04/27/24

 Today's image is another astrophotography one that I have been trying to learn and get better at.  I have been working with this image off and on since I took it on the 4th of this month.  This is Comet 12p/Pons-Brooks that has been able to be seen with binoculars or a telescope if you know where to look.  When I captured it, it was visible shortly after sunset in the constellation of Aries and somewhat near Jupiter, which appears as a star in the image due to the longer exposure.  I used a 70mm lens as using anything larger made it very difficult to spot due to the comet being incredibly dim to the naked eye.  This is a combination of 12 ten second exposures, which were stacked and then processed in my photo program and also using a gradient extractor due to the uneven light from the horizon.  It's not perfect and I have a lot to learn but I was fairly happy with what i was able to get.  If you look closely you can see faint bits of the tail extending out, I wish I had been able to pull out more of that but the quality was degrading.  I am not sure if the comet is still visible, it was getting lower on the horizon every day.  I should have captured it in January at least.  At this point in time it was too low too get very many images before it was gone.

04/26/24

 It's Friday, TGIF!  My Lilacs are just starting to bloom, it's been a weird Spring.  I have 2 different types and one usually blooms later than the other but they are both starting together this year.  The one that is later is much more aromatic and I captured this Common Variegated Fritillary was enjoying the blooms the other day and I was able to get a few images of it.  I also chose this image for today due to the lovely bubbly bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!  

04/25/24

 My new tulips did pretty well this year.  This is a close up of one of them that I was able to get.  Tulips are interesting in how they open fairly wide in the heat of the day and then close back up as it gets darker and cooler.

04/24/24

 It's a double digit day!  😀  It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  This year seems to be the year for this flower, Prairie Groundsel, they are blooming in large groups right now and look lovely.  These flowers usually bloom from April to June.  They are in the Sunflower family which must be why I enjoy seeing them.

04/23/24

 Another of the types of ducks I was able to see and capture this spring were Buffleheads.  Apparently they nest in forested areas of Canada so they were just passing through.  I'm sure it gets too hot here for them.  This was a male and female pair I was able to capture while on a bike ride one day.

04/22/24

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  Today is a special day, it's Earth Day!  Every day should be Earth Day but ....  We can all do our part by thinking about how many disposable type items we use instead of a re-usable one.  We can think of what we plant in our yard to give a food source to bees and butterflies.  I leave my clover and dandelions in spring when there is nothing else around for early emegers to eat instead of mowing it off.  We can plant things they like as well and it doesn't have to be expensive.  Flowers like Zinnias, Echinaceas, Cosmos, and even Marigolds are easy to start from seed and I almost always find bees or butterflies enjoying them.  My image of the day is of  a Painted Lady butterfly on an Echinacea in one of my gardens.

04/21/24

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  I captured this image of 353 sitting outside the roundhouse while I was waiting for a meeting to start.  I was there for the annual Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion where I get to help fire on this locomotive for 2 hours for 4 days.  It's a fun experience and I am grateful that things worked out that I get to do it.  353 is over 100 years old now.