Golden Sky

Today was a free day.  A day all to myself.  So, after sleeping in and eating a massive bowl of granola, I grabbed my camera and headed for the woods.  I'm rather lucky, see, in order to get to the woods you have to go for a nice walk along the river, pass tons of dogs and waterfowl, meander across a meadow and climb a few rolling hills.  Not a bad way to reach my destination.  

...and not a bad destination.  Those trees were very tall.  They might just be able to get at whatever it is they are reaching for.

Elusive Birds of Middle Creek

Today, my wife and I took a trip to our favorite place to hike and see wildlife.  I always get so frustrated by the pamphlets that can be found there.  Basically, the photography of the animals and landscape is pretty poor, in my opinion.  I feel I could do much better, but never get around to offering my services. Perhaps it's a good thing I'm yet to do so.
Normally the photos I get from Middle Creek are quite decent.  Today, though, I came across two birds, slightly hidden, and I realized there might be a reason that the photography isn't as good as it could be.  It was hard for me to get the shots I wanted, and the results really are less than fantastic.  But they remind me oh so much of the pamphlet photography.  Here they are:

Pheasant

I did not do this beautiful bird justice.  Let it be known that it was hiding in a grove, avoiding me and my camera.

Canadian Goose

I like the way the bushes frame the goose.  I don't like the fact that sometimes I can't move around and get my subject from the direction that I'd like to get it from.