Show me a Swallow on the mountains!

We had a very adventurous morning, with some great sights and I want to share some with you.

Yep, one of those strange mornings where one can expect anything.

The clouds and mist hung below the mountain peaks, and it made for some really lovely shots. Now I don't know about you, but whenever I come out here, I am always filled with expectations. Sort of an "okay, show me what you've got for me today", mind frame. You can believe me that I am rarely disappointed, as we really have an abundance of wildlife here in nature.
Not always the same and forever changing, as the mountains and the ocean can conjure up some magical scenes in a partnership with the wind and the sun.

A few swallows were hanging around the cloudy mountain peaks.

Okay, not a few and rather plenty of swallows :)

I got lucky with this big raptor coming over much higher up and it looked like a Harrier Hawk.

The sun was determined to make its way through the misty clouds.

And at last things started to lighten up, as you can see that the clouds were running away.

Voila! Finally, the sun won the battle, and I screened it behind an overhanging branch, in order to protect my camera lens.

Just another beautiful sight here below.

Fun and games and the starlings came out to play. Look how that guy was peeping at me. I wonder what the cheetah thought about it :)

Did I tell you that things can rapidly change over here? Not only the weather, but the wildlife too. Those mountain peaks are about 800-1000 meters away and I couldn't go onto the full zoom of my camera, as the low light simply blurs the shots. So I had to be happy with what I could get.
My way of taking photos is by free hand, as one has to be alert for unexpected appearances, and one cannot get for instance a fast-flying bird with one's camera screwed to a tripod.

We had some very strong high winds for the past few days and they carry the dark rain clouds over the mountains inland. At times, like yesterday, we are lucky and it rains here for a while, before the rain clouds disappear over the mountains. Nevertheless, it is promising and we hope to get a lot of rain this winter that is now a few weeks away. The apple trees on the farms sleep during the winter season and the rains assist them to build up strength for the next summer season.
Such is life over here.

I hope that you enjoyed the story and the pictures.

Disclaimer!
Note: No need to scan this for AI, as it will never be used in any of my posts. I like to do things the "old fashioned" hard way, by doing my own research.

And That's All Friends.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
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