Above the Clouds at Lost Lake

January has been crazy busy driving up and down the Columbia River chasing Eagles and Herons with an occasional foray to Conboy and Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuges.  Today I drove above the cloud/haze/inversion to grab some vitamin D in the form of SUNSHINE at Lost Lake!

What a special surprise to capture this lone Otter fishing.  The lake had a layer of ice, so the Otter had to break through the ice to surface with his prize.  In this photo, you can see chunks of ice near his ‘elbow’ as he munches on his catch.

With each ‘catch’, he climbed onto the ice and ate, then dove back for more.

Is this a crawfish he’s eating?  It was so quiet on the lake, he didn’t notice us until we went crashing through the brush, trying to keep up with him as he swam away.

I’m making a big effort to really learn my camera better and use it to its fullest potential.  In that light, I had a little fun with some experimental ‘blurred motion’ shots of the gorgeous surrounding forest before we left.

The pictures I haven’t shown you between my last post and this one (because I’ve run from one adventure to the next with no stops between) are on my Facebook Page, ‘Steider Studios’.  I try to post a daily photo of what I am lucky to see here in the Gorge, or regionally on the occasions when I leave my mountain top.

Many more fun events are coming up.

Sunday, Feb 1st is the group ‘bird walk’.  We may go to the Maryhill or Columbia Hills area – let me know if you want to join us & I’ll let you know where & when to meet.

Feb 12 – 15 I’ll be in Klamath Falls for Winter Wings Festival, photographing everything I see while I’m there!

Sunday, March 1st is another group bird walk.

First Friday, March 6th my show, “Fine Feathered Friends” opens at Columbia Arts and runs through March 30th.  Co-curator Robin Panzer and I have put together a fabulous month of events for your enjoyment in addition to 16 artists presenting their artwork!  Many of our artists will demonstrate their process during the month and we’ll have an interactive display on loan from Conboy National Wildlife Refuge.  On Mar 7th come see Raptors, live in the theater at Columbia Arts!  Mar 14 you can paint a birdhouse in the studio.  Mar 21st, enjoy a fashion show of feathery tattoos and a tattoo demonstration.  Mar 28 join us for a short hike up the Hood River stairs into an older neighborhood to see and learn about our resident birds with field biologist, Cathy Flick.

I keep thinking I’ll have plenty of time to tell you everything, but when the sun is out or eagles are flying, or an opportunity for fun presents itself….I’m going out to play!  Maybe I’ll see you out there!!