Confluence State Park

This past week I took a trip to Confluence State Park which is a State Park in Missouri.  It is the point where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers converge.

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As you can tell from the Mississippi River sign, the area is a bit flooded right now.  Probably that is a good thing as the area has been in a drought lately.  Over this winter and early spring the area has had both rain and snow.

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I tried in the above photo to show a bit of the power of the rivers.  Also, I was looking on the shores for a bit of spring.  I didn’t find much green.  This spot is also known as a good place to spot eagles, particularly in the winter.  March is sort of the end of the season and I did not see any on this particular day.

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Also, we do some pretty ridiculous things to the environment. The first photo shows what remains of a concrete walking path in the area.  Because of the volatility of the rivers, attempting to put any structure in the area is a bit of a waste.  The newer paths are all just dirt, a much more sensible choice if you ask me.  The other picture is on garbage in the water. Crazy how we just think that junk is going to just disappear.

The State Park is pretty modest.  Just a few sign and a walking path.  Well worth a visit though.  When you are in the area, you should also stop by the Audubon Center at Riverlands. It is right in the area and has a really lovely visitor’s center and wildlife viewing area.

Cheers!

Freezing on Friday

Well, we got some snow and ice yesterday.  That meant that my bird feeders were busier than usual.

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I used my Canon 50D with a 50mm lens to get these shots.  I did stay inside, we have some nice windows by the bird feeders so that we can enjoy the birds without bothering them too much.  I shot both using AWB, but then edited them later in Aperture.  Both pictures have been cropped.  The bird looking to the sky has been bumped up one exposure stop in post editing.  The bird under the bush I just used the auto adjust function for white balance.

Today is forecasted to be another cold one here, so I am expecting a lot of bird visitors.

Cheers!