"Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears."
― Marcus Aurelius
"What the heck is that guy doing? He's gonna get hurt!"
Maybe! But I do, on occasion, take unnecessary risks for my art.
I crouched in the bitter cold to capture these mesmerizing ice baubles that cling to the edges of flowing water, sculpted by Nature. The creek isn't very deep, but it's never the depth that kills you—it's the headlong tumble, the unforgiving impact. I often flirt with unnecessary risks for the perfect shot, a truth I embrace with a mix of pride and caution.
In other news, my 2025 non-list birding list is starting to take shape. I'm doing well with strigiformes and emberizids, though nothing particularly remarkable has shown up yet. Meanwhile, Dane County's "Reliables" have taken a strong lead in that competitive birding thing. However, some of them still struggle to identify a House Wren or American Goldfinch by their vocalizations, while others can't tell a Baltimore Oriole feather from a Northern Flicker's. It seems like a few of them might be better at reading maps and driving a car than at actual birding.
All images © 2025 Mike McDowell