We owe you all so much, thank you is the least we can say to you everyday. Here’s some thoughts for us all to consider on Memorial Day.

Heres a few surprising things you probably didn’t know about Memorial Day:

1. It commemorates the end of the Civil War. Freed slaves and Union troops held the earliest Memorial Day celebrations in May 1865 – just a few weeks after the fighting ended.

2. Memorial Day was first celebrated on May 1 or May Day. The first recorded Memorial Day observance occurred on May 1, 1865, when U.S. Troops and freed slaves celebrated in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston was the city where the Civil War started with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861.

3. Memorial Day is also about prisoners of war (POWs). The first Memorial Day celebration in Charleston on May 1, 1865, was held to consecrate the graves of 250 Union prisoners who died while in prison. The prisoners were called the “Martyrs of the Race Course” because the camp where the prisoners were kept was constructed at the site of a former horserace track.

4. Memorial Day is a Christian holiday. The original Memorial Day in 1865 was marked by the singing of hymns, and readings from the Bible.

5. Memorial Day has been celebrated historically May 30, not the last Monday in May.

6. Memorial Day became an official holiday in 1868. Union war hero General John A. Logan organized the first Memorial Day and designated May 30, 1868, as the first official celebration.

7. Logan chose the date because no Civil War battles were fought on the day. He was hoping to promote peace by not reviving wartime hatreds.

8. General Logan was the head of the first modern veterans’ organization; the Grand Army of the Republic, which represented Union veterans. Logan Street in Denver and Logan Circle in Washington D.C. have been named after the General.

9. Memorial Day was first celebrated by African Americans. Most of the participants in the first Memorial Day celebration in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1865 were freed slaves. They wanted to thank the Union soldiers who had liberated them as well as celebrate their freedom.

10. Memorial Day is a celebration of freedom. The first Memorial Day was organized by former slaves who also wanted to give thanks to God and to the fallen Union soldiers for their freedom.

11. Memorial Day was originally called “Declaration Day” by General Logan. The term Memorial Day was adopted by ex-Confederates in the South who did not want to celebrate a holiday they felt was confined to the Union.

12. Memorial Day did not become a federal holiday until 1971. An act of Congress in that year created the modern Memorial Day by designating the last Monday in May as a national holiday.

13. Southerners did not start celebrating Memorial Day until 1886 when the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia, held a service to commemorate the Confederate War Dead.

14. Some states hold separate “Memorial Days,” nine Southern States still recognize Confederate Memorial Day; which falls either on the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, or the day General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson died.

15. Ironically enough, Stonewall Jackson was shot by his own Confederate troops. On May 2, 1863, Confederate infantry mistook Jackson and his staff for Union Calvary and opened fire on them after the battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson was hit and died eight days later from the wounds and other complications.

16. Even though the first celebration was held in 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. Waterloo, New York, was recognized as the official birthplace of Memorial Day by federal legislation in 1966. Waterloo was one of the first towns to close businesses to honor the war dead in 1866.

17. Over 20 towns around the United States claim to be the “birthplace of Memorial Day.” Communities that claim to have held the first Memorial Day festivities include; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, Columbus, Georgia, Columbus, Mississippi, and Carbondale Illinois.

18. Americans are supposed to pause for a “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day. Congress passed a resolution encouraging such a moment in 2000.

19. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day (May 30) 1922.

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Beach panning is a favorite technique I use photographing shorebirds. I’m honored Nikon has published my piece on this technique so you too can take advantage of this simple and effective way to elevate your bird photography. Enjoy!

Grand Isle, LA 25 Feb – 01 March, 2024

The Grand Isle is a Gulf location I have longed to lie in the sand with my 600mm and photograph its birds and I’d love for you to join me! This is the landfall for thousands of spring migrating shorebirds, waterfowl and passerin migrants. The direction of the beaches make for morning and evening photography. I’m heading there and want to invite you to come along.

The dates are 25 Feb – 01 March, 2024. You fly into New Orleans where I’ll pick you up and bring you back to. I’ll be taking five shooter and the price is $2150 (which includes preAdventure packet and planning Zoom transportation once you land until you take off, instruction, inspiration and laughter). If you’d like to join me, please contact my beautiful bride 406 .240 .3503 and make the needed arrangements. Please note, we have made changes to our cancellation policy.

Bolivar Beach, TX 14-19 April, 2024

We shot for the first time at this legendary bird photography location this spring and it did not disappoint! Along with providing lifer birds for myself, the 50+ species we saw filled our viewfinders until our fingers were sore and cards were filled up. The hundreds of American Avocets (pictured above) were just one of the highlights. This is a bird photography Adventure extraordinaire! The fact we literally drove right on the beach right to the birds was just an extra plus to this marvelous location.

I am taking four shooters back to Bolivar in 2024. You fly into Houston TX. The price is $1980 (which includes preAdventure packet and planning Zoom transportation once you land until you take off, instruction, inspiration and laughter). If you’d like to join me, please contact my beautiful bride 406 .240 .3503 and make the needed arrangements.

Cape Hatteras, NC 28 April – 03 May, 2024

Cape Hatteras is said to be the last strong hold for the Rufa Red Knot. This legendary shorebird is just one of twenty species of shorebirds that haunt the gorgeous beaches of the North Carolina coast. You might remember years ago heading to NJ in an attempt to photograph the Red Knot and coming away with little success. Since then that mighty congregation has crashed and the number of Red Knots further declining. We’re going to have great success in NC and bring back images to tell the story of this mighty traveler along with its many friends. It will be great bird photography as well as lighthouses, Kittihawk and other treasures of the Outer Banks. While wildlife will be the main focus, this is a target rich region!

I’m taking five shooters on this Adventure. You fly into Norfolk, VA. The price is $1980 (which includes preAdventure packet and planning Zoom transportation once you land until you take off, instruction, inspiration and laughter). If you’d like to join me, please contact my beautiful bride 406 .240 .3503 and make the needed arrangements.

“Red” as we like to call him drives our dear Maggie nuts! And Red knows it!! There are actually three “Reds” on The Ranch but Maggie only sees one and does everything in her power to catch them. But she never gets close but she doesn’t stop trying and there lies the fun and photographs. The squirrels are adapted to look for and evade predators, and they see Maggie as such. So they lie in wait watching for her and when she goes after one Red, the others go to the feeder and eat. After about an hour Maggie has had her fill and takes a break. Until, Red makes a move and then Maggie is up and going again. I’ll be honest, it’s hard to get a sharp shot I’m laughing for much. It’s an endless game, where’s that Maggie?