Outdoor Adventures

In light of the great Spring weather we had this week, I took advantage of it yesterday by taking Jordan to do a few things outside around town vs. spending the day cooped up in the house.

First, we went to one of the many lakes we have around to feed the ducks. Our lake downtown is also home to many Swans the city cares for, so it makes for a great place to see a lot of wildlife, and a great place to practice with my camera.

Spring also means babies!! Which we saw a few of today. We saw several swans resting in their nests but only one little ugly duckling... I did my best for a picture, but the grass was getting in the way of the focus...

 But there were plenty of opportunities for other swan shots. This was one of my favorites,

And I love this one too, but I'm totally into the whole, out of focus in the background on purpose, type of picture right now so I might not be a good judge.

Jordan got really close to a few of the ducks we fed. I've found in my duck feeding experience, that the big white ducks usually come much closer than the mallards.  These guys weren't afraid at all. One even touched Jordan's finger while he was feeding him. The reaction is the second shot.

We saw one turtle and one tortoise in our adventures today. The turtle was while we were at the lake, but we didn't get too close. He didn't seem particularly friendly.

These guys however, I would have loved to have gotten close to, but my zoom lens would have to do. They took off with Mama as soon as they realized we were trying to lure them in with the bread.

Later on in the evening, since I was already in an "outdoorsy" mood, I opted to take Jordan and the dogs to a nearby park with a hiking trail for our walk instead of just going around the block. Now, walking two dogs while trying to take pictures has proven difficult, but I got a few. 

I love this one of Jordan walking up ahead on the trail. He kept looking out for markers to make sure we were going in the right direction.

And here's my poser on a bridge we found out along the trail. He had me take about 10 different shots before he was happy to move on. He has this whole thing right now were every time I ask him for a nice face, he asks me to take one of a silly face in return. lol

And last, here's our tortoise. I'm surprised he stuck around for pictures, since the dogs were VERY interested in him. He did okay for awhile, but once Jordan went in for a touch, he took off. He was surprisingly fast for a tortoise...

All in all, it was a great day enjoyed with my boy reminding me that the outdoors can be pretty nice if I take the time to enjoy them....