Tuesday, September 30, 2014

9/30/14

This is a former roundhouse in a tiny town of Como, Colorado  that I took a drive to find.  Unfortunately you couldn't get very close to it but it looked like it was in fairly decent shape.  If you view the image larger you can see a couple of old boilers sitting about.  I liked the stone construction of the building and the old wooden doors.  This is the only narrow gauge roundhouse still standing in Colorado.  The railroad that used this was the Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad.  When I read up on it later it has been restored so that's why it is in decent shape and is on the National register of Historic Places.  Good to see they are saving it.


Monday, September 29, 2014

9/29/14

I was able to capture this thirsty Black Cap Chickadee at the bird bath one hot day this summer.  It sat drinking for a bit so I was able to photograph it.  Have gotten lucky with these birds a few times this year.  Usually they never sit very still.



Sunday, September 28, 2014

9/28/14

This is the locomotive that I get to help fire on at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion at Rollag, MN.  It's beginning the climb of the steepest grade on the railroad seen here across Gunderson Pond, which is not named after anyone we know.  :-)  This was taken on a different day than the very misty morning where you could not make out the train except for the smoke.


Saturday, September 27, 2014

9/27/14

These are a few Sea Gulls I captured one day at Milford Lake.  I few found something interesting to look at one said I'm outta here.  :-)


Friday, September 26, 2014

9/26/14

This is a lovely iris that I found in Colorado called a Blue Flag Iris which was growing wild.  I liked the narrow leaf shape to it which is rather different than the Bearded Iris that is more common here.  I bought a miniature iris this spring and it's flowers were very similar to this one so hope to get some decent images of it next spring.  :-)


Thursday, September 25, 2014

9/25/14

It's Fall now and seeing a few Monarchs around but nothing like the migration I saw a few years back.  This photo was from that time and it makes me sad that their population has dwindled so much I probably will never get a chance to see this type of thing again.  It was quite magical to see all of them in the trees.  This was just a few.


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

9/24/14

I was playing around with processing in B&W and decided to share this one.  This is the High Falls of the Cheat River that we visited a while back in West Virginia.  It was a stop on one of the train trips we took where you could walk down to view the falls.


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

9/23/14

This is Mr. and Mrs. Mallard Duck swimming lazily in the creek near my dad's home in PA.  The Mrs. really blends in with her surroundings. Thought a wet photo was appropriate for today as it is actually raining a bit out.  We need more but most of if is missing us as usual.


Monday, September 22, 2014

9/22/14

My Sedum has really been a draw this year for various insects.  At first is was mostly different kinds of bees but now it is drawing in butterflies. especially Painted Ladies.  There were at least 8 of them fluttering around when I took this photo, if not more, and I was able to capture 4 of them at once enjoying the blooms.




Sunday, September 21, 2014

9/21/14

Going back to the Cumbres & Toltec this weekend with an image I gave an antique feel too and liked the results.  This is the oldest engine in use there that was pulling our train on our Geology excursion, Locomotive 463 emerging from the Rock Tunnel.  It was worth the trip, in my opinion, to get these images not normally able to be seen on the route.



Saturday, September 20, 2014

9/20/14

A beautiful sunset I was able to observe while traveling to Minnesota a few weeks ago.  The colors were so wonderful I just had to stop and get a shot of it.


Friday, September 19, 2014

9/19/14

Something a bit different but have a couple of followers that may especially enjoy.  An antique fire truck at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion a few weeks ago.  Still in nice shape and would go through the parade.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

9/18/14

 I took this image while in Minnesota.  I was photographing this interesting wildflower which I think is a type of Smartweed.  While photographing I got a bee bonus.  :-) 


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

9/17/14

I think rabbits are eating the brand new Cone Flowers i bought and planted.  I'm so angry, hardly anything left of them and not sure how to keep the dang things out.  Wish my neighbor's cat were back, he was probably keeping them away.  Won't be back for a few more weeks though.
This is a wildflower from Colorado.  This is Scarlet Paintbrush and in this light the blooms reminded me of flames.


