falling in the river. It's a technique called "through the viewfinder", where you take a picture through one of the old ground glass style viewfinders on older cheaper cameras. The swinging bridge always make me nervous, it bounces with each step and is pretty high up, so i tend to get a little vertigo if i look to the sides. Pretty sure it won't fall, pretty sure.

The river, up close

This is the river below the damn, and the falls. Shortly after i took this, i slipped on a rock, and fell in. I landed on several sharp and hard rocks, and got drenched. I got several large bruises, some broken skin, and my right foot now hurts so much it's hard to walk on. I'm pretty sure i twisted it trying not to fall, but didn't do too well. Since it was a gorgeous day otherwise, there were a lot of people to laugh when i fell in. Kind of disappointed that people still were laughing and making jokes while i was drenched and bleeding. I guess it's funny when it's not them.

Doves in tree

Here are two of the local mourning doves that come to my feeders just sitting together in the tree. Thankfully the non-spring weather has apparently passed, and the temps are more spring like and warmer, although still colder at night. There were some tornado warnings on the other side of Minnesota earlier tonight, and thunderstorms are currently rolling into town. Anything but snow seems good at this point.

Grackle in snow

This was also taken yesterday, as a grackle was getting food on my deck. It's strange that it feels like late fall, not early spring. The green was just starting to come up, so i hope this cold doesn't kill all the plants.

Snow in late April

This is what i woke up to this morning, snow on the ground and snow still falling in the afternoon. It's 37F right now, and it just feels wrong this late in April. They predict more as the weekend goes on.

Find the bunny

This is a very chilly and soaked yard bunny hanging out in the bushes in front of my house. I'm pretty sure it's the same one that i have sitting on the sidewalk. It's been raining pretty steady for a while now, going from hard to lightly, but i guess that is good for the plants even though south of here has flood watches. The thing that kind of surprises me is that they are predicting snow over night on a couple days this weekend. It won't stay long, but still, that's kind of depressing, snow in late April early May.

Theater

This is the theater in town, it's pretty well known for being very cheap, last time i was there it was about a couple bucks for ticket and the same for popcorn. I could see a film and get a snack for less than just the ticket at a normal theater. The only thing is the movies aren't the newest, not that old, but slightly behind the multiplexes. Sadly i haven't been out to a movie in a long time, besides not many i have been really interested in, i just haven't had it in me.

Yard bunny in sunset

Today is my 38th birthday, and yesterday as i had the front door open to air out the house, i saw this yard bunny sitting right in front of my door. He stayed there for at least ten minutes, just watching and sitting and listening. It's been a pretty rough time so far, but this was a nice moment of happy.

Mourning dove

This is one of the mourning doves that hangs out at my feeders, sitting on a frozen bunny bedding pan full of water. I just love the blue eyes and colors of the feathers. That pan needs to be emptied, i use the bedding to help fertilize the plants and such, but it got froze.

Snow again, and again

There has been snow the last few days, actually alternating between snow, rain, and a type of slush. Thankfully they say by tuesday it's going to be around 60F, and i can't wait. This was taken out of my kitchen window friday.

Downtown river

I'm pretty sure that the river that goes through downtown is the Kinnikinnick, and this is the view of it from Veterans Park near the bridge. No ice now, even though there is a winter storm coming soon. Spring keeps teasing us, but then snowing again. The bunnies are eager for spring, and are getting a bit "frisky", making them even harder to behave.