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.