Try to guess which letter each animal is.

Also, have fun discovering which animal is most like you!

     You and your family feel comfortable...

A: in a homey, twiggy nest, in an evergreen filled by other chattering families

B: in a high, sturdy nest built with sticks supported by a thick lookout branch to perch on.

C: curled up and protected by your pack in the forest.

D: pressed against your family in a warm leafy nest suspended by a small tree.

E: in a cramped tree cavity where you can see everything, but nothing can see you.

F: nestled amongst your fellows on the ground in a pile of soft leaves.

A: a tidy pile of seeds you can collect for a swell snack.

E: any pest you can spot squirming in the bushes beneath you.

F: some fresh green leaves and a convenient clump of berries.

A: you and a few fellows squawk at the predator until you can force it to leave.

B: you screech and flap, try to tell the predator that they are not welcome.

C: you team up with your pack and growl to show the predator that this is your territory.

D: you are petrified, but if the predator does not lose interest in you, you run away immediately.

E: if you feel too exposed, evacuate; you don’t want a dangerous creature to know where you live.

F: if the predator gets too near, dash away quickly until you’re sure that nothing is tailing you.

     During the day your priorities are...

A: check your surroundings to make sure that no predators are in the area.

B: catch a meal, make sure your family isn’t hungry.

C: make sure the whole pack is still together, find some interesting food.

D: stay busy collecting food all over, check in with peers.

E: keep youngsters safe and rest unless anything appealing appears.

F: relax and find some bushes of food for your family to share.

     Your best way of transportation is...

A: flapping through your neighborhood with several peers trailing behind you

B: soaring steadily along with deep wing beats at treetop level, occasionally swooping down to glide at a five foot height and then stopping to perch.

C: progressing forward as a large clan, taking plenty of breaks to eat or communicate.

D: rapidly scrambling up and down tree trunks to find the perfect snack, stopping constantly to look around.

E: soaring silently with the wind, hidden by a thick cover of trees.

F: scampering quietly through the leaves, noticing everything around you.

     You spend free time...

A: exploring any unusual shenanigans, participating in a large gathering with your extended family.

B: casually cruising around your area, noticing any tasty treat opportunities.

C: playing with your pack, finding something new and interesting to explore.

D: playfully chasing peers through your neighborhood.

E: up high productively searching for prey, contributing to an eerie melody of mate calls late at night.

F: napping mindfully in the comfort of your habitat.

A: you often seem noisy or annoying, but really you’re just very curious, alert, and clever.

B: sometimes you can be stubborn, but you’re also swift, loving, and sensible.

C: you might be a bit too dependent on your pack, but you’re always loyal, playful, and a good leader.

D: you sometimes seem like a frightened animal, but you’re very productive, content, and energetic.

E: you can be creepy and afraid to trust anyone, but you really are graceful, watchful, and sneaky.

F: you’re often shy, but you’re also really gentle, happy, and careful.

E: elegant, intimidating, and sophisticated.

A: fly near a flock, and save time for talk!

B: live for freedom, for family, food, fingers, and the fabulous feeling of flight!

F: find satisfaction in the simple joys of nature!


If you answered a variety of letters, you might be a complicated person. If you answered mostly one letter, you might have a connection to that animal! If you aren’t sure exactly what that animal is like, maybe do some research (These six animals are ones I’ve had the most experience with in my yard. The answers of these questions are all based on what I’ve noticed about these creatures near my home. If you feel like these answers are inaccurate, you don’t need to believe this info. And please don’t become offended about personality misjudgment. This is only a quiz I made for fun, so enjoy).

ANIMAL QUIZ! SIX COMMON MAMMALS AND BIRDS OF MINNESOTA

There are two main methods to iPad or iPhone nature photography: you can stalk the animal, or you can wait for it. It’s a challenge that way, to try to come close to a creature without scaring it. Now edit that photo and see if you can make your friends think that you found the photo on the Internet. 

I take nature photos with only an iPad in my arms. Photos of all kinds of animals and also landscapes with attention centers like sun or water.

Try to sneak up on animals and see how close you can get to them in the wild, without offering them food. Sometimes you don’t get the good photo, but you get to observe the animal in its habitat until the animal sees or hears you and goes away.

With an iPad I have to get pretty close to the animal to get a decent photo, but that’s part of the challenge. On iPad, I also have a feature called Live Photo (it’s the little circular white icon at the top) and it animates the photo, so if you see a fox, but click the shutter button too late, just press on the photo to play a few more seconds of fox action. You can also so edit the photo to show the frame with the fox.

Recently I’ve been studying raptors because we have some gorgeous owls and hawks, and birds are fun to see because I don’t really have to get too close to them to get a photo of them against the sky. It’s all about contrast. 

