{"id":127024,"date":"2024-04-02T04:13:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T10:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=127024"},"modified":"2024-04-02T05:04:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T11:04:34","slug":"glowing-american-lotus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/02\/glowing-american-lotus\/","title":{"rendered":"Glowing American Lotus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I had considered sharing this photo of this American Lotus on Easter Sunday, but I was feeling a little raw and sad. It was my first Easter without my mother.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-127021 size-full\" title=\"Glowing American Lotus in morning light\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg\" alt=\"Glowing American Lotus in morning light, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Glowing American Lotus in morning light \u2013 Canon R7, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 2000, Canon RF 100-500 mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m still adjusting to life without my mom, but I can hear her telling me to share as much of the beauty I find in nature that I possibly can. Those words inside of me, in her voice, go something like this: &#8220;Honey, you have a wonderful gift; share it with the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>So, here I am, doing just that.<\/p>\n<p>I took this American Lotus photo last June at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/refuge\/sequoyah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Oklahoma while visiting my great friend <a href=\"https:\/\/stevecreek.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Steve Creek<\/span><\/a>. Steve had loaned me the use of his Canon R7 while I was there recovering and recuperating.<\/p>\n<p>We were on the auto tour loop at the refuge near a tree where the Bald Eagles like to perch next to the river when I took this photo. I liked how the lotus glowed in the morning light while the water below it was still in the shade.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get to share this photo, or any of the photos I took while in Arkansas and Oklahoma with my mom. By then she had stopped using any form of communication except talking to me on the phone. So when I did talk to her, I made certain that I was outside where she could hear the birds in the background.<\/p>\n<p>Just a few days after I left to head back to Utah, mom passed away. She sure loved the flowers, birds, scenery, and wildlife I shared with her through my photos and conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/flower-and-tree-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my wildflower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I had considered sharing this photo of this American Lotus on Easter Sunday, but I was feeling a little raw and sad. It was my first Easter without my mother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13995,13973,13974,5347],"tags":[13978,11912,6627,6098,7353,14860,6518,13977,13980,4099,13979,13976,165,3996,4095,13996,5063],"class_list":["post-127024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-lotus","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-wildflowers","tag-american-lotus","tag-aquatic-wildflower","tag-bloom","tag-blooming","tag-blossoms","tag-canon-r7","tag-flowering","tag-lotus","tag-lotuses","tag-morning-light","tag-nelumbo-lutea","tag-slough","tag-spring","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-willdflower","tag-yellow-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-x2M","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":114258,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/09\/blooming-american-lotus-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":127024,"position":0},"title":"Blooming American Lotus At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing more American Lotus photos that were taken at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge last month when I visited my friend and photographer, Steve Creek.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Lotus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Lotus blossom at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-2705.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-2705.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-2705.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-2705.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113804,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/16\/american-lotus-in-bloom-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":127024,"position":1},"title":"American Lotus In Bloom &#8211; Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am highlighting an American Lotus in bloom that I photographed yesterday in a slough at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Lotus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Lotus in bloom, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114483,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/18\/american-lotus-and-dragonflies\/","url_meta":{"origin":127024,"position":2},"title":"American Lotus And Dragonflies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today's post is about American Lotus, dragonflies, and the rich habitat of Reeve's Slough at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Lotus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Eastern Pondhawk on a lotus leaf, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":151434,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/08\/05\/low-light-american-lotus\/","url_meta":{"origin":127024,"position":3},"title":"Low Light American Lotus","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This American Lotus was one of the few still blooming at Reeves Slough, near the fishing pier at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Lotus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Low light American Lotus in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-lotus-low-light-mia-mcpherson-5500.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-lotus-low-light-mia-mcpherson-5500.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-lotus-low-light-mia-mcpherson-5500.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-lotus-low-light-mia-mcpherson-5500.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":122963,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/06\/white-tailed-deer-does-plus-a-fawn-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":127024,"position":4},"title":"White-tailed Deer Does Plus A Fawn At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed these White-tailed Deer does with a fawn last June at Reeve's Slough, which is part of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Oklahoma&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-tailed Deer doe and fawn in lotuses, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/white-tailed-Deer-doe-and-fawn-lotus-leaves-mia-mcpherson-0512.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/white-tailed-Deer-doe-and-fawn-lotus-leaves-mia-mcpherson-0512.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/white-tailed-Deer-doe-and-fawn-lotus-leaves-mia-mcpherson-0512.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/white-tailed-Deer-doe-and-fawn-lotus-leaves-mia-mcpherson-0512.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113739,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/10\/white-tailed-deer-does-and-fawn\/","url_meta":{"origin":127024,"position":5},"title":"White-tailed Deer Does And Fawn","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The first mammals I photographed at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma were deer. Later in the morning, I found these White-tailed Deer does and fawn in a lotus-edged slough.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Oklahoma&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-tailed Deer does and fawn in lotus leaves, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/white-tailed-does-and-a-fawn-in-lotus-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/white-tailed-does-and-a-fawn-in-lotus-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/white-tailed-does-and-a-fawn-in-lotus-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0964.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/white-tailed-does-and-a-fawn-in-lotus-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0964.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}