Groundhog Regrets

A few days ago, we were on our way out Powell's Valley Road heading somewhere not so important after all, when I saw something that I should have gone back and photographed. I thought... well, the camera I have doesn't see things the way I do... everyone else is ready to get where we're going... there's a hundred excuses not to do it.

The scene? Amber waves of grain. Literally. It was sunny, the grain was ripened to a golden hue in the bright sunlight, the breeze was blowing, causing the grain to wave in the sunlight. And between the fields of grain was bright green fields of corn. It was an awesome sight in it's own way.

Today, they baled that grain into haybales. That photo op that I had the other day is gone for good.

Early this morning, on the way to work, I stopped and took a photo. I took it with two cameras, and I am hoping the other camera did an even better job - but we'll see. As it is, I am proud of this photo:


As I started to drive back down the road, I spotted another splash of blue against the golden backdrop of grain. It was an oh-so-very bright bluebird... Very, very pretty. Experience tells me if I'd stopped, and gotten out with the camera, there's a good chance it would have flown away before I got focused on it, and my daughter was ready to be at her friend's house already, so I drove on.

But maybe, it wouldn't have flown away.

But what really baked the cake (so to speak... ) was this afternoon on the way HOME from work. I thought, "I have some time to kill... I am going to drive up to Boyd Big Tree Preserve, and look around. I did, too. After I pulled of Route 322 onto Fishing Creek Rd, with my destination in mind, I looked over and saw the coolest thing.

I have yet, in the eight years I've been in Pennsylvania, to take a good shot of a groundhog. Yes, there's Puxtahawney Phil, but I've not seen him. But here was a groundhog, not waddling through the grass like we usually see, but rather, next to the road, his paws up on this weed that was more of a bush than a weed, biting at a branch very above his head.

I haven't ever seen a groundhog behaving quite that way. But I was driving too fast. Like the bluebird, I had the feeling that if I stopped, he'd run away, so I didn't. But that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I drove to Boyds, even took a couple photos - one or two might be okay.

But after I left, I pulled out my cell phone and jotted a note to myself... the subject was "groundhog regrets".