If there is something I love more than photographing and writing about birds and the natural world I for sure don’t know what it would be.
Years and years ago during my college days, trust me it was long before the internet was even a vague idea in somebody’s head, I dreamed about being an outdoor photographer and writer.
Simply put, I love showing people through photographs and the written word just how incredible nature is.
It’s what I do as blogging about birds, butterflies, and everything else I am so fortunate to experience out in nature on an almost daily basis literally “melts my butter”.
But as you all may have noticed, my postings have been a bit sporadic as of late and there are a couple of good reasons for that.
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The most prominent reason is, along with one of my brothers, I am a full-time caregiver to my elderly mother.
Between the two of us, either my brother or myself is with our mother 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
And if you have some experience with such intense care for another person, especially one with special needs, it is an exhausting and very time-consuming ordeal.
It’s nothing, however, I want or am looking for sympathy for as I consider it an honor to serve my elderly mother in such a manner but rather it does play a large role in why my blog posts have been a bit slow as of late.
(Singing Yellow-headed Blackbirds from today’s trip s at Farmington Bay WMA.
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It might surprise you but most of my blog posts are actually a result of excursions where I am taking my mom on a drive somewhere to give her some time out of the house, either to Antelope Island, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Farmington Bay, or a few other places that are close by.
And because of her current health situation, these trips are often quite short now, which doesn’t allow much in the way of photographing or finding something new to blog about.
But I do what I can with what time I have available when I am able to get her out and about for a short while.
Today was one of those days, in fact, as we took an hour ride to Farmington Bay for a quick birding trip which actually ended up giving me all of the images and video for today’s blog post.
Another aspect of why this is affecting my blog posts is I have to wait until my mother goes to sleep before I can concentrate on editing pictures and videos and somehow compose some kind of blog post out of them, usually happening after midnight when the house is then quiet.
Somedays, like today, I have the energy to pen a few words, and other days I just don’t have it in me after watching my mother slowly slip away, day by day.
I owe everything to my parents and it’s why I spent a couple years helping out in the same manner when my dad passed away and why I am currently giving all I can to my mother and her needs.
Both my parents gave me the opportunity to get interested in birds back when I was 8 years old or so and my time now, even at the expense of a regular blog, is the very least I could do to somehow repay them, if that is even remotely possible, for what they have done for me my entire life.
The other reason my blogs have been a bit few and far between as of late is some bad news I recently learned about a good birding friend of mine, a friend some of you might actually know but I won’t be posting his name at this point due to the sensitive nature of the situation.
This good birding friend took ill a short while ago and recently I learned he won’t be around much longer as his condition is not only terminal but deteriorating very quickly.
I am not going to sugarcoat it, this news actually hit me kind of hard when I learned of the severity of the situation as I look up to him not only as an expert birder but even more so as a good friend.
It’s kind of hard to get into birds lately when an important part of my “birding family” won’t be around much longer.
He will so dearly be missed, not just because of his bird knowledge but even more so from the good friendship we had during the time I was blessed to have known him.
So, as a result of all of this, my blog has taken a bit of a hit lately and I apologize for that.
Someday I will get back into the regular swing of things and post several times per week, but for now, sporadic posts and a few short video updates on my YouTube channel are about all I can muster.
I truly enjoy this website and blogging about birds and nature and plan on keeping it going for years to come.
I’m also very grateful to all who help support this website by visiting my online store and purchasing a shirt or two, every bit helps in keeping the website going.
Lastly, to keep up to date with my current sporadic posts, head on over to my subscribe page and sign up for email notifications for future blog posts, and don’t hesitate to share them with your nature-minded friends and family.
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