{"id":3686,"date":"2021-01-01T07:47:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-01T14:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kairosphotos.com\/blog\/?p=3686"},"modified":"2021-01-01T08:11:32","modified_gmt":"2021-01-01T15:11:32","slug":"a-year-in-pictures-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kairosphotos.com\/blog\/a-year-in-pictures-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"A year in pictures – 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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2020 started off strangely for me, and then it only grew more weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January, I had surgery to swap out an old hip joint for a modern titanium one. That meant two or three months of rehab, and then I had plans to hit the road, starting with a trip to South Sudan. Beyond that, work beckoned from the Philippines, Indonesia, and other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That’s not my photo, though it is my body. With an aftermarket joint. Pretty slick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I recovered from the surgery, however, the world was overwhelmed by the coronavirus. Travel ground to a halt. Countries like South Sudan stopped admitting foreigners. Weeks of staying home became months of staying home. Fortunately for me, my home environment is filled with native plants and fascinating critters, so I started capturing images of the flora and fauna of my back yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bee on broccoli. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An Oregon iris (Iris tenax) flowers amid Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A bug on Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Probably a cross orb weaver spider.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oregon swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon oregonius). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tomato.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A hover fly on a Douglas aster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Poplar click beetle (Ampedus apicatus) explores some Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bee on red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) on a Mock Orange flower (Philadelphus Lewisii). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on blueberry bush.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lemon cucumbers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Frog in pond.
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A Goldenrod crab spider on oregano blossoms. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Blueberries. But you knew that.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And who couldn’t ignore the birds that graced us with their presence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) eats fruit from an Indian plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wood ducks (Aix sponsa) think about moving into my duck house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) delights in Red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A male Northern flicker woodpecker (Colaptes auratus). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Wood duck (Aix sponsa).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A female Hairy woodpecker (Dryobates villosus). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Townsend’s warbler (Setophaga townsendi). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An Oregon Duck. Of course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A shy chickadee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Feathers and egg shells from a Wood duck nest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In pursuit of birds, I did venture away from home a few times, whether to the Delta Ponds along the Willamette River just east of my home, or to the Skagit and Nooksack Rivers in northern Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Barred owl (Strix varia) in the forest above Oakridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The rare two-headed Double-crested cormorant, Delta Ponds, Eugene. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Water ouzel, or American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus<\/em>), in Champion Creek, Umpqua National Forest, Oregon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) chows down on a garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) at Coquille Point, part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Bandon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) catches its supper, Fern Ridge Wildlife Area, <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Angela, a Bald eagle, shows her new pedicure to two friends on the Nooksack River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Bald eagle gets ready to eat on the Nooksack River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bald eagle on the Skagit River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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At times I played around with that other button on my cameras that records video. Here’s a video guide for how to photograph owls, featuring a Great horned owl that spent its days in our back yard for a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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