Posted on September 30, 2013 in Fall, Landscape, Nature
A weekend canoe ride on the lake…what a peaceful way to spend an afternoon!
Posted on September 29, 2013 in Fall, Landscape, Nature
Nature’s splash of Fall color is emerging in my area. Yesterday I visited 3 different lakes – all within about 10 miles of each other – and it was surprising to see the amount of variation in the color. This image was made during a quick stop on the way home from lake #3. I just couldn’t pass up that flash of orange-red as the late afternoon sun hit the trees.
Posted on June 23, 2013 in Flowers, Nature
One of my most favorite flowers is the water lily and I am fortunate enough to have a small pond in the garden with one plant that produces several blooms each summer. The first water lily opened yesterday and I was anxious to go out and photograph the flower as they only last a few days. So bright and early this morning I went outside, hoping to grab a few shots before the sun became too harsh. I lasted about 3 minutes in the garden before the pesky cicadas began to fly at me. See, the cicadas have very good eyesight – they have 5 eyes! – but they seem to think that everything that they land on is a tree. Dear cicadas …. I am NOT a tree!! So, after only a few photographs, I headed back inside as even though they are harmless, I would not be a happy camper if a cicada landed on me! I was pleased with this image and thought it deserved a spot on the blog! Hopefully the next time a flower opens the cicadas will be gone and I’ll have ample opportunity to photograph!
Posted on May 29, 2013 in Macro, Nature, Wildlife
I’m about as far from “outdoorsy” as a person can get, so photographing cicadas was REALLY out of my comfort zone! I hate bugs of any kind – with the exception of maybe butterflies! When I heard that Brood II was emerging from their 17 year underground snooze, I wasn’t at all happy. I was so hoping that I wouldn’t encounter the prehistoric looking creatures, but alas, they arrived in my yard last week. I vowed not to go outside again until they were gone…which could be as much as 6-8 weeks from now. Not a very practical plan, I must say! I decided that the best way to face my fear was to research the amazing life cycle of these creatures and put on my photographer hat and try to capture their ‘beauty’. So, with macro lens in hand, I ventured into the yard and snapped a few photos…all the while hoping and praying that none would fly at me as I was taking their portrait. The brownish cicada on the bottom right is the nymph which is what emerges from holes in the ground and eventually morphs into the winged adult cicada pictured above. The adults live only 2-4 weeks and begin their mating ritual by singing songs of courtship to attract females. The female can lay up to 400 eggs in twigs or tree branches and after 8-10 weeks, they hatch and baby nymphs fall to the ground where they burrow and live for the next 17 years. Okay, I admit that it is all pretty interesting and hopefully I will be able to view the experience and not be terrified! Feel free to share YOUR cicada stories with me!
Posted on May 6, 2013 in Flowers, Macro, Nature, Spring
I love Bleeding Hearts and am happy to report that the plant that I added to my garden last Spring is flourishing! The problem, however, is that as I get older, it’s more difficult to get down on the ground to photograph them. Maybe I’m just out of practice! I hope this plant gets nice and tall (or that I somehow become more limber) so that photographing these beauties isn’t such a challenge!