Hurricane Cardinal

Those states on the east coast get all the perks of bordering the ocean....beach days are just part of the game.  But so are hurricanes.  While the Midwest does not get the daycation fun of living close to the beach, we also escaped the large scale havoc of Hurricane Sandy.  We just got rain.  Lots of rain.  A fine steady rain for days and days.

For Ohioans this meant compounding an already common dreary weather forecast for this time of year.  So to keep from feeling as glum and gloomy as it looked outside, I gave myself a photo assignment to keep occupied.  My original goal was to shoot a whole week of rainy weather shots with only my 50mm prime lens.  But then a pair of lovely cardinals out the window made me run for my 300mm zoom! 

I had to shoot through the window screen, which at first made me mad.  It made getting a clear, crisp,  focus on the cardinals a little challenging.   But with the wet rain it kind of created a nice diffused look.

These beautiful creatures were hunkered down in our almost bare plum tree.  Seeing them out in that steady rain really makes me amazed at how hardy these delicate little critters are, and how God is looking out from them in all seasons.

I also have been playing with my white balance settings on the old D90.  Hence the nice warm saturated colors of the female cardinal here....but the shot near the top of my post sort of had a blue cast.  That white balance sure can change the look of a shot!

See all the water droplets on his feathers!  He was soaked!

In to each life some rain must fall

The next day I also got some shots of some finches taking shelter in a little tree outside our kitchen window.  I started looking closely and noticed this little female finch actually appeared to be roosting!  I thought she might be preening at first, but her head was tucked in so she must have decided to take a little nap.

Right when I was about to hang up the camera and get some lunch for myself, this downy woodpecker swooped in and landed right in from of me!  So of course this delayed my lunch a little longer....but I think it was worth it?  Don't you?

Hope you enjoyed these rainy day shots.  At least I found some way to pass the time for a whole week of rain!