Tuesday, April 30, 2019

4/30/19

Well, we got the rain we were promised.  Have good chances for Tuesday as well so hope we get some more.  My pond is looking pretty good again right now but could use a bit more.  
For today's image I went back to my Black & White roots with a subject I really thought worked well in it.  I had this flower several years ago and then never found it again until this year.  It's a type of Osteospermum called an African Daisy or Spoon Flower due to the petal shape.  This is a white variety bloom of them.


Monday, April 29, 2019

4/29/19

Happy New Week!  I am writing this post the day before so I hope the 90% chance of rain we had produced.  I wanted to share some more beautiful Tulips.  I had planted a whole group of them in one area by our sidewalk but most of them only produced the first year unfortunately.  This variety must be more hearty as it still comes up and produces some lovely blooms.


Sunday, April 28, 2019

4/28/19

It was a bit chilly out this morning but hopefully we are done with the cold weather.  I hope we get some rain this week like predicted, there are some big cracks forming in the yard.  My image today goes back to a day in spring last year while chasing the Cumbres & Toltec train.  I took this shot as it was leaving Windy Point at Cumbres Pass after stopping for water after it climbed the steep grade to the point.


Saturday, April 27, 2019

4/27/19

I don't get a chance to get out and photograph many sunsets but this is one I captured in very early spring before everything really started to bud out.  I liked the reflection in the water.  This was back when we were having good amounts of moisture.  Unfortunately that hasn't been the case lately and the pond is much lower.  Maybe this week.


Friday, April 26, 2019

4/26/19

The Redbuds have really been pretty this year.  Last year they got a bit frozen out and didn't bloom well.  I shared a shot early of what the buds look like and today is how they look while blooming.  I loved the bokeh in this image and Fridays are still Bokehlicious to me.


Thursday, April 25, 2019

4/25/19

I have a Fern Peony that is part of husband's grandmother's original plant.  It has never gotten very large and doesn't always have producing buds but this year it had 2 blooms on it.  This is a macro image of one of them.  They don't last long but are beautiful.


Wednesday, April 24, 2019

4/24/19

I was able to capture this Goldfinch couple together this weekend.  It's the first time I have captured a male and female together like this.  It clearly shows how much more vibrant the male is.  The female is duller for safety but still, kind of stinks that the females have to be the not as beautiful of the two.  😏


Tuesday, April 23, 2019

4/23/19

Spring has really sprung lately in my area.  The Redbuds and Lilacs are blooming like crazy making everything quite colorful.  This is a 2 image panorama out on the western side of my property.  Redbuds start on the left and flow into the Lilacs.


Monday, April 22, 2019

4/22/19

Today is Earth Day officially but it should be Earth Day every day.  People need to be thinking about what they do and how it affects the environment.  It can start with your garden.  Think about plants that are good for butterflies and bees.  Plant native ones that have a better chance for survival.  You can plant things that aren't very expensive.  Zinnia from seed, Zinnias  are a butterfly magnet.  They provide food when other things have stopped flowering.  Plant Milkweed for Monarchs to reproduce.  To eat they all seem to enjoy Autumn Sedum.  I captured a Red Admiral on one of the Wild Plums growing in the area.  These too provide food for the butterflies and bees until the flowers bloom.  I was more prepared this time and had my zoom lens with me and got closer.  




Sunday, April 21, 2019

4/21/19

Happy Sunday and happy Easter Sunday to those who celebrate.  This is an image from last year because the miniature Lilac has yet to bloom.  I thought it appropriate for the day though, a steam train with flowers from my garden railway.


Saturday, April 20, 2019

4/20/19

I am on a flower roll with my celebration of Spring.  It's so lovely to see everything coming to life and being so colorful.  This is a closeup of the other variety of Tulip that I have with the Reds with yellow accents.  This type is yellow with red accents and they compliment each other well.  I love how they seem to glow in the sun.


Friday, April 19, 2019

4/19/19

Another thing that has been in bloom this spring are the Ornamental Pear trees.  The white blossoms from them combined with the pinks from the Redbuds really makes it lovely in our area of Kansas.  Plus the Crabapples are beginning to bloom as well so it is quite colorful right now.  I found on the new land that I have several Pear trees.  These are the blooms from one of them and I loved the bokeh that others created behind.


Thursday, April 18, 2019

4/18/19

So all the rain missed us.  I hope this is not a sign of things to come.  Last summer was quite dry.  At least we had a fairly wet winter to help things out where we didn't last year.  The Redbud Trees are really blooming right now and it looks lovely around town.  Last year they got a bit frozen and never fully bloomed out.  This is a focus stack macro of the buds and shows basically how they get their name though I think they are more pink than red.  😃


Wednesday, April 17, 2019

4/17/19

Posting early because I am going to try out writing these the night before and then having them post the next day.  Not sure how I will like that as there may be something I want to mention but we shall see how it goes.  This is a close up of the Wild Plum blossoms.  I love them, so delicate and and pretty and smell very nice.  I can see why the butterflies are attracted.


