Monday, August 31, 2015

8/31/15

I found this older image of a Hummingbird enjoying some Trumpet Vine flowers.  A friend of mine had been mentioning having this vine because they enjoyed it and I had forgotten I had a photo of it.  They blend in very well with the leaves for camouflage so it was difficult to make it stand out to see it.  Well, back in the heat again just as my green beans were starting to produce nicely.  Ah well.  It is still summer. 

Sunday, August 30, 2015

8/30/15

It's a lovely cool misty morning today.  This image is from a day a lot like today back in June.  I was over at a friend's house running Garden Railway trains and caught this image of my C-21 locomotive on the high line putting out a lovely plume of steam.  



Saturday, August 29, 2015

8/29/15

Bit of a dreary morning today but it's supposed to be beautiful before we head back into the heat of late summer,  This is from back in June on Memorial Day weekend as we were heading west to have dinner with some friends.  It seems it always rains at some point during that weekend and this was one of those fronts moving in with some rather dramatic clouds.


Friday, August 28, 2015

8/28/15

Well, we got some rain over night.  That was nice though now it's humid because it's warm.  Looks like next week is going to be more normal with temps in the 90s.  I knew it couldn't last, the cooler nice temps.  Ah well.  So today's image is one I played with obviously.  These were a couple of Straw Flowers, I believe, that I took the background out of and replaced with the blue.  I thought it made them look like natural fireworks.


Thursday, August 27, 2015

8/27/15

Well, we are back to heat for a few days at least.  It was nice while the coolness lasted.  I shot today's image back in late Spring out on Konza Prairie.  This is one of the 2015 Emergence Cicadas that was hanging out in the grass.  I saw it on an evening hike and liked how the colors are really shown off.  Strange looking insects but kind of lovely in their own way.  They were quite noisy in the areas they were hanging out in.  This guy was kind of off by himself when I spotted it.  


Wednesday, August 26, 2015

8/26/15

A lovely morning once again but today got hotter and so probably not as cool in the morning tomorrow.  Ah well, it is August so I shouldn't be surprised.  We have had really hot here even into September before.  So today's image is of a very tolerant Leopard Frog in my pond who let me get very close with my macro lens and get several shots.  He even sits on his Lily Pad while I clean the pond around him and very close to his pad.  I don't have fish in the pond because I don't want the work that goes with them but I do enjoy the frogs.  We had a good rain on Saturday night and I was worried because sometimes the frogs disappear after that for some reason but there were still at least a couple were still around.


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

8/25/15

Well, August is sure going out nicely.  I like this 50s in the morning and then only 80s in the afternoons.  I could take a whole summer of this.  :-)   Anyway, today's image goes back to one of the Bi-plane Fly-ins that are now held in Junction City, Ks every year in June.  I took this image of this 1929 Waco Mohawk's engine because i was impressed with how pristine it looked.  Very shiny and clean even though the plane is flown.


Monday, August 24, 2015

8/24/15

Wow it was lovely and cool this morning, I did not want to get out of bed!  :-)  Today's image is best viewed large by clicking on it.  It is a 5 frame panoramic image that I shot of Scottsbluff National Monument.  This is taken on the road heading to the park.  The actual bluff is in from the point on the right.  It was a lovely area and we had a nice time hiking a couple of days.  The second day we hiked a bit of the Oregon Trail that goes through the park.  You could still see remnants of it.  I took photos but it's hard to get across in an image.


Sunday, August 23, 2015

8/23/15

Had a cool lightning show last night and rain which cooled it down quite a bit.  It's only 60 degrees at 9:30am today.  Nice.  Today's image goes back to South Dakota after we road the Black Hills Central Railroad and were then chasing it.  I took this image as it was crossing trestle number 85 (I know that due to the tag on the trestle on the left side of it) on it's way back to Keystone, SD.


Saturday, August 22, 2015

8/22/15

I haven't posted a sunrise shot for a while.  While going through photos last week I found this one from back in April that I thought had some great color.  Now that the days are getting shorter the sun is in a position that it's starting to give some nice views on the way to work.  Wish there wasn't so many power lines to yuck up a photo though.  Ah well.


