![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-way-pond-at-farmington.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFor the umpteenth day in a row we had dismal light yesterday morning but I just had to get out.<\/p>\n
By yesterday morning after so many days of being stuck at home because of crappy weather and light I’d developed a near-terminal case of cabin fever. Satellite maps and radar from several online sites showed no clouds anywhere nearby but as it was beginning to get light it quickly became obvious that the satellite link was malfunctioning.\u00a0 I stewed about it for a while but then decided to go to Farmington Bay WMA anyway. I had an itch that needed scratching, decent light or not.<\/p>\n
In that dismal light I was prepared to be skunked but when it actually turned out that way it was still hard to take.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This was what greeted me at the 4-way pond – clouds, very low light and a mix of fog and gunk in the developing inversion layer at the base of the mountains. There were a few birds on the pond including two grebe species but it was a waste of time to even try to photograph them. The following two photos will illustrate why.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-7864-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I found a handsome Rough-legged Hawk, most likely a male, on Goose Egg Hill but even if there hadn’t been branches and leaves between me and the bird it would have been wasted effort to aim my lens his way in that light.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/american-pipit-7896-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The best photo I was able to manage still wasn’t worth keeping. The American Pipit is sharp but it’s a ho-hum shot with so little light in the eye that I had to enhance the existing catch light to even make it visible at this low resolution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/wildlife-center-from-goose-egg-hill.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
So I went back to Goose Egg Hill where I had a bit of a view to lick my wounds and sulk a little. While there I could see the new Eccles Wildlife Center in the middle distance in this photo so I decided to pay my good friend Billy Fenimore a visit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/billy-fenimore-at-the-wildlife-center.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Followers of Feathered Photography will likely remember that Billy is the manager of the Wildlife Center. He’s such a positive, pleasant person and all around nice guy it always lifts my spirits to spend time with him.<\/p>\n
I asked Billy to pose in front of their Birds of the Month list, a tradition started by Justina Bernstein, the manager of the previous Nature Center at Farmington Bay. I was delighted when Billy continued the tradition – it’s a list of every bird species seen each month on the refuge and at the adjacent Wildlife Center. It inspires visitors to look for birds that have been seen in the area recently.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As I was about to leave Farmington and head for home I sat in the parking lot and wondered what else I could do to put a more positive spin on my morning. I knew it was wasted effort to tour the refuge again so I called my long-time friend Monica Witucki to see if it would be convenient if I paid her a short visit on my way home. Monica is the wife of my best friend over the last 50 years, Jim Witucki. Readers may remember that Jim unexpectedly passed away recently and I hadn’t seen Monica since Jim’s funeral two weeks ago. I wanted to pay my respects and see how she’s doing and she sounded enthusiastic about me stopping by. So I did.<\/p>\n
Monica is very sad but she’s also tough and resilient so I’m confident she’ll bounce back given enough time. We reminisced, laughed and shed a few tears during our extended visit and I headed for home feeling both pensive and uplifted by the strength of her personality and her indomitable sense of humor. Part of my purpose for the visit was to uplift her spirits but she ended up uplifting mine.<\/p>\n
As soon as I got home I read Jim’s obituary<\/a> again. He wrote it himself so it’s strongly reflective of his personality.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After a quick lunch I decided to visit Pixels Foto and Frame to check on the progress of the prints of the “Coyote Fascinated By His Own Reflection” image some of my blog readers have ordered. Management and staff at Pixels have become my good friends over the years because I buy all of my photo gear there and they do all of my printing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is Ray Taggart, “The Boss” at Pixels, holding the 11×17 print on metal paper ordered by blog follower Art Lang. The 8×10 prints ordered by others have also been printed and if I say so myself they all look very good. Prints will be shipped today and as soon as that happens I’ll be sending tracking information to those who ordered the prints.<\/p>\n Ray is smiling so broadly because just before I snapped his picture I told him his zipper was down. It works every time…<\/em><\/p>\n For locals who may be looking for reliable, professional, knowledgeable and friendly printing services (or a local source for photography gear) I heartily recommend Pixels Foto and Frame<\/a>. Ray, Will, Grayson and Jake take very good care of me and I’m confident they’d do the same for you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anyway, that’s how my day went yesterday. This edition of Feathered Photography turned out to be more personal than I originally intended but I often don’t know where I’ll end up when I begin composing a post.<\/p>\n Good or bad that’s just part of the flavor of Feathered Photography.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PS – Regarding the last photo: I may know what I’m doing with a DSLR camera and super telephoto lens but it’s another story when I’m using a cell phone and photographing people. Some long time readers will probably notice that I have a tendency to put “bird hats” on my human subjects. <\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coyote-reflection-print-at-pixels-foto-and-frame.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n