This is why playoff hockey is amazing to watch

It was a few years ago that I went to my first NHL hockey game. It was the Nashville Predators in a home game and I didn’t think much would entertain me. I mean, I had been to minor league hockey games and for me they weren’t anything to clear your calendar for.

But this one? It was different. I often compare all sports to football, because football is the pinnacle of fan excitement and all that. Each football game can be fun to watch so that’s why hockey was always inferior (in my world). In football, the energy of the fans kind of goes up and down play by play. There could be a lot of excitement in the first quarter, but it sputters out by the 3rd. Or the second half is better than the first but then one team wins by 2 touchdowns, not easy to come back from that with only a few minutes to go, so the crowd loses energy.

Playoff hockey? It’s a whole new world. The Preds game I attended was something I wouldn’t have believed unless I was there. From the first puck drop, to the final second, the energy was in a steady climb and didn’t reach the peak until that final buzzer. Honestly, I have never attended any game that felt like that– and I went to Florida State in the late 90s when football was everything. Instead of fireworks of energy and excitement (like football games can be), the hockey game was a steady burn that built and built and built and erupted into a forest fire by the end of the game.

It’s also fascinating to watch what these hockey players can do with a stick and a puck. Precision. Power. Speed. It’s almost magic.

I say all that to set up this clip. In a game over the weekend, there was a crazy few seconds as the third period came to an end. The team that was winning with just a few seconds left held on to the victory, but it wasn’t without incredible drama. Take a look at the shot block that saved the game for the New York Islanders.

Crazy, right? Now watch it again and, while the save was amazing, also it’s important to marvel at the shot! This guy avoids defense with a graceful pirouette 360 spin and still manages to hold on to the puck, and even shoot it in the right direction… WHAT??? If that shot turned into a score, it might have been recorded as one of the best goals in NHL history.

As it is, it might go down as one of the best blocks in NHL history… and it’s not even by a goalie! Amazing stuff.

Did you watch that game? What did you think of the clip of the player saving the game for his team? Comment below, and thanks for stopping by…

-Out of the Wilderness

Comparing the beaks of newborn birds – in pictures

Hello and squeek chirpy cheeeeeeep to all you bird lovers out there. Today’s post is all about beaks. Over the past few months I’ve photographed newborn geese, robins, and cardinals and just recently noticed how different their beaks are. I guess it makes sense, I mean the birds themselves are all so different, why wouldn’t their beaks be?

Take a look at a few side by side comparisons and, if you’re like me, it will be fun to notice the differences for even just the reason of admiring nature and wildlife. In this first pic, you can move the slider to see the 3 different birds.

Thanks for stopping by today cheeeeep chirp whoop whooooop!

-Out of the Wilderness

Hungry cardinal babies in the nest

I have a few bushes in front of my house, and they’ve proven to be a great location for birds to make a home with a nest and eggs and everything. The latest bird to lay eggs was a cardinal. Here is how the they looked, just beautiful!

Then they hatched.

They are a few days old now and I was able to grab these shots of the hungry hatchlings. So, so… cute? And so, so needy! I couldn’t decide which pics I liked best, so here are all of them.

Thanks for stopping by… more updates to come as they grow. Be sure to check back tomorrow as I will show pictures comparing the beaks of these cardinals with the beaks of the robins born a few weeks ago. Even at this young stage, they are very different.

-Out of the Wilderness

Amazon Prime Day 2021 Commercial – Three Things I Appreciate and Two Things I Don’t

Amazon Prime Day is quickly approaching. Besides it being two days (so why aren’t they calling it “Prime Days”?), they obviously put a lot of effort into their new TV ad. Take a look!

The colorful ad is one you may need to watch more than once since a lot is happening in a short amount of time.

A few things I appreciate after watching multiple times…

  1. The swinging plant. In the very first shot when a woman opens her front door, there is a hanging plant on her right. After a circle twist transition, packages are now at her front door and she’s excited. But that plant? It’s rocking back and forth. This attention to detail is nice, adding to the effect of that swirly circle transition. The also do this with the 3 stacked boxes, so watch it again with that in mind.

2. I am always impressed when a particular camera shot SHOULD show a reflection of the camera equipment, but doesn’t. When we are taken around the front of Amazon’s electric van, there is no reflection of any equipment on the front of the van. Nice job!

3. Logo in almost every shot. In a 30 second ad, you might think showing your logo prominently is critical but this ad shows a different way to advertise. I wouldn’t call it subliminal as much as strategically placed branding 😉 Here’s an example.

A couple of things I don’t appreciate are… Why call it Prime Day if it lasts two days? Just add the ‘s’ already! Secondly, it all just makes me feel a little bit nauseous. Kind of like riding on those gravity spinning rides at a fair, or the tea cups at Disney World.

What do you think of the ad? Does this ad entice you to order things from Amazon on Amazon Prime Day Days, or make you want to excuse yourself to go vomit in the bushes behind the souvenir stand?

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

Cardinal hatchlings have hatched!

How about that for a redundant post title? Of course hatched birds have hatched. Last week I posted about a nest I discovered in my front yard (click here for that) and I finally have an update! The speckled eggs cracked and life sprang forth in the form of these helpless little cardinal babies. Check out a few photos below. I’ll definitely be updating as they grow, I’m very curious how they’ll look as they become adult birds. Will they turn red? What will their baby beaks look like? Will the mom attack me like the robin mom did?