We had never seen birds on the far shore of the larger lake, so it was a treat to find several herons, both great blue and night herons, standing amidst the hardstem bulrushes. We hadn't seen this many herons before, and the sighting of the blue heron was also a first for us at the Monte Vista...

Thanks for the challenge! I used: 52-2023-05-la-wordart 52-2023-07-Vicki Robinson Spiral Papers 05 52-2023-10-emeto-CapturedBeauty-add-on 52-2023-20-emeto-DreamBig-Add-on

On Monday when we got to MVNWR, we were surprised that there were no blackbirds. No redwing, no yellow-headed. Just none. There were a few bird sounds, but not many. Yet it was already a good day the moment we saw the night heron way over on the other side of the lake.

Thanks Vicky and team for the challenge! I'm pretty sure any photo shoot would qualify as a sequence. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :D

I saw lots of little white butterflies and one larger butterfly so we stopped. The butterflies and hawkmoths were all over the last of the milkweed flowers. The horse flies were terrible, but I went back into the field when I saw a monarch. The photo shoot took seven minutes.

The worst hailstorm we have ever seen happened just after I posted that page. So the page commemorates the destruction of the entire flower garden. I don't know if we'll see another flower this year, but if we do. I promise to make a page About it.

Thanks for the challenge, Rachel and Esther. I'm so glad I had the push I needed to stuff this on today (because we got hail again) in my book. :D

The hail in early June destroyed the lily right away. The poor thing just never could snap out of its funk. Then in early August, hail tore up everything again, and the coneflowers, already not thriving, took it hard. But I'll never forget how happy you were with that lily that day.

Thank you! When you hear someone in old age saying "It Ain't Pretty," this is a snapshot of what life is like. It's not sad, but it's sometimes very hard. ;)

Thanks Esther and Lynn for this challenge. It's not easy to use these colors with my wildlife photos, so I ended up having to wax philosophical. :D

I had a tough day and you would come by and remind me of so many of the things I've done, that made a difference in your life. I am who I am because of who you are, because of who we all are. And my gas tank was still empty, but I felt happy instead of struggling and just getting by.

Thanks for the challenge! I went with Anna's torn layers instead of the more traditional paper bits. The effect is softer and more organic and I think fits with the nature photos.

You didn't see the white butterflies and bugs on the thistles on the south side of the trail. And I didn't see the mama redhead duck with her six darling babies on the north side. It was funny how we focused and only looked up and compared notes when each others' moments were over.

I didn't expect him to stay but he did. I must have kept just the right distance so he showed he wasn't concerned by scratching his ear. I took several photos, but that was the one I liked best. We were in the parking area that looked towards the avocet island. I think he was just curious.

Thanks for the challenge! This turned out to get me well on my way into the month's challenges right away. When I see a challenge and it's really hard, I start on it right away. :D

Every day I was thankful I had you as my caretaker and I made sure you knew it. I knew I could always count on your help to get through each new thing. You helped me sort the tubes and wires and seat belts. You didn't sleep when power went out, worried about my oxygen supply.

This page faces https://oscraps.com/community/media/challenge-3-oh-hello-you.381330/ I started with this black & white challenge, not reading any of the others. I don't work in B&W, and think it's just generally not best for wildlife. But I did want to get these x-rays into my book, and always...

Hahaha. There are so many. Thanks for this challenge! :D

Every day I was thankful I had you as my caretaker and I made sure you knew it. I knew I could always count on your help to get through each new thing. You helped me sort the tubes and wires and seat belts. You didn't sleep when power went out, worried about my oxygen supply. This page faces...