Canada Goose pair on the Mississippi River

            Today was strange, but all in a good way I suppose. Late in the afternoon, I decided to head over to the river for a walk. It was cold with temps in the teens, but the sun was out and who knows what I might see. On the drive to the park I was going down Lyndale at about 25 mph, when I noticed what looked sort of like a dollar bill. It was curved and tumbling end over end down the street in the wind, but I swear I saw a 1 followed by a 0. My mind somehow told me it could be a $100 bill and without hesitation I braked pretty quickly, not really even thinking about the cars behind me. There was nowhere to pull over and there was a steady stream of traffic coming down the one-way street. I kept going until the first intersection where I abruptly turned right, parked and jumped out of my car. By this time I was maybe 2 blocks past the spot, and I figured another car would see it and jump out and grab it before I could get back there. I hurried up along the curb until I thought I was close. Did I simply imagine it, or mistake a piece of garbage? Then I saw it laying there and I was redeemed! Sadly, it was just a $10 bill and not $100, but hey, it was still pretty lucky! Then of course my mind started going again as I wondered if there were any more bills laying around in this street. I scanned around from where I'd found the $10 but didn't see anything, so I hiked a little further in the same direction, seeing only lots of garbage. I thought about which way the wind blew down this street as it's kind of a wind tunnel here. I crossed the street to the opposite side where there was a sidewalk, so at least I didn't look like a crazy person wandering around looking at the ground. Then, a little ways ahead I spotted another bill! From a distance it looked like another $10 to me, but when I got closer it was actually a $20 bill! I couldn't believe my luck. Of course I kept looking for a little while longer, but never did find any more. Possibly the strangest part of this tale, is that I was telling my dad a story just last Friday about the time I found two $20 bills in a parking lot while out birding in the winter around 5 years ago. As I got back to my car, it also occurred to me that I've often daydreamed about finding money on this very road. Likely because I drive it nearly every day, and sadly it is completely littered with garbage. It's an entry road to I-94 with a sound fence on one side and a berm on the other, and is perpendicular to the wind so it just collects garbage like you wouldn't believe. I've often considered attempting to clean this area but I'm guessing it would fill a few dozen trash bags. Anyway, I arrived at the park later than I intended, and hiked quickly down to the part of the river where the Minneapolis Public Works Water Treatment building casts a red and gold reflection over the water. I'm always hopeful of seeing Goldeneyes or some other interesting waterfowl here. The only birds here this evening were Canada Geese, and I wasn't even going to photograph them at first. But I watched a pair that almost seemed to be kissing at first, until I realized they were simply feeding in the same small area. The reflection in the water was so amazing that I figured I'd better take some photos regardless. I'm glad I did because I like how this one turned out. Hennepin County, MN 02/28/24
   

Taken on: February 28, 2024

Sets appears in: • Colorful Combinations • Birds of Winter more » • Geese • Birds (ALL KINDS!) • North Mississippi Regional Park « less

Groups appears in: • Richard's Flora and Fauna

Camera: Nikon D500, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, 600mm (=900mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D500
Lens:	150.0-600.0 mm f/5.0-6.3
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	1/2500 sec
Focal Length:	600mm (35mm equivalent: 900mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Contrast:	Low
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)
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