Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Slow Moving


It's been slow going around here since my last post.  I came down with the flu, then our son, then our daughter...their significant others, and so on, and so on until Mr. Tide was the last man standing.




I literally stayed in bed for days, hoping that someone would either shoot me, or that my head would stop feeling as though it was inside a giant vise!




I didn't return emails, so I apologize to those of you who so kindly wrote to me or left comments, but I just couldn't even bring myself to type a few words in return.  Today is the first day I really even felt like a human being again, and I truly can't remember feeling as badly as I have for the past week and a half, for a very long time!  Thankfully I have a wonderful nurse in the form of my husband, who took really good care of me and catered to my every whim.

Now, there is just a bit of a cough lingering, and I'm still easily tired out, but I can live with that, no problemo!




Needless to say, the picture taking has been at a standstill since I came down with my virus, so the swan pics in this post are from a few weeks ago.

The tundra swans were late in arriving this year, by almost 2 months.  We had nearly given up hope that they would come, when one day we looked outside the window and saw a few.  Slowly but surely, over the past 3 or 4 weeks, more have come to join us, even when our creek was frozen over.  They would Jemima Puddle Duck their way from one end of the creek to the other, stopping to feed at any open spot, or sleeping on the huge patches of ice.  It was slow going for them too, but they didn't seem to mind.

In the pictures above, the swans showing a bit of bravado are standing on ice, and giving us their best moves.  Their wings remind me so much of angel wings that I wanted to darken the images and really give them that ethereal, otherworldly appearance, hence the dark and soft feel of these particular pics.

At last count we had 38 swans, including cygnets, gliding along our shores, eating our underwater vegetation, and making a racket after the sun goes down...for reasons we don't yet understand.  We will be sad to see them go when the weather begins to warm, but we are happy they chose to spend another winter with us!

I will be out of pocket for a few days tending to some family/work stuff, but hopefully everything will be back to normal by the end of next week!  I hope you all enjoy your week!


13 comments:

  1. Kat,
    Sorry to hear that you have been so very sick...glad you are better now. These pictures are sooooo wonderful..thanks for sharing them with all of us.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  2. Oh, dear! I'm sorry you have had such a time with illness! The swans are absolutely breathtaking in their beauty! xo Nellie

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  3. Those photos are truly magnificent. Like AHHHHH gorgeous wow.
    Glad you're improving. February is a most cruel month.

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  4. They remind me of 2014 Audobon prints. I looooooooooooooooooove them.

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  5. The flu is miserable...the headache was awful...so glad you are getting over it! Your swan photos are just beautiful, Kat! I would love to see them here...

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  6. I hope you feel better so soon as possible!!

    Sending hugs, Ingrid

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  7. Truly magnificent, Kat. I am in awe!

    And I'm so glad you're feeling better. Cannot believe how long you were down ~

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  8. Beautiful photos! We've all had this nasty cold/flu in our family, too…so glad to be over it.

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  9. Absolutely gorgeous!!! wow!
    What lens are you using to capture that?

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  10. Having the 'flu is horrible - glad you're on the mend

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  11. Oh Kat- how miserable for you all. The flu has been horrible this year- this winter has about killed us all. I hope by now that you are feeling better--

    The swans are just magnificent-- these photos are so beautiful.

    Vicki

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  12. So sorry to hear about the illness you have all experienced, Kat. What a winter this has been for so many. Glad to hear you are rallying. It seems to take just as long to recover, as the illness lasted. Take things slow, and easy, girl.
    Your images are amazing! Swans seem like such peaceful birds...but when they stand up, and puff their breasts, they look powerful...don't they? What a treat to see them like this!
    xo

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  13. Oh I love how you darkened the background...the mood of it with those gorgeous swans are just stunning! I love a little drama in photos. Sorry to hear you were down for so long, so your getaway was no doubt a sweet relief from what you had endured. xo

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