The Cormorant, the Dragonfly, and the Bee

Friday, September 27, 2019

Rain Effect

As a followup to my last post, here are some more photos of plants in our garden the morning after rain.

Drops Aplenty

Folds Invite

This next specimen looks like maybe it's had too much rain, having a bit of a weary look. I still liked it for its character: still standing strong out in the garden.

Bedraggled and Still Glorious

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Today's post is of a rosebud. That's a bud of a rose, not something from the Orson Welles "Citizen Kane" film. Although, perhaps there's some overlap, I'm not really sure... that movie is complicated.

I saw this rosebud in our front yard. "Rose bud", as two words, means the same thing, at least from the online research I did.

This photo was taken handheld using natural morning light with my 60mm macro lens after the water drops of a recent rain remained among the flora in our garden.

Rosebud

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Flower Fun plus Two Eyes

I don't have a strong theme for this post, just some fun pictures of flowers and a few animals. I'm drawn to images with vibrant color and interesting details.

Enjoy!

Reaching

Curl

Inside Look

Trumpet

Dripping Red

Plant Map

Small World View

Floatin' and Reflectin'

All At Once Now

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Upside Down in the Sun

Relatively early one spring day, I was out in our yard taking a close look at some Solomon's Seal we have in our garden. The sun was hitting this particular patch just right. As I peered under the leaves I found a bee hard at work relocating pollen as was his calling.

I grabbed my camera, macro lens attached, and took these photos.

Anti-Gravity Gathering

Bee Glow

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Santa Cruz

We visited Santa Cruz in May. This particular set of photos were all taken the same day. The weather was quite unpredictable most of that day: we got rained on more than once. Yet it kept clearing as well. For this photo set I sometimes left the skies gloomy, but I also experimented with brightening things up a bit during post processing on some of the photos.

The "world famous" Santa Cruz Boardwalk provided enjoyable sightseeing opportunities. I visited it many times in the past when I used to live in California. It appeared more colorful than I recall. At the time we were there most stores and all rides were not open.

I've ridden this roller coaster before. It's great fun!

Coaster Heights

Typhoon in the Sky

This is one of those rides that keeps circling around. Apparently it needed some maintenance.

Fixing the Ride

Colors of Fun

As we walked along West Cliff Drive away from the Boardwalk towards other coastal views, we passed this bloom.

Sidewalk Sight

We saw these words of wisdom just adjacent to one of the stairways that descend down to the water as we walked along the Steamer Lane surfing area.

Good Suggestions

Surfers Below

Rock Topper

We strolled along Lighthouse Field State Beach just north of Lighthouse Point.

Standing Beyond the Arch

Rock Formations

We stopped to admire the Surfing Sculpture.

Looking Right

And another view:

Monument to Santa Cruz's Favorite Pastime

Monday, July 22, 2019

Wild Kingdom

This post is all about animals doing their normal daily activities. My camera captures them in their natural habitat,... perhaps they're searching for food, or perhaps just whiling away the afternoon.

This painted turtle is soaking up the sun resting on a log. Must be time for afternoon sunbathing.

Show Off

The turtle is looking directly at me where I stand on the shore. Still, it seems largely unconcerned about my presence. I'm about 20 feet away and there's water between us. Smart turtle.

The Look

All turtles come aboard! This appears to be the log to sunbathe on. It would seem that turtles are social animals. Maybe some of them are siblings?

Party Time

I was amused by the stance of this robin. Sort of looks like she's looking around something to see what new danger lurks.

Robin on Patrol

Does this duck have any idea what beautiful golden water he's gliding through?

Water Glide

Baltimore Orioles are not commonly seen in our yard, so I was delighted to see this one gracing our hawthorn tree, even for a quick visit.

Oriole Peek

Red-winged blackbirds love to stand on tall skinny objects like these cattails on Farm Pond.

Balancing Act

This one found a different perch to survey the situation on the pond.

Deciding the Next Move

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Garden Reds

"Reds" often inspire thoughts of red wine. Here are some tulip reds and a sand cherry.

These first three photos are all of the same tulip. It was Deb's idea to pose it against our purple wall for the first photo. The second and third photos are also taken indoors against a neutral sunlit window backdrop.

I found a fascinating site all about shades of red here: https://turbofuture.com/graphic-design-video/Shades-Red-Greensleeves. This tulip explodes with red at varying brightnesses depending where you look. There are darker reds and a color approaching ruby red (which is more of a "purple-red" according to that site).

Flash

Curl Up for Joy

Fanfare

This last photo is of a sand cherry taken outdoors in our garden. It's not exactly "red"; perhaps its leaves are more of a "claret" (wine) color.

Sand Cherry in the Light