Mindful

Sandhill Crane

Spring is well underway - finally! - which means more time outdoors looking for birds and any other wild critters that happen along.  An otter here, a muskrat there.  Migratory birds we are always pleased to glimpse on their journey further north or west.  Migratory birds that stay in southcentral Alaska such as Sandhill Cranes and American Robins. All the fauna, big and small, we've been out and about looking for them.  

Yellow-rumped Warbler

A few days ago I realized I'm not often reaching for my camera or my phone these days.  I'm not regularly trying to capture things to either post here or save to my laptop or keep on my phone for occasional perusal.  Perhaps without realizing it, I've been choosing to be more in the moment, more mindful of what is in front of me rather than worrying about getting a clear image for later. 

wood frog

This dawned on me after spending the afternoon at a local lagoon with my husband.  We saw lots and lots of birds including a flock we spent a good deal of time trying to identify (we're 97-ish% sure they were Whimbrels).  More important by far than photographing them was spending a warm & sunny day with my husband, having lovely conversations with other birders, and simply enjoying the birds doing what birds do.  I ought to do this more often.

Belted Kingfisher

For this post I'm including photos taken in previous rambles.  

immature Red-necked Grebe