Mother’s Day at Ridgefield started off with a lovely soft rain and then clouds. I got some nice wren and snipe pictures in the early morning but after that I was rather off my game. I missed great shots of both a male and female yellowthroat as well as a sora, birds I don’t often get to photograph, because I had the camera set up incorrectly. Then in the early afternoon the clouds broke and it looked like the sun was going to come out and stay out, killing the nice light until late in the day.

Frustrated with myself for the missed opportunities, I walked the Kiwa Trail for the exercise, it had just recently opened after being closed during the winter so it was a good chance to see what was out and about. Which turned out to be not much, so as I got back to the car to finish the remaining half of the auto tour, it seemed like the universe was telling me to cut my losses and go home for some much needed yardwork and much desired hedgehogging.

But as I drove into the little ash forest that runs along Bower Slough, the clouds returned just as I spotted one of my favorite creatures working the shore on the other side of the slough. The raccoon wasn’t in a great spot for pictures so I waited for it to move along the bank to a better location, nervously watching for traffic behind me that would likely spook it. Even though many other people were also enjoying the day at Ridgefield, the road stayed mercifully clear long enough not only for the raccoon to step into the green grass, it even stopped to search for prey in the mud with its sensitive hands. It then disappeared into the grass and I never saw it again, just as another car drove past.

I began to think the universe was telling me to stay, so stay I did, and fortunately so for late in the day I got great pictures of …