Tag Archives: ducks

Day 18: Beauty in a broken world

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Remember the female mallard photo from Day 12? Well, I wanted to share a photo of one of her possible mates with you today. As I mentioned in the earlier post, they were all a bit miffed that I didn’t bring any food for them. Can you see the disappointment in his expression?

Male mallards, also called drakes, have more vivid color patterns than their female counterparts (the female ducks are just called ducks). I especially love the colors on this mallard’s head, and I ended up choosing this photo instead of one in the water because I wanted you to see his brilliant orange feet. Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology online to learn more about these common beauties.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 12: Beauty in a broken world

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Lady ducks may not have the same brilliant coloring as their male counterparts, but this one looks particularly lovely with her patch of blue on her wing and her orange beak. You may see some of her male counterparts in the coming weeks here, but I wanted to show her off first.

A female duck, keeping an eye on me in case I’ve brought food

She and her friends came out of the water within a few minutes of my arrival, hoping I’d have food for them. I know they get fed—probably too often—but they were disappointed I had only my camera in hand. Did you know bread isn’t great for ducks? Here are some better choices.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

The salmon run

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It’s raining here today, the dark type of day that feels all too rare here because of our desperate need for rain. Whereas last year’s rainy season got off to a great start, this one has been slow so far. So I’m especially grateful for the rain and gray skies today.

Autumn means rain, and rain means clouds have come back, bringing more interesting sunrises and sunsets.

The sun sets along the river (with birds on a wire)

Fall trickled in here over the last few weeks, but this is the first week many of the trees decided to put on a show. Continue reading →

The best of autumn in California

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I’ve come to love the salmon run each fall here in California. It’s one of my favorite parts of the season. This October, when my husband and I visited Tahoe, we stopped along Taylor Creek because we had heard salmon were spawning there.

Red kokanee salmon in Taylor Creek

I was stunned to see such tiny fish compared to the huge chinook salmon that swim upriver from the ocean each fall to spawn. These little, red fish are kokanee salmon, landlocked in Lake Tahoe and surrounding tributaries such as Taylor Creek, where they go to spawn each autumn. Continue reading →

A hard time of year to stay inside

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Fall here is beautiful in its own way, not in a familiar North Carolina way, but in a way that catches my breath nonetheless.

The salmon are beginning their run, and happy fisher people (mostly fishermen) are daily swarming the river, giddy with the prospect of catching a big fish. A happy man popped up from the riverbank just this morning, a large, pink fish swinging from his side.

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Why do you think they fish all together instead of spreading out?

Rain came back in a big way, too, over the weekend. More than two inches over four days. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Continue reading →