F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.
Bufflehead Duck ( Female )
Why couldn’t the bicycle stand up by itself?
It was two tired.
Interesting Fact: They hold their wings tightly against their bodies underwater and use only their feet to propel themselves. At the end of a dive, they may bob to the surface like a cork. Throughout the day they alternate between bouts of feeding, swimming alertly, preening, and sleeping. ( Bufflehead Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 250, Photoshop.
Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Did you hear the rumor about butter?
Well, I’m not going to spread it!
Interesting Fact: The great majority of Rio Rancho was originally part of the Town of Alameda Grant, which was founded by Spanish settlers in 1710. By the early 20th century, much of the land grant had been sold to land investment companies. Amrep Corporation purchased 55,000 acres (22,000 ha) in 1961 and turned the land into a housing development called “Rio Rancho Estates”, with the first families moving in the early 1960s. Amrep contracted with Ezio Valentini, one of the original developers of Cape Coral, Florida, to design and implement a unique marketing plan to conduct land-sales, dinner-party program in northern states to open offices in 14 states. The population grew ten-fold between 1970 and 1980 and the City of Rio Rancho was incorporated in 1981. The opening of a large Intel Corporation plant in 1981 had a major economic impact on the city. ( Rio Rancho, New Mexico – Wikipedia )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
American Coot
How do you get a squirrel to like you?
Act like a nut.
Interesting Fact: The ecological impact of common animals, like this ubiquitous waterbird, can be impressive when you add it all up. One estimate from Back Bay, Virginia, suggested that the local coot population ate 216 tons (in dry weight) of vegetation per winter. ( American Coot Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.
Pied-Billed Grebe
What happened to the car with an engine made of wood?
It wooden go.
Interesting Fact: The Latin genus name for “grebe” means “feet at the buttocks”—an apt descriptor for these birds, whose feet are indeed located near their rear ends. This body plan, a common feature of many diving birds, helps grebes propel themselves through water. Lobed (not webbed) toes further assist with swimming. Pied-billed Grebes pay for their aquatic prowess on land, where they walk awkwardly. ( Pied-billed Grebe Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/5.0, 1/60, ISO 800, Photoshop.
What Does it Mean If You Were Born In September?
That your parents started the new year with a BANG!
Interesting Fact: During the Middle Ages in Western Europe, while the Julian calendar was still in use, authorities moved New Year’s Day, depending upon locale, to one of several other days, including March 1, March 25, Easter, September 1, and December 25. Beginning in 1582, the adoptions of the Gregorian calendar has meant that many national or local dates in the Western World and beyond have changed to using one fixed date for New Year’s Day, January 1. ( New Year – Wikipedia )
Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays To All
F/22.0, 30.0, ISO 250.
Why is Santa so jolly?
Because he knows where all the naughty girls live.
Interesting Fact: The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today’s Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt. However, it was published by a Detroit newspaper reporter, and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[14] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 400.
Northern Cardinal ( Male )
In the class room
Bobby: ” Can I go the toilet? ”
Teacher: ” Say the alphabet ”
Bobby: ” ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOQRSTUVWXYZ “
Teacher: “Where’s the P “
Bobby: ” Half way down my leg “
Interesting Fact: Northern Cardinals hop through low branches and forage on or near the ground. Cardinals commonly sing and preen from a high branch of a shrub. The distinctive crest can be raised and pointed when agitated or lowered and barely visible while resting. You typically see cardinals moving around in pairs during the breeding season, but in fall and winter they can form fairly large flocks of a dozen to several dozen birds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory#behavior )
F/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 640.
Mute Swan
A good looking woman walks into a bar wearing a tube top. She raises her hand to signal the bartender for a beer, revealing that she does not shave her
armpits.
Meanwhile, a sloppy drunk on the other side of the bar signals the bartender, “Buy that ballerina over there a drink on me.”
The bartender replies, “What makes you think she’s a ballerina?”
“Because,” answers the drunken man, “any chick that can lift her leg that high has GOT to be a ballerina.”
Interesting Fact: All of the Mute Swans in North America descended from swans imported from Europe from the mid 1800s through early 1900s to adorn large estates, city parks, and zoos. Escapees established breeding populations and are now established in the Northeast, Midatlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest of the U.S. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 280.
Hooded Merganser ( Male )
A police officer stops a Bob’s car.
Police Officer: “Your driver’s license please.”
Bob: “I’m really sorry, I forgot.”
Officer: “At home?”
Bob: “No, to do it.”
Interesting Fact:They take flight by running across the water, flying with fast wingbeats and never gliding until they are about to land (by skidding to a stop on the water). ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/640, ISO 200.
Canvasback ( Female )
Guy in a restaurant calls a waiter over
Guy: “Waiter, I am outraged. There is one hair in my soup.”
Waiter: “And what do you expect for this price? A whole wig?!”
Interesting Fact: The breeding habitat of the canvasback is in North Americaprairie potholes. The bulky nest is built from vegetation in a marsh and lined with down. Loss of nesting habitat has caused populations to decline. The canvasback usually takes a new mate each year, pairing in late winter on ocean bays.[5] It prefers to nest over water on permanent prairie marshes surrounded by emergent vegetation, such as cattails and bulrushes, which provide protective cover. Other important breeding areas are the subarctic river deltas in Saskatchewan and the interior of Alaska. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvasback )
Through Open Lens 