Tuesday, April 16, 2019

4/16/19

I am not sure if this is something you usually want to see in your backyard or not. 😘  I looked out the window of the bathroom on Saturday morning and there were 3 Turkey Vultures sitting next to each other in the tree.  By the time I went and got my camera, only one was left and it flew off after I got a couple shots.


Monday, April 15, 2019

4/15/19

Happy Tax Day!  Hope you got them done and in.  My Tulips are blooming well.  I love to see them, so bright and colorful.  I like this variety with the yellow highlights.


Sunday, April 14, 2019

4/14/19

It's a lovely Spring day here in Kansas.  My celebration of spring is continuing just with a shot not taken from this Spring.  This is from last year in late May when I was chasing the Cumbres & Toltec train after riding it the day before.  It was a lovely day in New Mexico and the train was approaching a crossing in a field of Dandelions.  People don't like Dandelions but I do as they are food for the bees and butterflies when not much else is available.



Saturday, April 13, 2019

4/13/19

We had a bit of a cold snap but the flowers seemed to make it through OK even with a couple frosty mornings.  These are some Grape Hyacinths in the side yard that come up year after year.  I did not plant them so they are at least 26 years old.  They are fun to see in Spring.


Friday, April 12, 2019

4/12/19

Posting a bit early today as I was able to come home earlier.  I saw my first butterflies I was able to photograph on Wednesday.  They were Red Admirals and were enjoying the Wild Plums that were in bloom that day.  The Wild Plums smell wonderful so I can see why they would be attracted to them.  I hope our freeze this morning did not hurt them, I haven't made it over to see.  Anyway, there were about 4 if not more Red Admirals enjoying these and I unfortunately didn't have a zoom lens with me so I had to be stealthy and patient and this is about the closest I was able to get. 


Thursday, April 11, 2019

4/11/19

It was in the 80s F yesterday and today it is supposed to be a high in only the 40s.  UGH.  80s are a bit high but I wanted to be done with cold weather.  It's made it quite windy too.  My Tulips are just starting to bloom.  This is a macro of one of them from yesterday.


Wednesday, April 10, 2019

4/10/19

I am going to continue on with my celebration of Spring.  These are my orange center Daffodils.  A different variety than I usually see and have been quite reliable bloomers.  I captured this trio of them on Monday evening.


Tuesday, April 9, 2019

4/9/19

I love Spring when everything is coming back to life and color after the long winter.  My flowers are emerging in the garden.  These are some Narcissus, also known as Paper Whites that I planted a couple of years ago from a bulb flower arrangement I had received during the winter from my Sis-in-law.  A gift that keeps on giving.  😊


Monday, April 8, 2019

4/8/19

I saw my first butterflies yesterday.  There were 2 chasing each other around the yard yesterday.  They were moving too quickly to see what they were exactly but were a fairly small variety and orange.  Good to see them again.  This image is from last year of a butterfly I had never seen before but saw several of this past summer, a Bordered Patch.  It quite liked my Sedum in the garden.


Sunday, April 7, 2019

4/7/19

For today's image I decided to get back to my B&W roots again.  I thought that it gave this image quite the timeless look as there is nothing really modern it it.  This is the Cumbres & Toltec locomotive getting ready to hook on to our train to pull us to Colorado from Chama New Mexico.



Saturday, April 6, 2019

4/6/19

It's a warm spring day today.  Very nice after the cold we were having.  My Daffodils are blooming like crazy.  This is a line up of them in my front yard.


Friday, April 5, 2019

4/5/19

I bought this lovely flower plant at Home Depot the other day.  I need to find a good spot for it.  It's called an Anemone and has a beautiful flower similar to a Poppy.  I loved the rich color of it.  I couldn't resist taking a photo of the flower before I even got it in the ground.  I also loved the bokeh that it's leaves produced.  Fridays are still Bokehlicious!


Thursday, April 4, 2019

4/4/19

So Spring is finally springing around here.  We missed a chance for rain totally, hope that is not an indicator of things to come.  My image today is from a little while back when it was still cold and snowy and this female Cardinal was trying to stay warm on a branch on the Mulberry tree.


Wednesday, April 3, 2019

4/3/19

This is one of my first Daffodils to bloom this spring.  The ones by the pond were the first to open.  The others in the yard are just getting ready to pop.  Will be lovely when they do.  I actually took this image with my phone.  I really like the camera on it, it's a Google Pixel 3.


Tuesday, April 2, 2019

4/2/19

I shot today's image on an early evening in late May as the moon shone over the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy Chama New Mexico yard.  I thought it a fitting image for today as the lights go out at my favorite place to play and introduced me to Social Media in a good way.  Great friends and inspiration.  I have found a couple other places to play but they won't be like Google Plus which felt kind of homey, friendly and comfortable.  


Monday, April 1, 2019

4/1/19

As I make my 2053rd post here on this first day of April I am reflecting on the time spent on my first social media platform, Google Plus.  I wish the fact that it is going away today was an April Fools joke.  I met some really great people there and feel I will lose contact with them now.  They inspired me to be a better photographer.  I hope more of them will join me here as some have already.  
Well, today's image is some patterns provided by nature.  On a very cold day this past winter, not so long ago, there were beautiful ice patterns created on the storm door of the house.  They reminded me of a river of ferns.