By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

Whitetail deer are a common sight year-round at Lake Panorama. Yet when the summer crop of spotted fawns appears, it’s fun to watch how quickly they grow from their first wobbly steps to running and jumping. 

In early July, Trish Hart captured photos of a single fawn and its mother. 

“We were out on a Ranger ride, coming home from getting an ice cream cone at Pedal-In,” Hart said. “We saw many fawn twins out the same evening we came across this nursing fawn and momma.”

Does nurse their fawns about four times a day as newborns, and will continue nursing four months. At about two weeks of age, a fawn will start browsing vegetation.

Fawns are born with a reddish-brown coat covered with white spots, which help them blend in with the sun-flecked ground. Fawns lose their spots at 90-120 days of age. 

Hart specializes in nature photography. She offers prints of her photos on canvas, paper, metal and glass. Learn more by visiting Nature’s Canvas Photography on Facebook. 

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

Sunsets over Lake Panorama are popular photographic subjects. 

These photos by local photographer Trish Hart are prime examples of a Lake Panorama sunset. Hart captured these images while she and her husband, Scott, were taking an evening boat ride through Lake Panorama’s Narrows and into the upper basin. 

Hart said she loves the combination of the blue sky, orange clouds and the colorful sunset reflected in the wake behind their boat.

Hart specializes in nature photography and offers prints of her photos on canvas, paper, metal and glass. Learn more about her work by visiting Nature’s Canvas Photography on Facebook. 

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

One evening in early June, Trish and Scott Hart were sitting on the deck of their home on Lake Panorama’s Andrews Cove. 

“We were enjoying the beautiful weather when we noticed movement on the back step of our neighbors’ home,” Trish says. “It was four baby raccoons snuggling together, playfully climbing around on top of each other.” 

Hart got her camera and used a zoom lens to capture photos and videos of the scene. 

“I know we lake folks have grown to see the pesky, troublesome side of raccoons,” Hart says. “But raccoon babies are so cute and entertaining in their innocence.”

Baby raccoons are called kits, and a group of baby raccoons is called a litter. Breeding season for raccoons is from January to March, with kits born in April and May.

Newborn raccoons are tiny and underdeveloped. It takes four to six weeks for kits to begin to look like miniature versions of adult raccoons. 

Young raccoons often are left temporarily while their mother searches for food or moves them between den sites. Hart reports that was the case with this litter of four. They were only on the step for a short time, just long enough for her to document their visit. 

Hart specializes in nature photography. She offers prints of her photos on canvas, paper, metal and glass. Learn more by visiting Nature’s Canvas Photography on Facebook.

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

The phrase “April showers bring May flowers” is believed to have originated in the United Kingdom as part of a poem written in the 1610s. It refers to the natural cycle of spring, when April rains provide the moisture needed for plants to bloom in May.

April 2026 was the sixth-wettest April on record in Iowa, with those records going back 154 years. So at least this year in Iowa, April showers did bring May flowers. 

On May 3, Trish Hart snapped photos of beautiful pink and red bleeding-heart perennials in her yard. In her neighbor’s yard, she captured pink lilac blooms.  

Hart specializes in nature photography. She offers prints of her photos on canvas, paper, metal and glass. Learn more by visiting Nature’s Canvas Photography on Facebook. 

The male bluebird in the snowy photo (above) was taken Jan. 21 by Trish Hart. Contrast that with two taken March 8 (below). As spring nears, the male bluebird’s plumage transforms into a more vibrant, iridescent blue to attract mates.

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

The Eastern Bluebird is found in all North American states east of the Rockies. Many in northern states migrate south in the winter, but some remain near their nesting areas — if they can find a reliable food supply. 

Nature photographer Trish Hart and her husband Scott live full-time at Lake Panorama, and have several different types of bird feeders on their deck. One type in particular is kept stocked to attract bluebirds.

“We see many bluebird families year-round but don’t routinely feed them until the winter months,” Hart says. “Then we keep their feeder filled with dried mealworms, sunflower seeds, and a mix of fruit and nut wild birdseed.”

Male Eastern Bluebirds are deep blue above and rusty or brick-red on the throat and breast. Females are grayish above with bluish wings and tail and a subdued orange-brown breast. 

As spring nears, the male bluebird’s plumage transforms into a more vibrant, iridescent blue to attract mates. 

Eastern bluebirds pair up and mate for life. In spring and summer, bluebirds nest in holes, either in trees or in special houses put up for their use. Male bluebirds are in charge of gathering nesting materials for the female, who arranges the nest. 

Hart offers custom prints of her photos on canvas, paper, metal and glass. Learn more by visiting Nature’s Canvas Photography on Facebook.