Oak Grove Nature Park

I haven't been blogging nearly as much as I'd like. I can't really explain what has slowed me down because I don't know the reason myself. I have pictures from several places that I wanted to share, but I got them before there were leaves on the trees. Now they're kind of old.

I took these pictures you see today at a place called Oak Grove and Big Sioux Park.These are more that I took before the leaves sprouted all over the trees. I really like this park, but I haven't been back there since so far this year.

I'll definitely be going back soon, maybe even in the next few days. I like this nature park because it reminds me of some of my favorite nature parks from back in Michigan. It has plenty of trees, and this great river running through it, and it has plenty of little nature trails to explore.

There is a road that takes you right down to the edge of this river. I kind of like that and I kind of don't. The road means that there is easy access, but it also means that there might be lots of people in the greener months. That's good for them, but I like to be alone at these places.

The good thing for me is that the day I took these pictures there was nobody else around. And this park is kind of isolated so I don't think there ever will be very big crowds of people. I can stand at the edge of this river for a long time relaxing with nobody to bother me.

Have you figured out through so many of my posts that I'm more than a bit of a loner? I don't know why that is, but I kind of like it that way. I sometimes think that it would be good to have people to go along with me through these nature parks, but I don't really know anybody that likes nature like I do. And besides, I've had others go along a few times, and I really like being alone a little better.

I guess I tell that little story every once in a while. I think I tell it to give you a little insight into who I am. Maybe it kind of helps you see who this person is who shares his love of nature with you. I try to tell a little about myself because in the beginning I used to share so little. Some people didn't know whether I was male or female back then, and I thought that was kind of funny. I guess we all need something to amuse ourselves.

Okay I think that's all I really have for you this time. I hope to be back a little sooner next time. I'll talk to you later.

A Couple Of Robins

I took the pictures of these robins before the leaves sprouted all over the trees around here, but I just didn't want them to go unseen forever. I've been taking plenty of pictures this spring, but I can't seem to get caught up with my blogging. I don't mean to go so long between posts, but it keeps happening this way.

I saw these birds on a day when the robins were out all through the forest. Seeing so many of them over the years has kind of made these robins my favorite birds. There are plenty of others that may be prettier, and there are some that may have better songs, but none of them come out so often. These have become a sort of traveling companion for me.

Do you notice a similarity in these pictures? These birds both have their backs turned toward me. I have rarely seen a robin turned the other way around. It makes me think they know I am there and they are getting ready to fly away in case I turn out to be a threat.

I saw a robin hopping along the grass across the road from me the other day, and I noticed that one too always kept its back to me. My little theory is still intact. I do have some old pictures of robins from the front, but most of them are like this.

This post was a little short for me this time, but maybe I can have the next one a little bit sooner. I'll talk to you later.

A Fun Little Experiment

Green leaves are sprouting all over the trees around me, but I have something else that I want to talk about right now. Even though I don't usually alter any of my pictures on here, I sometimes like to play around with photo editing software. On those occasions I tell you what I did.

Well, I did something with the pictures that I have here today. Maybe it's not exactly impressive, but I thought it was kind of fun. I recently found a nice little app in the Windows 8 store called TouchRetouch that helps you retouch your photos a bit. I won't give you a link because I know most of you don't have Windows 8. And if you do, you know it's easy to find.

See that tree in the picture above? I made it completely disappear with that fun little app. The fun part is that it was pretty simple. I just drew around the tree and then clicked a button and the tree went away. It's a simple little thing, but you never know what you might be able to use something like that for.

Above is the same picture, but without the tree. Personally, I like the one with the tree in it more, but that's not exactly the point. Oh okay, I like it because I took it because of the tree. I stood with the tree in between me and the Sun just for the shadow and light effect it might give me.

But my point with this blog post is that experimentation can be fun. I experimented when I took the original picture. I thought the results were okay. And I experimented when I used the little app from the Windows store. And I guess writing this blog for these past several years has also been a fun experiment. I never knew how any of it would turn out. That's the fun.

I love to experiment. I go out and explore nature and take the most interesting pictures I can. I build my own computers. I always have the very newest operating system on them. I also have electronic parts and strange gadgets all around my house. Some of them turn out to be highly useful, and others not so much. That's the breaks when you try out new things. Even the failures are fun.

Okay, that's enough of this. It was just the thing I felt like talking about this time. Next time it could be birds, my robotic vacuum cleaner, or my dog. Who knows? I don't. I'll talk to you later.

The First Green Of Spring

I have lots of stuff to post, but I still keep falling behind. I have to get this one out before it gets too green around here. These pictures show the first real green I've seen around here. This new green and waking up of nature is what I love so much about spring.

I love when the first green begins to sprout on the plants. It just always seems like the birth of new life to me. Spring is my favorite time of year. Everything is warming up and the end of winter is here. The whole thing gives me so much excitement for the future. It cheers me up from my perpetual negativity and makes everything seem good and right.

I've been doing what I said I needed, and that is going out to the forest and just being in nature. Walking through the forest is my favorite thing to do, and I sometimes only realize that when I finally get out there.

My second favorite thing is technology, right after nature, and I can get lost in that at times. Involving myself in either one can make me forget about the other. In the end it all works out well though because both enable me to do things like this blog.

This first green of spring now has me out trying to fix up the area around my house. I don't usually bother with that much. I like to keep things a little wild. It keeps most neighbors away, and I just like the way it looks. It reminds me of more natural places that I like to visit.

But this year I'm fixing it up. It gives me an excuse to be outside even when I'm at home. And I get to be out surrounded by all of the new green. The green in these pictures is just the beginning. Everything is turning green now. I love the new green. It's a different color than when it ages. My favorite time of year. I'll talk to you later.