I think everyone in Idaho can agree that spring this year was a strange one. Or I suppose we could even argue it went back to when the snow first began falling. Pretty much from that moment on it seemed to snow nonstop through May. No matter how you look at it though, the warmth came late and it came to stay for the most part.
My day job is in the agriculture industry and at our facility we provide all the barley seed to the area farmers. Naturally, once the weather permits and it’s time to plant, well, it’s time to plant. We run on a small crew so 60-90 hour weeks are the norm for a while there. It’s busy and chaotic, but it’s fun and I love it other than missing some prime bird migration moments.
With some of those details in mind, here’s my story of the spring of 2023. I tried to photograph a fair amount of the events so this will be a fun visual adventure.
April Fools
The irony is not lost on us that this whole thing began on the first of April. It began as a normal spring Saturday. I normally don’t work Saturdays but we were gearing up hard to prepare for seed season and I was there repairing equipment that seems to constantly break down.
Meanwhile, back at home, my wife was in the backyard playing with our dogs. Beau is still essentially a puppy, albeit a somewhat large puppy who is very playful. Amongst the running and jumping, Beau jumped against Brooke’s back and knocked her down onto a log with a stick protruding from it that the melting snow had partially concealed in the yard. She hit the ground hard and knew she was hurt but did not know the extent of it yet.
Once going back inside to inspect her side she realized the stick had impaled her side and left a nasty gash. Doing her best to clean and bandage it up she sent me a text about possibly needing stitches. I’ll be honest, I was skeptical about the whole thing. Really how bad could a fall on a stick be anyways? Well, that’s where our April Fools’ joke begins.
I got home and went to have my first look at Brooke’s side. The bleeding had stopped at this point but she had used a lot of gauze already. As she lifted the bandage, I knew we were going to the hospital right away. The injury was several inches wide and I could see deep into her side. The location of her stab wound made it difficult for Brooke to fully see how bad or how deep the cut was.
We arrived at the hospital joking around about the whole thing and how only Brooke could have the luck for such an event. A few hours later the wound is all cleaned up and stitched and we are headed home still laughing about it. In our minds, the joke was on Beau as he was already scheduled to be fixed the next Friday so his “punishment” was already coming.
Joke’s Over
Ever watched a comedy where it seems like the main character just can’t catch a break? Well, a few days later Brooke’s side had swollen and was showing signs of infection. We ended up at another hospital where they had to open the wound and clean it out. I’ll spare details other than that I’m amazed at how strong Brooke is and her pain tolerance.
In the end, Brooke endured two surgeries to remove dead tissue and try to find every piece of rotten wood possible left in the wound. Then there were the near-daily wound cleanings at the hospital that were excruciating. To top it all off, a wound pump is hooked up at all times.
By the time we got the infection under control and the pumps hooked up for healing, the wound had grown quite large. At least now the healing could begin before the final surgery to close it back up.
My Turn
We were getting so close to Brooke’s third and final surgery to close the wound for good when life threw another curveball.
It had been a normal day just like any other day. Everyone was exhausted at this point with life but spring is always that way. Just a normal Wednesday. I do recall behaving strangely that day and especially that evening. In retrospect, I should have noticed signs all day long. I dazed away frequently and got easily confused. At one point I walked into the bathroom and stood there for 5 minutes completely zoned out before walking out confused as to why I had gone there in the first place. We decided I was exhausted from the long hours and just to go to bed.
The next thing I can recall, I awoke to all the lights on in our bedroom and EMTs standing in the doorway. I had no idea why they were there or what was going on. My head was in a fog. Instantly wide awake now I thought something had happened to someone else. It took some explaining and even then I wasn’t entirely sure what they were talking about.
After I had fallen asleep, I had a seizure. Brooke woke up to see me foaming at the mouth and seizing up. While She rolled me over so I wouldn’t choke, she was yelling for Channing, our 12-year-old daughter to call 911. Channing performed admirably in staying calm and getting the information to emergency personnel.
I was able to answer the questions the paramedics asked but given the severity and being a first-time seizure I got to enjoy a late-night, high-speed trip in an ambulance to the emergency room. I do recall also insisting I text my co-workers immediately to let them know that I might not be there to help them in the morning. The EMTs finally conceded after I was loaded into the ambulance.
If you’ve never had a seizure before, there are a few things you should know. First, they informed me that they’ll probably never know what caused it in the first place. And second, it’ll probably never happen again. Okay, not ideal but I can accept that. Regardless of all their pessimism for a solution, the doctors of course would be neglectful if they didn’t run a whole slew of tests over the next few days. None of them were terrible but they aren’t exactly fun either. We did all sorts of imaging of my head and chest, some brain scans, and even a heart stress test which was especially fun.
