My Definition of a Good Day

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My definition  of a good day for me is being outdoors and getting close to the creatures of the wild, even the smallest ones.It is a very good day when I see a few species that I don’t always get to see. This one day I took a small bit of birdseed and my camera to a bird feeder in a  local park and saw a red breasted nuthatch, a white-breasted nuthatch, chickadees, a red squirrel, a downy woodpecker and a piliated woodpecker all in the same area!  I say a small bit of  birdseed, because, while it is a thrill to have these small creatures land in my hand to take a seed or two, they are wild and I don’t want to enable them to rely on humans so much that they forgo their natural abilities. Besides, it is impossible for me  to take a picture when they are flying right at me, too close to the lens to get a shot. Some photos were taken with a 18-55mm lens, others with a Sigma 70-300mm lens.

It is great to combine my love of photography with my love of birds and a priority for me once I bought my DSLR a couple of years ago was to buy a zoom lens to get closer shots of the  birds-I did buy the lens- a cheap one- but it works for me. I can reduce camera shake by using high speed shutter settings or will “cheat” sometimes and take photos in the sports mode. I am so grateful to get out for walks in nature and get close to the inhabitants of the land, as well as to enjoy the land itself, to breathe fresh air, to get exercise and practise seeing the world in a different perspective. I am truly living ” in the moment” and feel free of all the distractions and stresses of the  rest of my world.

It is a moment with my Creator, other creatures and with my self. Whatever the weather, I come back from a trip to nature feeling refreshed and happy.