Best of 2018!

It's that time of year when I share the best of 2018 captures. We visited several botanical gardens, a national wildlife refuge, an artist's village, a state park, and I even spent an afternoon capturing images of Elk and Bison at the prairie at Land Between the Lakes. And least of all, I threw in a few images from around Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee. While I didn't travel far out of state, I still managed to capture some unique images. I hope wherever 2018 took you in your travels you were able to stop and smell the roses and take a few pics to tell your story. Have a wonderful 2019 and here's to lots of new adventures and journeys with your camera in tow. ENJOY!

A Wattle and A Snood

As I drove around the Elk and Bison Prairie recently, there were flocks of wild Turkeys foraging in the meadows. Most were off in the distance, but several were close enough to photograph. I cropped one image that caught my eye. I don't know why but a Turkey's brightly colored head has always been fascinating to me. His wattle, the fleshy skin that grows under his throat, is pink and bright red at the end. I read blood pools in the wattle when a Tom wants to attract a hen.

I read that Turkeys are a form of pheasant. I also read that the Tom's gobble while the females make a clicking sound. Also, that fleshy skin that grows above their forehead is a snood and also pools with blood when Tom is on the hunt. It appears from my photo, that Tom is definitely on the hunt for a lady. A new week is upon us, and need I say it, a new season is around the corner. Oh, Fall where art thou. Please bring us cooler temps soon. ENJOY!

A Photographer's Favorite

A large Bison stood motionless taking in the heat of the day at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes earlier this week. The hustle and bustle of small calves, nary a few months old, rustling around him didn't make for even a stir. As I snapped images with my long lens, I noticed him standing quietly in the fray. It was obvious he knew the daily routine of the Bison herd. Of all the images I captured on that day this one stood out. The sun gives his dark black and brown fur a warm, rich sheen. A tiny weed grows in front of this huge beast. The most delicate and the most beastly exist in harmony. What a contrast. To read more about the Elk and Bison Prairie, click here. Have a great weekend all. ENJOY! 

Bison Loom Large

After you enter the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky, you travel on a three and a half mile loop, in a 700 acre enclosure, where the Elk and Bison roam free. The prairie is a natural grassland with ponds, woods and creeks scattered throughout.

I found the Bison herd crowded together near the end of the loop road. Some were rubbing large boulders while others were headed to a large dust pad nearby. The first image is the matriarch, the very largest Bison in the herd. He was huge. 

There are about 60 Bison in this herd including the calves which are born in May. Breeding season is July to September as was evidenced by the males stalking the females throughout the herd. I even witnessed the matriarch as he attempted to mount a female unsuccessfully. She moved off and he fell off.

These are American Bison or Buffalo. The Bison is the largest land mammal in the United States and the national mammal. Bison graze, rest and chew their cud in two hour intervals and then move to another location to graze again. Perhaps that explains why the Bison always seem to be roaming.

Just before I left the prairie, I saw this little fella nudging his Mother who finally complied. So adorable now, but imagine his size all grown up. The heat and humidity made for heavy breathing for some of the larger Bison. I enjoyed this visit more than my last, as I planned my arrival a tad later in the day, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Elk grazing in the meadow. ENJOY!

Linking to Scoop 339

Elk Watch

At the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes, if you plan a trip very early in the morning or late in the day, you can view the Elk as they munch on grasses in the meadow. They stay hidden in the tree line in Summer during the hotter climes of the day, so plan accordingly if you want to see them.

The Elk and Bison Prairie is almost dead center in Land Between the Lakes in Golden Pond, in the very remote southwest corner of Kentucky. It's a pleasant drive from Nashville on a major highway. The countryside you see in Kentucky along the drive is really beautiful with lots of gorgeous farmland. On this visit, I waited patiently for the Elk, and finally was rewarded as this guy ventured out of the woods. He was munching on the grass and eventually tugging at the leaves of a low hanging branch. Then he noticed his gal was missing and slowly made his way across the meadow in hot pursuit.

This gal surely is the apple of his eye. She came out of the woods and began to graze, slowly making her way across the meadow, and finally disappearing into a thicket. The bull wasn't far behind following her in hot pursuit.

Such beautiful, amazing creatures. The huge rack on the bull, covered with its new layer of velvet, was gorgeous. It's extremely hot here in Tennessee. We're in the Dog Days of Summer, although it feels as if we have been there all Summer. There's high heat and humidity daily with afternoon thunderstorms. I am waiting for Fall to bring cooler temps. ENJOY!