It’s all the game of, what’s the coolest animal you can see up close? And, how far can you dive into nature without scaring away the wildlife? I enjoy exploring different methods and animals with different behaviors. A robin would fly away if I approached it, whereas if I ventured near a red tailed hawk‘s nest, she would swoop down in an attempt to intimidate me. With a nearby chipmunk, I‘d stay still and wait for an opportunity. With a frog, I would quietly approach. I never choose to chase an animal to my lens, because though I’m frightened, the animal is absolutely petrified. Everyone needs a reminder that a photograph isn’t worth scaring an animal to death.

Some animals can tolerate humans. Red-tailed hawks live in rural forests or prairies, but they also like to built nests in cities, and they can survive using street lamps as trees. But a human’s gaze can cause pain to an owl. Barred and great-horned owls both have nests near my home, and they always seem so uncomfortable to be in my sight. I don’t enjoy overwhelming owls, but they are such fascinating raptors to meet. They hate to be exposed and feel very vulnerable around people though.

I am still amazed at how I managed to come so close to the creatures displayed here, but it’s a matter of technique, patience and awareness. Of course, some of these photos were originally slightly duller. It isn’t an act of cheating to brighten an image to create more contrast. But this beauty proves what human eyes and iPhone lenses are capable of.

So try to be more observant of the habitat around you. How many individual complicated communities are in action within your neighborhood? How can you peek at an awesome natural activity without interfering? Try taking your own photos, ideally in summertime. Look for birds in the sky above you, and even if you don’t have time to slip out your camera, think about the great photo it would make. And you’ll become determined to capture the beauty in every moment. Even a fly on your windowsill is an opportunity for amazement.

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

When you want to get an idea from your head to your screen, write a poem. Poems are simple and thoughtful, and you can express yourself without having to explain every detail. Actually, the text’s format or style itself can describe how you feel.

Become inspired by reading a few of my own simple thought phrases. 


Soft and pretty, deep and mean;
Always heard but never seen.

Far away shall signal clear
but danger is the greatest fear.

Whisper of a cackling smile,
but this sight is always vile;

If you want it, swim a mile;
911 is what you’ll dial.




The sun was red,
The day was long.
The hill was steep,
I pushed along.

I wanted to set down my bike,
I wanted to just stop and hike,
But simething told me no.

My wheels climbed,
My legs went sore.
I reached the top—
And crows galore.

They stood so still,
Among their kin.
I gasped and then
I swooped right in.

Twenty pairs
Of strong black wings.
I felt them beat,
I heard them sing.

A firework of big black crows,
Surrounding me as up they rose
For just my eyes to see.

I was entranced,
Then in they came.
My parents, brother,
Called my name.

They’ll never know what’s in my head
And only ‘cause I pushed ahead
When something called me onward.


Flutter and flick,
Wings of glee,
If your gaze follows, you can see.

Sweetest sound,
Loud and clear,
Tiny cuteness, brimming tear.

Very surely, yes you would
take a photo if you could;

Wish to capture what you saw
as you stare above in awe.

It wants to move forward, but more it stalls. 
It has already landed, but still it falls.
It has all it needs, but loud it calls.
No reason to cry, and so it bawls.

You shall always dread me
but also you’re what fed me

You must always hate me
and now you almost ate me

I made my mistake:
I fed the dread,
and now I’m almost dead.

My head
is broken
‘cause I can’t see anything

My brain
is broken
‘cause I don’t know anything

I am empty like a sheet of blank
my head; my brain; my heart.

And oh I know that the error was huge
but now I can’t restart.

Was it truly my fault? Was I a cruel soul?
I’m too broken; I wish that I could know.

But when I was whole, I had the truth:
my heart was a love-filled bowl.

I saw a creep on Sunday night; the creep was dressed in white.
She was walking all alone, she was, and she was quite a sight!

I came to hold her hand, I came, but then she looked at me;
I saw what I had done, I saw, I’d took her hand off fully.

I stared at her, she stared at me, and then my hand she take;
My hand was gone, so very gone, it caused my shoulders shake.

I only had one hand, she had only one hand like me;
And so we came together, then, and liked the company.

I have two hands now, it’s true, I have the creep’s hand too.
We share our hands and arms, we share, and share the gum we chew.



Felt scared and depressed because you knew


This water was deep and your mind was swept through.

The thunder would take you,
The lighting would break you,

And when the clouds parted, the hot sun would bake you.

You were soaked already,
Water flow was steady,

Thanks for reading! Hopefully a poetic rhythm is beating through your brain now!  Try to blend the steady flow of emotions and the language landslide. 

POETRY