finally back!

i'm going to leave the photos smaller b/c there are so many- click to enlarge...

i haven't been to fairfield in quite a while- lots of stuff going on. steve was up last weekend when i was in denver to get started on the baseboards so we can get the upstairs carpeted. seems odd to put down baseboards before carpet, but that's how it works.

i was completely useless for anything other than company & i just headed out with the camera.

the marsh is full of water. this will be down to more marsh-like conditions as the weeks go by.

seems a bit early for a lot of the birds too. last year i remember lots of yellow headed blackbirds, but i think it must have been a little later. i only saw a few this weekend, but this guy was quite obliging.

 the cranes are back & boisterous. i could hear them all around me, but it's really hard to get very close. i was lucky enough to see (and hear) some courtship dances, tho not close enough to get good photos.

i think that the one on the left is a youngster due to not having any red on its head. 
    

we took a drive in the afternoon to get the jeep out (and look for cranes). saw these guys running through a field.

the first wildflowers are starting to peek out.

and we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

this guy was sitting on a fence post in the field behind us this morning

i went out again sunday morning looking for cranes. i found a herd of them off one of the farm roads. it was so cool to see so many of them in the same place.

and then back to the marsh.

i got a few shots of these guys dancing, but the photos aren't very good- i need to bite the bullet, set up the tripod & start shooting manually. i needed a faster shutter speed.

and a shore bird

and while i was off playing steve was slaving away.....

and that's it for now! it'll be 3 weeks before i can make it back up, steve may get there sooner..... next up for me, the camas lily bloom- hoping for a good one this year.