The next few days for me were very painful. I could hardly move. Lifting my arms over my head to put on a shirt would drop me to my knees and at times, I would completely pass out.
After that things were very strange for me. There was a whole slew of strange feelings and thoughts. Much of the time my mind was in a fog at the beginning with lots of feelings of deja vu and even long-lost memories resurfaced. I shouldn’t even say memories, it was more of a feeling of a memory with strong emotions attached. I know how little sense that makes but I can’t make sense of it myself. Multiple times a day I would get spasms and electric bursts combined with strange feelings that often passed quickly but some would linger and I would end up in a daze. Needless to say, work was out of the question for the short term. Rest was about all I was allowed to do for the foreseeable future.
Storms a brewin’
It was finally Brooke’s surgery day. The last surgery from her stab wound as we enjoyed calling it. The final surgery was to remove her wound vacuum and stitch it all up to heal for good. We were all excited about this day, especially Brooke.
Everything went well during surgery and I was able to get her back home to rest for the day. After getting Brooke all settled into bed with her cat, Blue, the rest of the family went about our afternoon as usual. After a few hours, I got an alert on my phone regarding lightning and went outside to watch. I love a good thunderstorm.
As the storm approached it just looked like a normal thunderstorm. It wasn’t very long before the rains came down hard and I was forced back inside. From the living room window one of my daughters and I watched the storm unfold. It quickly became an absolute downpour. The streets were rivers, puddles were becoming lakes. We were hearing reports of roadways and underpasses being underwater and people getting stranded. Events like this have a way of building up excitement and anticipation for me.
As we watched the rains fill the street I saw a cleaning and restoration company vehicle drive by and that got me thinking. I turned to Morgan, “we have to check our basement” was all I said and we both ran for the stairs.
I know what you’re likely thinking right now, “Why is this idiot taking photos and video instead of trying to salvage stuff or try to stop the flow”? Well, I was still recovering and hurting and Brooke was asleep upstairs. Don’t get me wrong, we immediately set out to minimize damages with towels and moving what we could. Of course, we got the most valuable things first and moved what we could but it wasn’t long before water was coming through the walls at the floor level and it was a lost cause for anything on the floors. My girls have their rooms in the basement and luckily those stayed dry but we got prepared just in case.
To be honest, I laughed some at the chaos our lives had become this spring. I had spent part of the winter working on my man cave and making it a place for me to work on my projects and I could only watch as it filled with water. And not just rainwater, but the city sewers backing up into our home. Even our basement toilet backed up and luckily stopped just below the rim of the toilet.
The trouble with basement flooding is it’s often a storage place as well. I keep all my photography gear downstairs. With kids and pets, I’ve found the safest place for my favorite equipment is under my desk with a chair in front to block animals. They can’t be knocked off, dropped, or accidentally stepped on. Water coming up from the floor however is another story. I’ve spent a small fortune on my camera gear and those were among the very first items removed, and set somewhere safe upstairs. The girls immediately set about making sure their rooms were cleaned up and luckily, no water made it that far.
Man Cave Destroyed
I can’t even begin to express how overwhelmed I felt at this moment. After saving what we could and attempting to clean/ stem the flow of water the best we could I called our insurance and got the first good news in a while. Because the water came back up from the sewers we were going to be covered for the damages as per our policy. This was finally a badly needed break.
By this time the storm had passed and we all went upstairs and outside to have a look around. The neighbors around us are all very nice people and most everyone had stayed dry which was good news as well. One neighbor had their basement fill up much worse than ours did and again it made us feel a little more lucky. It ended up becoming a welcome lighthearted gathering of neighbors all checking in on each other. You never know who might be in worse need than yourself or having a tougher time. It became a pleasant evening of socializing in the streets.
Boo Hoo Whiny Baby
I swear I’m not writing this as a sob story or throwing a pity party. This series of events simply have slowed me down tremendously over the last month at a time when I’ve been expecting to really speed up. It’s in my nature to keep myself fairly busy and active, and rest and healing are extremely difficult for me. What I did suddenly find on my hands was free time. Free time and a tale to share. Plus I could finally work on some of the easier projects in my life.
Over then next several weeks I worked on various aspects of my photography and this blog as well as some yard projects that also tie into those other passions. In order to keep my mind sane I had to keep busy, even if it was simple projects. And I did get outdoors a few times as well thanks to my wonderful wife.
Rest and Relaxation
While I say I don’t take it easy often, the first few days after my seizure I found it quite easy. Granted every move I made hurt and I had constant waves of dizziness so the couch and bed never looked so comfortable.
