Little guy on flower.

I was mostly just trying to see what I could do with my extension tubes on my D80.  This was shot at a distance of about 15" using a 36mm extension with my 70-300 Nikkor AF lens.  The bee is about 1/4" long.  Considering the photo was taken hand held, I am pleased with the result.

The Berserkers are back!

Apparently they decided they had not yet destroyed all organic life in my back yard.  I wonder when the qwib-qwib will show up.

A beautiful morning in the garden!

Things are starting to look pretty and it was a great morning to just drink my coffee and watch the birds, butterflies, and rabbits.

Garden 2010--Chapter 7

Seven weeks since Chapter 1 was published!  Yesterday I put out my second crop of green beans and finished planting various odds and ends (beets and more basil).

I am trying some "alternative" growing methods this year by putting radishes (which never do well in the clay in the Bloomington summer) in pots, as well as second crops of lettuce and spinach.  I guess I can just sit back and watch everything grow from here on out (shooting an occasional rabbit).

Catalpa blossoms (actually catawba blossoms)

I pass this tree when I am out walking in the neighborhood.  I remember the two huge catalpa trees at my grandfathers farmhouse.  There was a 3 inch pipe between them supporting a porch swing.  The shade was deep (and cool!) enough that there was never any grass (or other plants) under the trees (or perhaps we just trampled everything down playing there)  The Catalpa tree is a member of the trumpet vine family (I didn't know that!).  What is really weird is that it's name really should be catawba (the name given by the native Americans),  but the botanist who first described it spelled it wrong when it was first described.  Botanical naming rules require that the spelling used in the formal scientific description has to be retained for the scientific name (I didn't know that either).

Here comes the 9005!

There is something magic about large trains! I snapped this picture this last weekend. Since the "lawnmower" train went through last week I get a clear shot down (up?) the tracks. We had a record two days ago with a train that had eight locomotives and 129 cars! I don't know if it took all eight engines or maybe they were just hauling them north as well.

So sorry Mrs. Wren

It's always sad when you find something like this.  It was on the ground under the gourd that the wrens have taken up as a nest.

The egg is really small--about 1/2 " long.

Don't forget me!

I was looking at my Forget Me Not flowers when this little guy decided it was time to pollinate them.  I guess the question is, are only small butterfly's allowed to pollinate small flowers?

How to make a simple wall hard...

I couldn't help but wonder when I saw this.  It was in a shelter house where we were having lunch one day.  After going to all the trouble to carefully build an arch for a door someone decided to fill it in leaving only a window but then decided they didn't want the window either.....

I couldn't get a clear shot because of picnic tables.

Fruits of the garden!

This is what makes a garden worthwhile!  Yesterday I picked strawberries and rhubarb, and last night I worked on my baking skills.  Not only was it pretty, it tasted fantastic (and yes, I did it myself).

The weather is supposed to be dry for the next few days, so maybe I can get some of the weeds out.  I also picked a large bag of spinach that should last for a while (or perhaps not).

Garden 2010--Chapter 6

If it ever stops raining I might be able to get some of the weeds pulled, but don't count on it.  I will agree that the weather has been perfect for plant (and weed) growth, and I certainly have been lucky in getting things out between rain storms.  The problem now is keeping all the hungry "little" creatures out. I took this picture after harvesting spinach, onions, strawberries and rhubarb (sounds like baking time to me). 

I have had to resort to cages for the tender veggies (I can't bring myself to shoot little bunnies).  The new arugula is about ready to harvest so the "winter crop" is gone.

Putting things where they look better.

I liked this sculpture when I first saw it in Chicago, but it just didn't look right with all the parking and people around.  I decided it needed a new home so I moved it to the (old) English Indiana golf course.  I think it looks much better there.

More Tulip Time

I was getting some of my Holland Michigan photos ready for a photo share tonight and decided that this one was worth sharing.  What is it about little kids dressed in Dutch outfits that makes you want to smile?

Up close with a dandelion

I was intrigued by the intricacy of the dandelion seed head.  I wonder if each of those little seeds has the same number of "hairs".  Microscopes are wonderful!  I may try photographing just one of the seeds close up.

I guess it's because I spent so many years looking at symmetry in crystals that I really appreciate the symmetry (or non-symmetry) in nature.

Where have the birds gone?

The power company came through last summer and took out most of the trees, and then this year the railroad is "mowing" the underbrush.  No wonder I haven't seen as many birds as last year.  I will say that seeing this monster eat brush and trees up to 3 inches in diameter does make me less inclined to walk down the RR tracks.