Friday, August 21, 2015

8/21/15

Well it was another quite lovely morning.  I think tomorrow won't be so nice unfortunately.  This image goes back to a place where I will be in only a week and a half now.  Sheesh how time flies.  This is from one of my visits to Tamarack Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  This is the state flower and is a Showy Lady Slipper or Cypripedium reginae . There is also a yellow version of this flower that I have shared on the Blog.  They do look like slippers with long bows or laces to me so well named.  :-)   


Thursday, August 20, 2015

8/20/15

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  :-)  That reference probably indicates how old I am.  LOL  Another beautiful here.  I wish it would be like this on Saturday instead of the 90 that is predicted again.  Sigh.  Anyway, on to the image.  This is from earlier this year when the Bee Balm was blooming.  I always see bees and usually a Great Spangled Butterfly enjoying them but this year a Monarch was around to enjoy as well and I was able to capture a shot.  I am trying to grow this flower in my garden but so far it hasn't taken off.  Hopefully it does better next year.


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

8/19/15

Ah what a lovely day today!  So nice before we head back to the 90s on Saturday.  This goes back to cool days in South Dakota.  I took this image when we were driving through Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills.  This is Spearfish Falls of which I had shared an earlier image from another view.  Back in the early 1900s a Burlington Northern train used to go over the top of these falls until a flood washed the tracks out.  I processed this image in B&W and shared that version over on G+ today.  It can be checked out by clicking my photo in the About Me area on the right of this Blog.



Tuesday, August 18, 2015

8/18/15

Well, we finally got rain again today.  It is amazing how hard the ground got even though we haven't really been lacking for rain this summer.  I was trying to pull some weeds yesterday among the flowers and could hardly do it because it was so hard.  It will be a lot cooler for a couple of days at least as well so a nice relief.  This is a pretty old image I have had.  I like that it is so close up but it is in captivity.  This is one of the Bald Eagles they have had out at Milford Lake Nature Center because it was injured.


Monday, August 17, 2015

8/17/15

Well the week is off to a wacky start.  Great.  :-/   <-Sarcastic Face.  Over the weekend I was going through my photo files looking for certain images.  I happened to come across this one that I had never shared and since I am having this particular problem at the moment decided to share it now.  This Ladybug is on some Milkweed that was growing along the roadside.  I transplanted some of it and so far it is living, well 3 out of the 4.  So yay.  The Ladybug is heading for some aphids that you can see a couple of on the right side leaves.  I am having a big problem with Aphids on another type of Milkweed I have and wish the Ladybugs would come and take care of them instead of me.


Sunday, August 16, 2015

8/16/15

Another lovely morning and even though it was hot yesterday it wasn't too bad, hope the same for today.
Today's image goes back to the Black Hills Central Railway in South Dakota.  This is the locomotive that you see in a lot of their promotional photos for the 1880s Train.  It is a Prairie type 2-6-2 that they acquired in 1962.  This locomotive cannot pull as many cars and people on the grades as the tank engines so they only use it in the off seasons when there are not as many riders.  It was surprising to see it sitting out in the elements but you can see the cap on the stack to keep rain out and it looked in pretty good shape.


Saturday, August 15, 2015

8/15/15

A nice morning today but going to get a bit warm, into the 90s.  I took this image this past Wednesday evening.  I was out on Konza Prairie for a talk about water that was interesting and also depressing at the same time.  Reservoirs are silting in and aquifers are drying up.  Anyway, as I was leaving I saw this lovely sunset so I stopped to take this image.  This is a 3 frame panorama that is best viewed large by clicking on it.


Friday, August 14, 2015

8/14/15

Still nice mornings though not quite as refreshing today.  My image today is of a Water Lily in my pond.  I took this macro image of it to show off it's various curves.  Curves was the theme for this week of my Black & White project and I liked the various types in this flower from the petals to the center thingies (my very technical term) to the over all shape.  If you would like to see that version just go to the About Me section on the right of the page and click on my photo and it will take you to my G+ page.




Thursday, August 13, 2015

8/13/15

What another lovely morning it was, only 63 when I left for work, nice!  A bit warmer during the day than I would like but if the mornings are cool I'll take it.  :-)  This image comes from the day I went to check out the waterfall at the Geary State Fishing Lake.  Both times I have been there I have seen these dragonflies, I think they like the falls as well.  They are beautiful and hard to get a photo of and I believe they are called Jewel Wings.  I like their hairy legs.


Wednesday, August 12, 2015

8/12/15

What a lovely refreshing morning we had for a change today.  Low 60s, that was nice!  Today's image goes back to our bike trip in South Dakota.  At the Trailhead we first thought would be our destination, but then we rode further, we saw a couple of cute little Chipmunks running around.  We were resting and having a drink of water and I was able to get off a few shots of them.  They are just so cute the way they scamper around.


