A Winter Nature Photography Adventure... in Missouri!
"Without wilderness, we will eventually lose the capacity to understand America. Our drive, our ruggedness, our unquenchable optimism and zeal and élan go back to the challenges of the untrammeled wilderness."
Harvey Broome
--American attorney, writer, and conservationist
Around 7am, I got up and brewed a pot of coffee in anticipation of the December cold. Missouri winters can be unforgiving, so I put on several layers under my camouflage coveralls. This morning was no exception. I gave my 120 lb lab/mastiff mix a kiss as I headed out the door with my Canon and thermos.
We usually have some nice finds driving along the backroads. Missouri really is beautiful this time of year, especially if we get a nice dusting of snow.
My boyfriend and I love walking the Greenways Trail; it's 5 minutes from the house, and we always see wildlife--sometimes it's a flock of Eastern turkey, often it's ducks, geese, a lone blue heron, a red-tailed hawk, and, if we're lucky we'll see some beautiful white tail deer.
Today, we walked along the old bridge, now converted to a walking bridge that spans the James River. We followed the trail down to the marshy area where we saw several mallards and a couple of green-winged teal.
While watching the ducks, we saw a good sized buck come running through the woods toward us!
After the excitement, we hung out with the ducks a little longer before deciding to head home to warm up. As we made our way along the trail back to the truck, we spotted a grouping of deer and caught a photo of these pretty girls before they bounded off into the woods.
As we headed home and and began to regain feeling in our fingers and toes, I reflected on the wonder of the natural world and our little slice of it in Missouri. I spent my entire youth yearning to leave Missouri, but it wasn't until I left and traveled across the Americas and other parts of the world that I began to truly appreciate the beauty of the Ozarks. Every step I take into the woods, the more inspired and connected I feel to the rest of the world and my place in it--and the more I feel responsible to be a good steward of her.