For the most part, I lived on the couch for the first 2 days. Maverick and Beau were excellent company for a guy to have. I rather enjoyed the extra time we got together and they were in belly rub heaven.
By now I was starting to feel somewhat better and I decided to go back to work. I felt bad ditching my co-workers during our busy season. I should note that I was advised not to go back yet from my wife but I’m a stubborn old man. And as it turns out, she was right! I pushed too hard and now was forced to take more time off.
Rather than just return to my couch to rest, I set about my projects. I knew I could always come sit anytime I needed and I made promises that I would do that.
The first project I set out to do was to fine-tune my autofocus (af) for my wildlife camera setup. Is this necessary or critical to do? Generally, there are two thoughts on the subject. One says only do it if you see noticeable focus issues such as slightly missing and focusing slightly in front or behind the focus point. The other thought is you should do this every time you acquire a new lens.
I’m not shy about hard work but I do also like to keep things simple. After a year of using the camera/lens combo, I was noticing a consistent focus miss in my shots. It wasn’t off much, but I always strive for the best and this was an easy fix as well. Now I had an excuse to get outside and be productive with very little physical effort.
I had an old contrast target I had printed off the internet years ago and I taped it to the fence in the backyard. My yard is long enough, especially if I open the side gate to the front, that I was able to test my lens at various distances. My goal was to replicate distances often encountered out in the field. I shoot a variety of animals and birds so there is no set distance.
I chose 3 different distances to test. 15, 50, and 150 feet. The close range for my smaller birds and a longer distance for larger and more dangerous animals. After an hour or so of testing, I settled on a shift of -4. That shift seemed to work well enough at all distances I tested. Some fieldwork would be the ultimate test. Now to convince someone to take me. I took a few test shots anyways to further analyze on my computer.
With my af now more accurate I was ready to go somewhere. And Brooke was willing to drive me to Market Lake so I gathered my gear and we headed out. Market Lake is perfect if you’re wanting a low-physical-intensity bird-watching experience. Plus its only 20 minutes from my home and that’s always a big advantage.
We didn’t drive very far before we found an Osprey enjoying a meal on a sign.
Osprey have such a unique look to them. They look both ferocious and silly at the same time. Bad hair, don’t care, gonna destroy this little fishy. Brooke and I are always looking for their nests and watching them soar. Eventually, I’ll get my photo of them catching a fish. I’ve come close but I have not got the image I want yet.
When the light is just right, Cinnamon Teals are spectacular.
Another common duck for my area but a truly beautiful bird.
I think everyone knows the goose. Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of their defense of their young. Is that where the expression getting “goosed” came from? I’d bet that’s exactly where that came from. Silly goose!
For a quick drive and test of my af settings I was quite happy with myself. I got some time away from the house with my favorite lady and I saw a ton of birds. Brooke enjoyed herself as well and we decided in the morning we could leave early in the morning for Mud Lake for more action.
My personal bird sanctuary
The next morning we woke up early and set out for Mud Lake. Mud Lake is another Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in eastern Idaho. It’s also within 45 minutes of home and I often refer to it as my own personal sanctuary. It’s very popular for hunting and fishing and other outdoor activities but they do have areas closed to vehicles, dogs, and hunting. I have a few of my own hiding spots and in all my years coming here I’ve only run into another person a few times.
Like Market Lake, you can make this as physical as you’d like and you can see a lot of wildlife from the comfort of your vehicle. Usually I’ll park and walk into my favorite places but this time was going to be a simple car adventure again. There’s plenty of marshes and waterways along the dirt roads for seeing action.
It didn’t take us long to find something. The banks of the irrigation feeder canals were littered with herons. We must have spotted over one hundred herons over the next 45 minutes. Most of them were Black Crowned Night Herons which for me was great because I’ve rarely had good opportunities to photograph them. It was my luck day for sure. We also saw quite a few Great Blue Herons but I was fixated on the others mostly. I don’t think I got one good photo of the Blues.
Of course no trip to Mud Lake would be complete without an owl sighting. I actually missed this pair at first. Thankfully Brooke has become quite adept now at spotting owls as well and she was quick to alert my attention and stop the car.
She not only saw the nest with the two owlets peeking out, but also the parents who were nearby as well. Our proximity was too close for comfort for the owls so we continued on a ways hoping for some better shots and angles. In the end for the owls, we got to enjoy watching them for a while but the photography window had closed for that moment.
