Mark Twain and Muscatine Iowa have a bit of a history. In 1853 Mark Twain’s brother Orion Clemens became a part-owner of the newspaper. Beginning when he was eighteen years old, Twain’s contributions to the Journal represent his earliest attempts at travel writing. Twain once remarked that he remembered Muscatine for its summer sunsets. I’d suggest that the … Read more
We are blessed to have many different woodpeckers in the backyard woods where I live. Add in a few flickers and it’s a nice assortment. We’re just missing a consistent visit by the Pileated Woodpecker…the largest of the lot. But the redheads and red-bellies make up for it, much of the time. I love the … Read more
While visiting the Loess Bluffs refuge in northwest Missouri, you notice one thing pretty quickly. If the weather is mild, like it has been this winter so far, there will be a lot of birds there. Mostly snow geese, which isn’t unusual. Millions of them will pass through here, particularly on their migration back north … Read more
The winter leading into 2019 has been a mild one so far. Way too mild temperature wise. Eagles just won’t congregate in warmer weather, like they do when it get’s really cold and a lot of waters freeze up. But by mid January, it’s starting to cool off. This image was taken on one of … Read more
Tis the season…for eagle photography in the upper midwest. This is the time those of us who enjoy this pastime, look forward to. It has to be cold, and a good build up of snow doesn’t hurt either. This bird is heading back to a stable perch in order to feast on this good sized … Read more
Make no mistake, this beauty rules the backyard feeders. I used to think Blue Jays or Red Bellied Woodpeckers were pretty bossy. They’d announce their arrival well ahead of time, and if any other birds where near the feeder they wanted to command, they were soon shown the door. But try to scrap with this … Read more