Mother "Goose", Conservative "Hawks" & "Bleeding Heart" Liberals

Some may say that my current obession with my 'Lil Darlin' borders on the psychotic! I read today where the incubation period of the Canada Goose is an average of 28 days. This can vary slightly due to temperature, and given the unusually cool weather we've had lately (remember the "Snail" from my previous post this weekend?!) I imagine it may be a slightly longer incubation period for her gaggle of goslings to be hatched. Since I've now been watching her for a while, I figured that I need to increase my visitation so as to not miss them when they do hatch! I MUST see them!!!

Only 1 posted shot of her today ... and I can tell you're all thrilled! I noticed one of her downy feathers hanging off a branch just a few feet away. I really liked the shallow DOF by focusing on the feather. Your opinions may vary wildly.

As anyone who has visited my blog over time knows, I like shots that are sharp. Actually, I'm a sharpness addict. But, walking by these reflected tulips, they really caught my eye. Intentionally, I stopped the lens down to slow down the shutter speed to give some nice movement to the water. You know what? I rather like it! It reminds me of a painting from one of the great Impressionists. Perhaps I will shoot it again with even less light for a much longer shutter speed.

And lastly, as I was pulling out of the parking lot to go back home, I noticed a Cooper's Hawk dive bombing an unsuspecting meal. Surprisingly enough, this Hawk gave me the opportunity to hook a U-Turn and park my truck, get out and snap this shot before taking off with its prey in its talons. This is approximately a 50% crop (foreground grass cropped out) as I had the 200mm lens on and zero time to change. Yes indeed Sheri that 500mm or 600mm prime would be SOOOOO nice and would have come in VERY handy for this shot!

Mat