About this time we both were tired and not feeling the best and decided it was time to drive home. On the way out I saw a few White Faced Ibis and had to get at least one shot. I had missed their migration this year and it’s not one to miss. Often time the fields around Mud Lake will be covered with thousands of them. I’ll take one of my favorite pathways and end up in the midst of them hiding in some willow bushes. It can get a bit noisy and chaotic and always keep your face forward for any bird bombs from overhead. Maybe this is why I rarely see other people out doing this.
It felt good to have gotten out for a bit, even if briefly and a simple car ride. It’s amazing how much a change of scenery can help a persons mood. For all the good it did me, our excursions also left me physically and mentally drained. At least my spirits were back up.
Spirit animal
And on the topic of mood, I had the absolute best care givers when Brooke went back to work. These two worked tirelessly day and night, making sure I was always taken care of.
I can’t help but melt for these crazy dogs. We did everything together while I was home. They’re already on my schedule anyways so every morning they made sure I was up long before 6 for breakfast and morning umm…business. They also made for good moving targets for me to practice my focus tracking skills on. At this point my arm still struggled to hold up my heavy telephoto lens so I limited its use.
The problem with using my wildlife lens on the dogs in the backyard is they were too close most of the time for useable shots. And sometimes you try and get lucky like I did capturing Maverick’s one unique eye as he ran by.
Something else in great supply during this time was afternoon thunderstorms. Obviously storms brought quite the drama for me later on, my interest in storms and weather goes back as long as I can remember. I set out to capture lightning photos during the day time.
Lightning Time
I’ve taken countless lightning photos at night and feel pretty assured that if I encounter a night time storm with a good composition, or better yet, scout a location and wait for a storm, I’ll come home with an image that belongs on the wall. Obtaining that same image during the daytime has eluded me for a long time.
During my rest periods on the couch I read everything I could find on the subject. I already had a lightning sensor and felt fairly confident after many failed uses previously that I finally had figured the thing out.
My main challenge was getting my exposure balanced for the intense lightning and the darker scene in which it struck. It seems like it should be straight forward and the same as at night. After all it’s the same sudden burst of light within a dark scene right? Short answer is yes but…there’s always a but. I’m not going into the details in this article as I’m simply telling my story. I will write a lightning tutorial though for those interested. And then all these sentences will be replaced with a nice link to that instead 😃.
Each afternoon, in between my other projects, the dogs and I were outside watching the storms. I would have my phone out checking my apps for the weather, radar, and real time lightning strikes. Constantly I would move my gear between front and back yards, and also the direction I aimed based on real time data and what I was observing on the ground.
I took a lot of photos over the week. Hundreds of them! And I ended up with a lot of images of our yard and neighborhood. Most of the lightning was in the clouds or off in the distance just out of reach. One storm did finally approach on a more direct course and even better, this storm was hot.
The amazing part was this particular lightning strike hit right across the street from my co-workers apartment, which knocked out his power and the ensuing rumble of thunder knocked items off his display cases. Pretty wild if you ask me.
Now I knew for sure I had an understanding of how to capture daytime lightning, and my composition wasn’t terrible either. I do feel cropping out a lot of the empty space near the top would be helpful. Let me know your opinion in the comments.
It’s still not a wall hanger by any means. Too many distracting elements like my car in the foreground but for running some tests in my yard, I’m thrilled with this shot. I especially love the dark cloud shelf formation around the lightning. I’m ready now for the next series of storms.
Spring in the meadows
I did one more excursion during my time off towards the end. And this time I got to go solo. As usual I was up and on the road before sunrise and feeling quite optimistic. My destination was Harriman State Park located in eastern Idaho. Being only an hour drive from home makes this an easy access, yet very wild location that is great for a lot of outdoor enthusiasts. Arriving early is key to beating crowds, taking advantage of the light, and the animals tend to be more active during this time.
After entering the park’s main entrance and driving past the visitors center, the roadway takes you along Silver Lake. There were a great number of birds on the water but a Great Blue Heron hunting the waters edge had my interest immediately. There was some good distance between us which allowed comfort for the heron to go about it’s morning hunt.
I must have sat there for 20 minutes or so, thoroughly enjoying myself when a big blurry blob entered my viewfinder. Initially hoping for a moose in the reeds close to me, I quickly adjusted my focus for the new target. And yet another heron appeared right in front of me.
Moments like this are gone in a flash so there’s no time to think, only react. With my lens already focused and in position I was able to easily catch a great profile headshot before it took flight.
I suppose the stronger argument to be made is I was the one starting the drama simply by intruding on their morning and their space. Time to move on for the trails just a little bit further down the road.
