Observations

Young musician in voluntary thrall. Rock festival, September, 2013 (Please view in Light Box or larger sizes for best effect.)

Lining up to compete on a chilly morning. Sports park, November, 2010 (Please view in Light Box for best effect.)

A male American Goldfinch blends miraculously with seed-producing foliage. Nature preserve, August, 2013 (see the female of the pair: www.ipernity.com/doc/tongueyourhead/27824141) Please view in larger sizes (and/or light view) for best effect. The American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), also known as the Eastern Goldfinch, is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico during the winter. The only finch in its subfamily that undergoes a complete molt, the American Goldfinch displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter months, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. The American Goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. It may behave territorially during nest construction, but this aggression is short-lived. Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. This species is generally monogamous, and produces one brood each year.

Dusk falls on a traveling carnival. June, 2012 (Please view in LightBox or in larger sizes for best effect)

Fallen elms. Nature preserve, May, 2014 (Please view in Light Box or larger sizes for best results)

Crab apple blossoms - Private estate, May, 2014 (Please view in larger sizes for best results)

Crab apple blossoms - Private estate, May, 2014 (Please view in larger sizes for best results)

Derelict structure amid slush and mounds of soot flecked snow. Rust belt, March, 2014 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Derelict structure amid slush and mounds of soot flecked snow. Rust belt, March, 2014 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Derelict structure amid slush and mounds of soot flecked snow. Rust belt, March, 2014 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Young Boarder with Our Lady of Guadalupe Socks. Sports park, June, 2013 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect.)

Young Boarder with Our Lady of Guadalupe Socks. Sports park, June, 2013 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect.)

A patch of purples in an ocean of green. The chromatic relationship between greens and purples never ceases to grab my attention. Open meadow, park lands, May, 2014. (Please view in Light Box or larger sizes for best effect.)

Electrical wires against a summer thunderstorm. From my office window, June, 2012 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect)

Electrical wires against a summer thunderstorm. From my office window, June, 2012 (Please view in Light Box or in larger sizes for best effect)

Summer hiker with Starbucks coffee. Public park, October, 2013

Wild daisies shaded by forest trees. Nature preserve, June, 2014 (Please view in Light Box or larger sizes for best effect.)