Linking to The Scoop 339

North American Wild Turkey

The devil is in the details. Surely you have heard that saying before. It came to mind when I saw the detail in this image I captured of the North American Wild Turkey. The blues in his head and neck. The grays and whites of his feathers. The browns and blacks of his tail feathers. Two North American Wild Turkeys pecked at the grasses as they trotted through the prairie meadow at the Elk and Bison Prairie in Land Between the Lakes, in southwestern Kentucky last week, as I drove the route to view the Elk and Bison.

The Elk and Bison are the heroes of the meadow there. As I drove the route I decided that the wildflowers growing in the prairie meadow there, and the Turkeys trotting in the short grasses beside the meadow, perhaps they should be the heroes. The yellows and golds of the Goldenrod. The whites of the Queen Anne's Lace. The lavenders of the Thistle. The tans of the tall grasses. Could those things not be heroes too. ENJOY!
Linking to Saturday's Critters

Beast of Burden

There is no other way to describe one of the largest mammals on North American soil.

Another view of the Bison at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes. ENJOY!

Bison, Land Between the Lakes

BIG! BROWN! BISON!

As you drive your car around the route in the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes, you begin to see glimpses of Bison up ahead. Taking in all of the Bison up ahead, you notice they are scattered throughout the fields, the pond, the side of the road. Some are even laying in a dust bowl hoping to rid themselves of insects on their large backs.

What a treat! Approaching the main herd in your car, you notice there are several large Bison standing right in the middle of the road. You have to stop the car and wait. Your head goes up as you see movement in your rear view mirror. You see him. A very big Bison lumbering up the middle of the road directly behind your car. He is going to have to pass right by your car to get to where he is going. He does. As he lumbers past your driver's side door, you hold your breathe and say a prayer, and you don't move a muscle.

Finally, thankfully, he makes it past your car, meanders into the herd of Bison just ahead, and stops right in the middle of the road. Now there are several large Bison right in the middle of the road. Five minutes pass. Ten minutes pass. Fifteen minutes pass. Finally, the two large Bison in the middle of the road slowly move to the side of the road. One of them lays down just off the pavement. Now is your chance. You slowly move your car down the road past all of the Bison. As you pass the last one, you began to breathe regularly again. This is the Bison at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes. ENJOY!

Elk, Land Between the Lakes

While visiting the Land Between the Lakes Elk and Bison Prairie, I wasn't sure I would even see the Elk as it was the middle of the day. Elk tend to come out early in the morning and later in the afternoon or early evening. The first drive through the prairie, I captured this image of an Elk resting near a thicket of trees and brush not far from the road. This was the only Elk visible at that time.

On my second visit, the same Elk was still resting in the same place I had left him about an hour and a half before. As I approached the area in my car and pulled into a parking lot, the Elk popped up and walked gingerly over to the brush. He munched on leaves from the brush and trees for a bit which allowed me to capture a few images. There are about 55 Elk residing in the prairie right now. I can only attest to there being one as that is all I saw.

Normally, when I see the Elk in the Smokies they are grazing on grasses in the meadow so it was rather nice to get to see them doing something a bit different. They are such huge animals. When meandering my way through the Bison a few minutes earlier, an Elk had gotten too close to the Bison and was ran off by several of them. I don't know if it was this Elk. My guess would be it was a different one.

It has been a wet Friday here in Nashville. It is supposed to clear up by mid day tomorrow. I have a few images of the Bison to share with you. It goes without saying that I have been working really hard since I moved to Nashville. So it has been nice to get out the past few weeks and pay a visit to Fall Creek Falls, Cheekwood and the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes. Have a great weekend. And to those who lost their lives in 9/11 and those who survived to live on in their name, God Bless You. ENJOY!

Buffalo, Oleson Farms

As I pulled into Traverse City a few weeks ago while in Michigan, I drove past my hotel before I realized I had missed it. Right as I went to turn around, I looked over to see a good sized herd of Buffalo grazing in a pasture next to the highway. Seriously, I did a double take thinking I was not seeing right. Turns out the Buffalo belong to Oleson Farms who sells their meat and hides and have since the early 1900's.

I was struck by how many calves were in the herd. There seemed to be quite a lot of them.

There are approximately 300 Buffalo at Oleson's Farms in Traverse City right now. It all began as an experiment in the early 1900's when the Oleson's grandfather bought three Buffalo. I guess the experiment worked. At one point, the Oleson's had 500 Buffalo which was the largest herd east of the Mississippi. I think any herd east of the Mississippi would be considered large. You never know what you're going to find when you travel, so keep your eyes open. ENJOY!