A friend asked last weekend if I had any planned adventures for the New Year. The answer was simply nope.
I do have a few dates circled on my calendar when my camera and I will be spending some quality time together. I learned my lesson this past year that it’s those spontaneous moments, not plans that make an adventure, truly an adventure.
The past year has been filled with many spontaneous moments. I spent many hours looking through my camera lens in the company of some awesome people. They have shared their photography expertise, advised me to take my time, set the shot, and relish in the beauty of nature.
We shared coffee and waited for the sun to wake the prairie chickens and grouse. We watched deer playing at sunset and ducks swimming on the pond.
We stood in the cold to capture photos of Bald Eagles in the air at the dam, eagles in trees in the Sandhills, and captured flushing snow geese by the thousands. Did I mention ducks? Lots of different species of ducks on the pond in DC, in the swamp back home, and on the water at the nearby dam.
I learned there are many more species of hawks and owls on the east coast than those we see at the farm.
The past year was filled with driving county roads not listed on the map, paved country highways, dirt roads, and farmyard lanes not knowing for sure what was around the bend or the bottom of the next hill.
Hiking waterfalls, walking trails along rivers, stepping across cornrows, and trying to avoid horse poo in the pastures were also part of the adventures.
Making friends with pets to convince them to sit for some photos. The playful puppy and her cat that preferred just being a cat. And the solar eclipse, when daylight turned to dusk, watching the cardinals and blue jays chase across the yard, while the moon hid the sun.
Adventures were getting up at zero dark thirty to drive to that special spot to capture a sunrise in hopes of seeing a bear along the way. Staying up late to capture the stars after sunset, still hoping to see a bear along the road home.
Do I have any adventures planned for the New Year? Nope, nothing planned but I do hope to see a bear along the way. Now that would be an adventure!