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

8/11/15

Ah, it finally cooled down at night and during the day a bit.  Nice!  This is an older image I got, I think it was last fall.  The Marigolds I had planted were finally in bloom and this Skipper came to visit and let me get pretty close with my macro lens.  Sometimes they sit still very well and other times, very flighty.  LOL


Monday, August 10, 2015

8/10/15

It was still quite steamy this morning.  The windows were even fogged.  Yuck.  Tonight they are calling for mid 60s.  I'll believe it when I see it at this point.  Sigh.
This image goes back to cooler days this Spring when a Blue Jay came to visit.  We have a River Birch in the Front yard that the birds seem to really enjoy.  It made for a nice spot for the image anyway.



Sunday, August 9, 2015

8/9/15

So today is going to be an almost literal Steamy Sunday with the bit of rain we got producing high humidity and the 90 degree heat.  Yuck.
I'm taking a break today from the South Dakota train and going back to Steamfest 2009 in Michigan where I got to see several very cool locomotives.  One of them was this one, a Berkshire type housed in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Nickel Plate 765.  It was putting out some steam as it was being turned on the Wye to be at the head end of it's excursion train on the way back to Owosso.  We had ridden the daylight the day before but chased this one for photos the next day.  It's a quite beautifully restored locomotive.



Saturday, August 8, 2015

8/8/15

Well, we got rain last night but supposed to be almost 100 today so a bit like a sauna again.  Sigh.  This image is from when I went to check out the waterfall near where I live but it was a bit disappointing.  The vies that evening however were not.  This is looking south over Geary State Fishing Lake.  Some rather dramatic clouds that evening.  It's a 2 frame panorama so best viewed large by clicking on it.


Friday, August 7, 2015

8/7/15

I am dreaming of Spring today and cooler weather.  This morning turned out better than I thought, it was nice and cool again and another good day for sleeping in when I can't.  Sigh.  Ah well.  Anyway, this is a macro image of a couple of Columbine blooms in my garden from this Spring.  This variety grows wild in Minnesota and probably elsewhere.  I planted it on purpose.  :-)


Thursday, August 6, 2015

8/6/15

Wow, we had such a nice cool morning today!  I wanted to stay in bed longer, it was perfect for sleeping and probably the only one for a bit.  It's going to be getting hot again.  So this image is one I was able to capture in early June.  I think it's a Bumble bee but not sure with that nose, might be a Carpenter Bee.  It was flying around some Larkspur blooms and I was able to capture it in flight.


Wednesday, August 5, 2015

8/5/15

Had some rain today, that was nice as things were really drying out and I didn't have time to water last night either.  It also cooled off a bit so yay for that.  This image is from a cool day in South Dakota after we had been to Sturgis and then went for a drive looking for waterfalls in the Black Hills.  This is the first one we came to.  This one is very appropriately named Bridal Veil Falls.  I did a long exposure on it so made it appear even more veil like.  It was flowing nicely due to the rain the area had been receiving lately.


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

8/4/15

Today's image goes back to June when I was on a hike out on the Konza Prairie.  I photographed this June Grass, very appropriately named :-) in the evening sunlight.  The heads of this grass capture the sunlight in such a lovely way I think.



Monday, August 3, 2015

8/3/15

Hot hot again.  I saw this spiky type of Milkweed flower while we were on a hike in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  I believe this type is called Showy Milkweed.  When I saw it I thought that the shape of it would look good with a black and white treatment.  I shared that over on my Google + Page which can be found by going to the About Me section on the right hand side of the Blog.  I liked it in color as well so thought I would share that here.


Sunday, August 2, 2015

8/2/15

Well, here we go, mid 90s again today.  Yuck.  Pretty soon I'll be complaining it's too cold.  Sigh.  Need to move where it's more even all year round.  This image goes back to cool days in South Dakota and the 1880s Train or Black Hills Central Railroad.  We were in the town of Keystone where you can either ride the train right back or take a later train and spend time in the town which is what we did.  Before the locomotive heads back it needs to take on water which is what is happening in this photo.  The wood tank however, is just for show pretty much.  The guy on the other side of the locomotive is near a stand pipe with a hose where the majority of the water for the tank is coming from.  At least they are trying to make it look authentic.


Saturday, August 1, 2015

8/1/15

Yikes, it's August!  Summer has gone too fast.  This image is from last week when I decided to go check out the waterfall at the Geary State Fishing Lake south of town.  I was hoping that due to all the rain we had had it would be flowing nicely.  It was flowing but not like I thought, I waited too long.  Ah well.  On the way back to the car I was able to get this view.  This is actually a panorama of 3 frames shot portrait style and then stitched together.  A lovely evening with the clouds.  Best viewed full size by clicking on the image.