Osprey | Maryland Wildlife Photography

Eggs in the nest...sitting....sitting...sitting...

Watching over the nest from a nearby tree

A nest with babies (I could hear them) and the parents swapping places on the nest

I am taking a break from posting over the holiday weekend!

Hope you all have a lovely and safe Memorial Day weekend.

I am working at Arts By the Bay Gallery in 

Havre de Grace today from 12-2:30 if anyone 

would like to stop in and say hi!

Three new pieces are going up today!

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The Marsh | Blackwater National Wildlife Reserve

Some of these images will be a part of my next show

opening in August at Arts By the Bay Gallery in Havre de Grace, MD.

I will be working at Arts By the Bay 

tomorrow from noon until 2:30 PM

and will be bringing three new pieces for sale.

I would love for you all to come and and visit 

and be the first to see my new offerings.

Hoping your week is turning out to be a good one...

Friday is just around the corner!

Scolding Mama Duck

"Now, Johnny!  I TOLD you to leave your brother and sister alone!"

I am feeling this mama duck's pain...

spring fever has set in quite hard here 

at These Nine Acres

and I am just praying the kids can hold it together

until school lets out!

This image was a surprise to me when I started 

going through to edit.

I took this picture along the river in Cambridge as 

a mama duck and her 3 half-grown babies

were grooming themselves on the beach.

Doesn't it look like the mama is 

scolding her ducklings or pointing to something 

in the distance?  :)

She was actually just cleaning her wing,

but it turned out to be quite a clever catch ;)

To find out the technical information behind this image,

check in on Nine Acres Designs on Facebook some time today!

I will tell you the "behind the scenes" story :)

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Scott's Chapel | Cambridge, Maryland

While driving around Cambridge and the surrounding towns,

I came across this beautiful, historic church.

I was intrigued by the interesting graveyard 

on the property adjacent to and across the street from 

the building, so I pulled over and took a closer look.

I had no information about the church other than the plaque 

above the door that read,

"1812-1891

Scott's Chapel

Bucktown

Methodist Church"

Because this area is so low in elevation and close

to the water table,

the vaults that hold the caskets are barley

buried under the ground.

Most of the vaults can be seen above ground,

which is so different than I what I am used to.

I noticed the cemetery across the street seemed more in disarray

and less taken care of than the cemetery directly behind the church.

I vowed to do some research when I arrived home to find out more information

about this interesting building.

I was able to find this document,

which nominates the structure and the graveyards to be 

listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I will summarize a bit for you, 

but it is worth the time to check out the full document.

The church was founded in 1812 and was

attended by both enslaved and freed African Americans

as well as white citizens.

The graveyards were segregated,

the African American cemetery was located across the street

while the white cemetery was adjacent to the church grounds.

It is possible that Harriet Tubman

and her family worshipped here.

(The information in this paragraph was gathered from this site.)

The land that this church stands on was donated by

John Scott in the year 1858,

as indicated on a corner stone of the church.

It is believed he owned the adjacent land as his family farm.

There are Scott family members buried in the cemetery 

and the dates on the tombstones date back to 1792.

The current church building is a small frame chapel constructed in 1891.

The structure has been altered from the original;

the foundation being on bricks, 

probably replacing the original brick piers.

I am glad I took the time to stop and photograph this piece of history

and I truly hope you enjoyed learning a bit about this treasure.

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Egret With Fish

I had the extreme pleasure of shooting wildlife

at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge yesterday

near Cambridge, Maryland.

Ohhhhhh, if I could just do this every day...

I happened upon this egret by chance after I left the refuge.

My husband and I were exploring some back roads near Taylor Island

when I saw this scene.

I had my husband pull of to the side of the road,

me frantically rolling down the window and 

turning my camera on, praying the egret would not

fly away or eat the fish before I could change the settings, focus, and get the shot.

Thankfully, my prayers were answered!

I was so thrilled to see how the grass turned out so soft...

the wind was blowing, creating a softness to the grass 

that looks lovely in the image.

We didn't have much time at the refuge, 

but I plan on going back for sure.

You will see some more images over the next few days

of the wildlife...osprey, red winged blackbirds,

a turtle, perhaps a snake...

We were in the area for a wedding, so photography was actually

a side-trip for me on the way back home

and I am thankful for the short time I had there.

Now that I have had a taste of it, 

I have to go back and shoot for a couple of days!
Anyone want to join me?

Hope everyone had a nice weekend

and a good start to the work week!

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Class Aves

Eastern Bluebird female

Male goldfinch

I think my love of the animal class Aves, or birds,

stems to my childhood.

My father always loved to feed these winged creatures

and therefore, we always had them in our yard.

As a child I begged my parents to let me have a bird as a pet

and I did get one eventually...a blue and yellow parakeet

whose name slips my mind for now.

That should clue you in that while I loved wild birds,

I was NOT a fan of having one as a pet.

They were messy and I didn't like seeing it caged and not able to fly.

So, when I left for college I had to find a home for the poor thing

and my grandparents reluctantly volunteered.

They put my pet bird out in their screened porch 

which was not heated,

and in the winter, the poor thing couldn't take the chill and died.

Sadly, I was not devastated, as the creature had lived quite a long time

and I was never particularly attached to it.

I never would have another one for a pet again,

but I do love my wild birds,

which like my dad,

I feed in my front yard.

They bring quite a smile to my face year round and they 

also give me some beautiful specimens to photograph :)

Family Matters

My son, determined to come as close as he can by me,
swerving at the last minute to avoid flattening his mother.

Panning takes a lot of practice and this one is just not *quite* right...
but I still liked it despite the technical flaws.

Really?  Can this pic scream BOY! anymore?  A toy tractor and a toad
while watching his dad on the real tractor. 

Who says preschool girls don't like tractors?
I think the look on her face and her body language says it all.

I love this time of year because we can get out 

and work around the farm,

play outside,

and be near nature.

It feels like the earth is stretching,

waking up from its long winter nap

and the sweetness in the air is intoxicating.

Just a few pics of us outside on These Nine Acres

doing what we do.

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