ice pigeon...

it went flying across the lake landscape - which had a fine dusting of ice after fog had covered over it...

...taking to the mountains she went - flying away from me

...happy day

progression of landing...

the thrill of victory...  success with making the final turn in the air - approaching an imaginary landing strip - spreading wings... skimming over the water to a beautiful stop - plopping gracefully into the little lake... 

all done very quickly - after much practice, i'm sure - yet to my eye - appears technically perfect for a duck...  sometimes that "plopping" really is a plop as they forget to put the brakes on fast enough - almost going head over webbed feet into the water!  those times are fairly rare, though... 

usually what i'm privy to - is a gorgeous dance of fluid motion which is stunning, because it's nature at its best - putting on a show for me to enjoy - free to watch and observe - to marvel and wonder at how they do it - to clap my hands at their success; encourage their moments in the sun... 

and when they lighting is working with me - exceptional in its brilliance - i can capture those moments of gracefulness on film  - playing with pastel loveliness as if i were an artist with a brush painting on canvas...  it fills me with unending joy...

happy day.....

duck formation...

...up in the sky

yes - yes, it is... ducks - not birds - not geese...

ducks, my friends! how often do we see this, i ask...

typically, it is geese in formation - i see flying through the air - circling around my little lake - looking to land... or perhaps pigeons - maybe starlings... but ducks? so rare to see them coming in, in a group, let alone couples! - usually i tend to see them straggling in one-by-one - on their own - as if they're oh, so independent...

  so it was that i was doing a 2-step, quick dance in the snow - watching them high in the blue sky - their bodies appearing almost white through my lens...

so then i questioned - but they circled twice - i caught them the entire way - holding my breath - then letting it out in tiny exclamations of joy... as they landed 2-footed in the snow on the lake -

what unusual rareness - catching ducks in flight, then making their tour of landing prowess - what joy...


happy day.....