Nature Photo Scavenger Hunt

These are a few photos that are part of an assignment from an class I am taking through the Missouri Department of Conservation. The assignment was a photo scavenger hunt of something colorful, something important, something camouflaged, something small and something gross. Here are my submissions.

Something Colorful
Since the assignment was given in very early spring, there were not very many colorful plants available, so I improvised by using my kids to add color to what was already a beautiful creek scene. I like how the light and shadow help define and separate the foreground and background.







Something Important         

This old road leads down to a creek that cuts through two farm fields. The trees and brush are the start of about 90 yards of riparian zone that protects the creek from the runoff from the agricultural fields. It also contains an amazing diversity of wildlife habitat. I have seen deer, turkey, squirrel, coyote and quail along this road.

 Something camouflaged

 The white spots on the back of this fawn blend in with the spots of light as it makes it's way to a mudhole for a drink of water. This mudhole is sheltered on all sides by thick brush and is heavily used by many species of wildlife.

                                                                                      
       

Something Small

 I found these small fungi on an old log while exploring a branch of the creek at the south end of my friend's farm. Each one was about the size of a dime and I would have missed them had I not stopped to pick some thorns out of my shirt. Even a rotten log plays a part in nature's grand scheme.






Something Gross

While I would not consider a dead bird to be something gross, my wife and kids did proclaim it to be gross. I will be guided by their judgement on this. We found this bird on the side of our house, thankfully before the dogs found it. I do like the way the bird, twig and landscape fabric all guide the eye around the photo. Maybe I should get a print made to hang in the living room.  ; )    

Ethics and Safety

What a great day! A beautiful Saturday afternoon at the farm. Windy enough to be cool but sunny enough to be warm. The kids explored the creek and shot their BB guns, the adults shot some clay pigeons. We found plenty of deer and coyote tracks and one set that looked like bobcat.

I used this as an opportunity to talk to my kids up litter and how we should take care of our natural world. We picked up all of the cans and plastic bottles we used as targets and made a game of who could pick up the most shotgun shells.

My son took on the challenge as soon gathered the lion's share and was easily declared the winner. My daughter was less enthusiastic but scored some extra points by picking up some trash that was left by someone else. Since she often refuses to pick up after someone else while at home, I asked her why she did that at the farm and she simply said "I don't want any animals to get sick."

I could not have said it better myself.