Given my condition and again in keeping my promises to take it easy I has decided I would take the Ranch Loop and hopefully extend it to the Meadow Loop and back out. Adding the second half would take me along the back side of Silver Lake.
The previous winter I had taken these trails multiple times on snowshoe but I cannot for the life of me remember coming here in the spring. Luckily there are still a lot of trails I haven’t yet trekked.
With so much snow we received last winter, I remember as I hiked through the snow wondering why they had the markers so low to the ground. I knew from prior experiences that they used long poles to Mark trails that look ridiculous during the summer, but at the time they still seemed so low to the ground. It really does show how much snow can fall in this region, even in the lower meadows.
In this particular area, I had to be very mindful of where I stepped as there was plenty of mud from recent rains as well as the special type of mud that cows like to drop wherever they please. And of course several horses wandered the landscape as well.
Ranch Loop has been promising so far and the first section was so short that the decision to add Meadow Loop was a no-brainer. I wanted a more natural experience and the trails ahead were calling my name. I closed the gate behind me and continued on into a sea of green and blue.
Most of the wildflowers were yet to bloom but I could still see a scattering of flowers amongst the greenery. Several ponds and streams dotted the landscape. Off to the east, I could easily see the Henry’s Fork River and faintly through the haze, the Tetons were visible on the horizon. It was like walking into a painting.
I had more bird opportunities than I could handle over the next half mile. My arm still was not stable enough to hold my lens for long periods of time tracking birds. My reliance on quick focusing tricks I’ve learned over the years was going to play a vital role if I had any chance at bird in flight (bif) pictures. A Yellow-Bellied Marmot also put on quite a production stretching and warming in the sun.
It’s always nice to be the first person on a trail and seeing so much action. I was extremely grateful for my fold up stool that my kids had gotten me earlier as a gift as I took frequent breaks to capture action or just take a nice breather.
Once I got a little over half way across the meadow, I stopped where a stream cut through. The scenery was spectacular in all direction. I though I would try doing a 360° panoramic with my cell phone. It isn’t the most exciting image but a fun one just the same.
And now I’m out of the meadow and into the forest. Perfect timing as it’s getting considerably warmer now and the shade was very inviting. My energy was running a bit low though so I decided to try and get to the lake quickly where I could rest and refuel for a bit along the shoreline.
As someone who works a physical job and enjoys an active outdoor lifestyle, this sudden slow down and loss of energy is extremely frustrating. A three-mile walk on relatively even ground should be a cake walk for me yet I will admit I struggled. But frequent breaks also allows for better animal sightings.
Going through the forest was calm and peaceful. Most of the birds moved around quickly and hid well behind branches. One Sparrow did stop to do some preening just long enough for me to grab a photo.
Once I was close to Silver Lake, I thought I saw movement on a tree about 50 yards ahead. A quick check with my binoculars confirmed that indeed something was there and my adrenaline immediately spiked. Taking slow measured breathes to slow my heart rate back down, I carefully advanced down the trail, camera poised to strike. I managed to close the gap considerably when I heard a terrible sound from the trail behind me a distance. Laughter! And lots of it. People had caught up to me finally and my opportunity was about to be lost. Let’s finish this and get the shot!
Click! Nailed it! A Long-Tailed Weasel had run across the trail and up a few feet of a tree. I have personally encountered weasels on only two other occasions and what I’ve learned from those experiences is they are very curious creatures. Sightings are rare and they are very bashful, but they do like to observe and follow. If you spot one and it runs and hides, just sit for a while and it’ll often come back out and investigate.
I had my image and felt pretty confident about it as well. Not long after a group of people came along and we engaged in the usual trail banter. They were slightly disappointed having missed the weasel but it sounded like they were having a grand time and also finding many birds as well. They moved on and I have them a good 5 minute headstart before going to the lake.
Once I got to the lake I sat for a long while, eating my lunch and just enjoying the solitude. I do recall setting up my tripod and trying for some landscapes after eating and I’m positive I shot them but I have no more images after this point. Things began to unravel for me at this point. I had pushed myself to hard felt slightly out of sorts again.
It was time to move on towards the car. Surprisingly, I had a nice energy boost from my break and the food I had consumed so my pace was relatively quick. My mind however was a blank. I don’t recall anything else about my walk out except for the very tail end when a park ranger came along collecting garbage around the parking areas. We spoke for a bit and I felt myself return to normal again.
Now almost a month has passed since I was there and I’m just finishing my story. I’m already geared up to go back this upcoming weekend again. I know this was a longer read than what I normally will be writing but I really enjoyed sharing this story. I hope you enjoyed reading and perusing through the images shared.
Until next time, keep it on the dirt road.