Retrospective of 2016: nature photographs

Retrospective of 2016: Today is part one of a three-part retrospective of the images of 2016. Each day, I will present a different theme. Today, the images are of nature. They represent a year's worth of scenery from Grand Island, Buffalo, Delevan, and rural Illinois. I hope that you enjoy the images that I've chosen for this year.

January

In January, I took a walk in Buckhorn Island State Park in Grand Island, New York. The images were stark, icy, and gave the impression of silence.

February

The winter of 2016 was fairly mild so I didn't get too many snowy images.  These pictures were taken at various places in Grand Island.

River Oaks golf course (Spicer Creek)

Niagara River at sunset

After a rainfall

March

Winter was coming to an end. On a warm day, I saw kayakers in Woods Creek, and I saw snowdrops and crocuses begin to grow. The color in my part of the world was returning.

 

kayaking early in the spring

crocuses always seem like a surprise

a clear day on the river

April
The floral beauty of April shone brightly after a mild winter. The trees were still bare, but life was coming back to the river.

This is one of many varieties of daffodil that I saw in April

Beaver Island State Park

lagoon at Beaver Island State Park

May
In May, it is wonderful to see the trees get clothed in leaves again.  The flowering trees are spectacular, and Buckhorn Island State Park looks and sounds like a thriving wildlife sanctuary as the migratory birds return.

apple blossoms

tulips like growing in clumps

marsh at Buckhorn Island State Park

wild geranium at Buckhorn Island State Park

June
In June, I joined Voices for Creative Nonviolence for the Deincarceration walk. The entire walk took the group from Chicago to the still-under-renovation Administrative United States Penitentiary Thomson (supermax). I participated in just part of the walk, which took me through beautiful rural Illinois. The weather, however, was very hot and dry.

The horses were a delight to see.

After we finished our vigil across the street from the prison, we walked to the Mississippi River.

Here are some of the flowers that we spotted along the road.

July  

July was hot and dry. The lawns began to turn brown. The flowers still bloomed and the river was still lively.

back yard rabbit

the river at sunset

full moon over the Niagara River

bumble bees are easy going about being photographed

August  
The drought continued, but the resilient plants and animals continued to thrive. People walked in Buckhorn Island State Park, either with dogs, family, friends, or all of the above. 

wildflower in Buckhorn Island State Park

tall grasses and a marsh, so alive

Boats in their docks on the Niagara River.

very dramatic sunflower

September  
Summer is slowly ending. With the group from Saint Martin in the Fields church, I enjoy one last summer time activity: a camping weekend at Camp Duffield in Delevan, N.Y., in Cattaraugus County.

late flowers

mushrooms growing on a tree trunk

the waterfalls

October  
The leaves are turning color and are starting to fall from the trees. The air is becoming chillier. There are pumpkins and apples and it is autumn.

Busy honeybee

The magnificence of the tall tree

mums

reflections (Woods Creek)

November 
I went on a birdwatching walk through Buckhorn Island State Park, with a guide from the Audubon Society. We saw many species of birds, including bald eagles that were sitting on trees in Navy Island. At the end of the month, I went to a farmers market at a chicken farm in Grand Island.

the marsh in November

a bare tree silhouetted against the sky

Christmas trees

December  
The snows return. My natural world has once again become quiet and dormant. We have come full circle since January.

Tomorrow:  I will feature the artwork of 2016.