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#NatureZen and Photography

NatureZen: The Spring So Far

NatureZen: The Spring So Far

words and photos by Melissa McMasters I love everything about spring. The pastel color palette, birds hoarsely coming back into song, pollen-dusted bees emerging from wildflower blooms…spring contains enough treasures for an entire year. Because the season unfolds slowly at first, I often find myself

NatureZen: Love Nests

NatureZen: Love Nests

words and photos by Melissa McMasters A silly joke I used to make in my pre-birding life was that on particularly wind-blown days, my hair looked like it had been constructed by the Avian Homebuilders’ Association. (I know, I know…I won’t quit my day job.)

NatureZen: The Fluffy Stuff

NatureZen: The Fluffy Stuff

words and photos by Melissa McMasters Even before this week’s snowfall, I’d been thinking about how despite not being a big fan of the cold or the gray skies, winter is my second-favorite season to go birding. While the near-daily arrivals of new species and

NatureZen: Birds With Snacks (Part 2)

NatureZen: Birds With Snacks (Part 2)

words and photos by Melissa McMasters Last year at this time, inspired by the piles of baked goods strewn around our office, I wrote about what some of the birds in our area like to eat in the winter. It seems like as good a

NatureZen: Not From Around Here, Are You?

NatureZen: Not From Around Here, Are You?

words and photos by Melissa McMasters Until this month, my experience with flamingos was limited to lawn ornaments and residents of zoos and aviaries. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see an American flamingo in the wild. Though they turn up in South Florida every now

NatureZen: Dog Day Symphony

NatureZen: Dog Day Symphony

NatureZen: Dog Day Symphony words and photos by Melissa McMasters, except where noted There’s no sound that takes me back to childhood quite like a cicada song. As daylight waned on a summer evening, my grandma would finally deem it cool enough to get into her

NatureZen: A Field Full of Cheer

NatureZen: A Field Full of Cheer

words and photos by Melissa McMasters I love a field of sunflowers as much as the next person (although probably not as much as a bumble bee does). But for me, the bright floral stars of midsummer are not sunflowers but their much more diminutive

NatureZen: The Next Generation

NatureZen: The Next Generation

NatureZen: The Next Generation words and photos by Melissa McMasters At some point every spring, the soundtrack of the woods changes. There are fewer birds layering their songs over each other in pursuit of attracting a mate or warning away a rival. Filling in these

NatureZen: World Migratory Bird Day

NatureZen: World Migratory Bird Day

words and photos by Melissa McMasters This Saturday, the Americas will celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, a day devoted to birds and the international cooperation required to assist in their conservation. About 20% of the world’s bird species migrate, flying hundreds or thousands of miles

NatureZen: Beyond April Fool’s

NatureZen: Beyond April Fool’s

NatureZen: Beyond April Fool’s words and photos by Melissa McMasters April Fool’s Day, along with warmer weather, has me thinking about all the creatures I run across that are using deception as a part of their daily lives. So even though April 1 has come