Field Notes

Winter, Red Barn, Winter Barn

Bird's Eye View

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Winter, Snow, Barn, Farm Winter, Winter Farm

Wrapped In Tenderness

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Barn, Winter, Red Barn, Farm

Calls Me Home

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Horse, Winter, Snow, Farm Scene Horse

Happy-Hearted

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Barn, Winter, Farm, Red Barn, Snow

Promised Land

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Horse, Horses, Winter, Winter Horse

Echo With The Wind

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Winter Farm, Farm, Winter

Winter's Embrace

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Horse, Winter, Church, Horses

Sunday Romp

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Sheep, Winter, Barn, Sheep in Winter, Winter Barn

Shelter From The Storm

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Snow, Winter, Winter Trees

Winter's Symmetry

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

"When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable...

Breaking The Silence

"When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlines and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men..." -Aldo Leopold. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Sandhill Cranes are the oldest known existing bird species, their fossil remains go back nine million years.

Family Takeoff

Sandhill Cranes are the oldest known existing bird species, their fossil remains go back nine million years. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Summer Stretch

Summer Stretch

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Cranes, Sandhill Cranes, sunset

Evening Flight To The Roost

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Crane,  Wetland

Hear Our Call

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Calving Season

Calving Season

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Cabin Life

Cabin Life

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

guitar, widow, country

Ready For Crosspicking

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Horse Saddle

Saddle Up

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Birdhouse Gourds

Birdhouse Gourds

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

horse, farm, tractor

Quiet Morning

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Goat, baby goat

Saying Hello

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

goats, baby goats

Nap Time

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

baby goat, goat

Ready To Play

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

fog, sunrise

Summer Sunrise

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

No doubt my favorite season is spring. The energy of the spring season is intoxicating. During this time of year there is a treat...

White-throated Sparrow

No doubt my favorite season is spring. The energy of the spring season is intoxicating. During this time of year there is a treat for the early riser, the dawn chorus.

The great dawn chorus begins at 3:30 a.m. As sparrows, thrushes, orioles, vireos, warblers, wrens, and others sing out to mark their territory and attract a mate. A special time during a special season.

One of my favorite songsters of spring is the White-throated sparrow, with their oh-sweet-canada-canada whistle. In my opinion, their song is right up there with the cry of the Loon, and the call of Sandhill Cranes for evoking the consciousness of being in nature.

Recently, White-throated sparrow singing has changed from a triplet-ending song to a doublet-ending song. This change has progressed rather rapidly within populations of White-throated sparrows. The theory is the variation improves a male's chance of attracting a mate, and the deviation originated from a single western Canadian sparrow that has been copied while mixing with other White-throated sparrows on wintering grounds. Truly amazing. You can learn more about it at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220307715 or by googling “continent-wide shifts in song dialects of White-throated sparrows”. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Baltimore Oriole, Bird Singing

Member Of The Dawn Chorus

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Birds, Redwing Black bird, Prairie

Redwing Blackbird

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Bird, Prairie, meadowlark

Meadowlark

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

The Northern Parula has a wide US breeding range, from the southern states north to southern Canada, but no matter the location...

Northern Parula


The Northern Parula has a wide US breeding range, from the southern states north to southern Canada, but no matter the location they always use moss to build their nests. In the north they use old-man beard lichen and in the south spanish moss.

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Tamarack Triptych

Tamarack Triptych

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Flower, Frost, Flower and frost

First Frost

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Tree, Frost, Leaf

Oak

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

flower, frost, frosted flower

Rudbeckia

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Tree, tree needles

Frosted Tamarack

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Cats, Farm Cats

Farm Cats

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Goats

First Cut

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Sheep

See It My Way

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Sheep

Shetland

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Sheep

Summer Morning

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know...

First Snow

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Winter, post and wire, snow and post

Silent Season

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Winter, Winter Fog, Mist, Trees, Winter Trees

White Mist

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Winter, Trees, two trees in snow

You'll Awaken

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Winter, Snow, Tree in Winter, Fence and Tree

Ready For Spring

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

There is something about a photographer equipped with a weird camera composing on a ground glass that brings out the curiosity...

Cow Kisses

There is something about a photographer equipped with a weird camera composing on a ground glass that brings out the curiosity of a cow. The other images are some of my favorites captured this summer.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Cows, Horse, Cow

A Mother's Love

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Amish, Amish Buggy, Rain, Farm, Country Road

I'll Be A Traveler

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Cows, Barn, Fog, Horses

Softness And Light

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Cows, Fog, Hills, Pasture

Bless The Morning

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Ice Triptych

Ice Triptych

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

It was amazing to witness and photograph this spring fed creek for multiple days as temperatures fluctuated between -8 and -18...

Watercress at -15°F


It was amazing to witness and photograph this spring fed creek for multiple days as temperatures fluctuated between -8 and -18°F. The ice would form on its edges and creep in and recede with the daily temperature swings. All the other streams in the area were frozen solid, but the ever present bubbling of spring water kept the ice at bay on this special spring creek.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Spring Creek -17°F

Spring Creek -17°F

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Spring Creek -16°F

Spring Creek -16°F

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Spring Creek -14°F

Spring Creek -14°F

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Images captured in a place where the skies are a little bluer, and the stars shine a little brighter.

Fall Triptych


Images captured in a place where the skies are a little bluer, and the stars shine a little brighter.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

tree abstracts, abstracts, color abstracts

Aspen And Sugar Maples

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Barn, Rain

Summer Rain

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

tractor, farm

Nothing Left To Give

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

barn, tire, fall colors

A Quiet Place

Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

Wherever I am in my travels I will often wonder what a particular  spot looked like in the past. It is the land that has been...

Last Bloom


Wherever I am in my travels I will often wonder what a particular spot looked like in the past. It is the land that has been covered in concrete that I often daydream about, wondering what it looked like before being changed forever. Sadly sometimes daydreaming isn't necessary.

I have driven by this pasture almost daily for the past twenty five years. I have seen fox and deer in its meadow, and every March I admired the blooms along its fence row. I knew time was limited, as suburban sprawl was fast approaching. Then one morning, there they were, dozens of bulldozers tearing up the meadow. I watched as trees were shredded and piled up to be burned, and top soil was mounded to be hauled off. My heart was heavy with the realization that this little patch of earth would likely be covered in concrete for generations.


Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.

"Why is it that the destruction of something created by humans is called vandalism, yet the destruction of something created...


"Why is it that the destruction of something created by humans is called vandalism, yet the destruction of something created by God is called development?" -Edward Abbey


Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.