Tuesday, September 16, 2014

9/16/14

Posting late yet again.  Busy day.  This is an older image from the Bi-Plane Fly-In that was held earlier this year in Junction City, KS.  This is a view of a 1943 Super Stearman with a very shiny nose.  :-)


Monday, September 15, 2014

9/15/14

Posting a bit late today.  Went shopping for plants today after work.  Going to try something different and plant some perennials in the fall and hope they don't die over the winter so that I have a head start on next year.  I had one plant in my hand and a butterfly landed on it and that made the decision on whether or not I was buying it!  :-)  I did.  Anyway, today's image is from yesterday morning.  A Painted Beauty butterfly that was on my Sedum in the garden and back lit by the sun.


Sunday, September 14, 2014

9/14/14

This is a bit different image for me.  This was taken while at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, MN.  There were a couple of mornings that were quite foggy and misty and this was taken on one of them.  This is looking across Gunderson Pond which is not named for anyone I know but a great name.  ;-)  There is even the train that I work on in the distance which you can only really tell by the plume of smoke.


Saturday, September 13, 2014

9/13/14

This is the Horse Power area of the Steam Thresher's Reunion at Rollag, MN.  On this particular day with the clouds and horse drawn cart I thought it made for a rather picturesque scene made modern by the windmill towers that have gone up around the area.


Friday, September 12, 2014

9/12/14

This photo is appropriate for today due to the fact that it is supposed to get very cold already, 38 F.  Yuck, I am not at all ready for winter.  This is an image from this spring of a Vinca that was blooming with frost crystals on it.


Thursday, September 11, 2014

9/11/14

Posting late, had to go to a class out of town today and then had to drop off my right arm to be repaired.  Somehow the LCD screen is broken which I could live with but it's the side that tells me the battery level and how many photos are left.  <SIGH>
Anyway, this is a bee that was collecting pollen on a Foxglove bloom in Minnesota.  As you can see the pollen is quite plentiful.  Best viewed larger by clicking on the image.


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

9/10/14

This is a wild flower called Fringed Gentian.  I found this in a hot springs pool area near Old faithful when we were in Yellowstone and have never shared it.  This flower must really have like the conditions around the pools as there were quite a number of them just in this one area.


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

9/9/14

Konza Prairie's Bi-annual Visitor Day is coming up at the end of this month on the 27th.  Visitors get to see areas of the prairie not usually open to the public.  This is one of them that is also open once a year during the Wildflower Walk.  This is Butterfly Hill in bloom.  It's name comes from the numerous Butterfly Weed plants that give it the orange color and attract butterflies to the area.  Best viewed larger, just click on the image.


Monday, September 8, 2014

9/8/14

These birds are very difficult to capture for me, they are always moving and rarely sit still for long.  I got lucky that it was eating seed from this spent Sunflower.  A Black Capped Chickadee, the Kansas State bird.



Sunday, September 7, 2014

9/7/14

Last weekend I was up in Minnesota at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.  The weather there was a lot cooler and wetter than I had been used to in Kansas.  It created a couple of very misty mornings.  I caught this image on last Sunday morning of the locomotive that I work a shift on, former Soo Line 353, taking on water in the mist.



Saturday, September 6, 2014

9/6/14

Posting late today due to be out of town all day.  This is a lovely flower I grew three different colors of this summer.  This is the purple variety of a flower called Osteopermum.  They are daisy like in my opinion.


Friday, September 5, 2014

9/5/14

This is a macro image of a couple of red lilies growing in my garden.  The weather has turned colder so a sight we probably won't be seeing much longer.  I loved the color in this one.


Thursday, September 4, 2014

9/4/14

This is a photo I got just recently of a Bumble Bee and a little Skipper sharing a meal on a bloom of Woolly Verbena.


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

9/3/14

I love photographing wildflowers.  This is a new one that I found outside a tiny town in Colorado called Como that I went to while looking fr something railroad related.  These were growing alongside the road into town and are called One Sided Penstemon.


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

9/2/14

Heading home from vacation today.  This is another of the Bristle-cone pines in Colorado on Mount Evans.  I processed this one with a more moody and dramatic feel and I think it brought out the tree trunk shape more.


Monday, September 1, 2014

9/1/14

Happy first day of September or Labor Day for those of us in the US!  Fall will be here soon.  In the meantime here's a typical summer shot of an insect and a flower.  This is a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth hovering around the Budhelia or Butterfly bush one day recently.  I was even able to get close enough to capture it with my macro lens.