Indian Strawberry

I went crazy trying to figure out what this was.  For some reason looking under Google with "wild" and "strawberry" didn't find it!  You would think that that would have been sufficient, but it wasn't (at least in the first four pages of results).  Anyhow, it is Duchesnea indica.

For those who want to know, the flowers are yellow, while they are white for wild (and non-wild) strawberries.  The berry was about 3mm in diameter and I used Helicon Focus to merge about 20 photos taken with my Nikon bioscope.

Sipping coffee

Sometimes it is nice to just sit on the front stoop and watch the sunrise while you sip your coffee.

Garden 2010--Chapter 5

Wow!  You can certainly tell that it is warming up outside.  In the last week everything has really started growing.  I went ahead and put almost everything else out this week and you can certainly tell from the photograph that things are bigger than they were last week.

I hate to throw anything that I have started from seed out, so I have all kinds of squash, peppers, and other things transplanted not only to the garden, but also one or two "garden annexes" along the back fence.  Things would normally never grow there because of the shade, but the clear-cutting by the power company last summer took care of that!  The arugula from our fall planting has pretty much gone to seed and will probably be removed this week (the new planting is almost ready!)

Chives are pretty

I have bunches of chives all around my garden--I love the flowers and I enjoy nibbling on them while I garden (almost as much as eating nasturtium leaves).

I like barns

This one is located near Rockport Indiana.  It was foggy and damp when I noticed it and I admit the photo didn't come out as spectacular as I thought it would.  In fact, it just looks like an old barn on a dreary day!

More bug eyes

The last photo share was "shoot a bug", so I was grabbing whatever I could find.  The red bug (May 6) was one of my shots, and this was another.  This is some kind of fly.  I really like the radar like appendages that stick out above his "nose".

Playing with mosaics.

You really need to see this thing in "full size" to appreciate it.

As long as the image remains small it is easy to see what it is, but as you zoom in you see it is a mosaic of 10,000 images!  The program is AndreaMosaic and the author (Andrea Denzler) allows free use.

The sights and smells of spring!

Considering that we usually don't get peony blooms until near Memorial Day, this year has been exceptional.  They are not only beautiful but smell wonderful.

The rose bush is also about to explode with blooms.  Since my roses are "rescue" roses (I think the most I paid was about $2.00 for a bush) I certainly can't complain.

Don't eat the Aquilegia!

There are about 60-70 species of Columbines (Aquilegia).  I collected seeds from several different places several years ago and now I have an amazing variety of colors and sizes that come up all over the yard.  I took these two photos in my back yard yesterday morning.

According to the Wikipedia article you certainly don't want to eat columbines as they can be very toxic.  I will stick with my Nasturtiums for snacking!

Garden 2010--Chapter 4

We are finally frost-free for Bloomington (April 27 is the 90% day), so the rest of the garden went out this week with a few exceptions.  If you look carefully in today's picture you can see some real improvement over last week.  I used my brother-in-law's secret and started a lot of things in peat pots this year, so I already have green beans, squashes, and several other plants with second and third leaves!

You know I am about done since I put in the leeks, bok choi, and swiss chard today (hey, I grow anything).  Here is the first week, second week, and third week.

Just a little red bug

You don't really expect me to identify little guys like this do you?  I looked at a bunch of images of small red bugs and didn't see anything close.  He (she?) is about 3 mm in length.

More flowers from Holland

I can't think of a better place for iron tulips than Holland Michigan.

For those who want to know, they are about seven feet tall and probably require little or no fertilizer.

For sporophyte fans

Look at these neat moss sporophytes (the things sticking up in the photo)!    I took this photo along one of the trails in the Griffy Lake area.  Mosses always feel so smooth and are neat to look at under magnification. 

And yes, I did have to look up what a sporophyte is.

Holland Michigan

 Of course, when you are in Holland Michigan for the Tulip Festival, you have to visit the shoe factory.  Be aware however that not everyone likes wooden shoes.  I really can't imagine wearing them, but then again, I'm old and have sore feet!

Tulip time

The photo club had an outing to Holland Michigan to take photos during the annual Tulip Time Festival.  We arrived on the first day and many of the tulips had already passed their peak.  My wife pointed out that when we were here 20 years ago the festival started seventeen days later in the spring--maybe Al Gore is right!

Look into my crystal ball....

This is another one of my Kady Lynn photos that I finally cleaned up.  Among the junk (excuse me, "treasures") was a green reflective glass lawn ornament which had seen better days.  I held it in one hand while I took this image.  A bit strange, but interesting.