Sunday, December 31, 2017

12/31/17

Well, it's New Years Eve and for my last photo of the year and because Sundays are for steamy things, here is a photo from this summer and a MUCH warmer day at the Durango and Silverton Railway in Colorado. This is a shot of the train before ours departing the Durango station.  So goodbye to 2017 and may 2018 be better.


Saturday, December 30, 2017

12/30/17

We are in our cold snap now.  Highs only around 10F, minus 12 C if we are lucky and probably not even that high.  I was in Missouri for a few days at Christmas and got lots of photos of birds.  My in-laws have a great viewing area with an upper deck and a nice Ornamental Pear tree for them to perch in.  I captured this Bluebird which was one of several to visit the bird bath for a drink.  It stretches it's head way up to swallow and made for a nice pose.


Friday, December 29, 2017

12/29/17

Heading into a cold spell after today so I am thinking of warmer days.  This was a lovely day back in September when the Painted Ladies were visiting in large numbers and it was kind of magical to walk by them and have them all fluttering around.  They were really enjoying my Autumn Sedum in the garden. 


Thursday, December 28, 2017

12/28/17

I was able to capture this image in Pennsylvania over the Thanksgiving week.  This was the second time I had ever seen a Hooded Merganser duck and both times were there.  I captured it as it took off when it decided I was too close.  I liked the out of focus, unfortunately, splash it left behind but I was trying to get the bird in focus so that was good.


Wednesday, December 27, 2017

12/27/17

Yikes it's cold out.  A high of only 16 F today or -9 C.  I need something warm today so here is an image from summer with a nice summer feel to it.  This is Stiff Goldenrod, a lovely wildflower here in our area of Kansas.  It provides a lot of golden color in late summer and is not the culprit of most allergies.  😀


Tuesday, December 26, 2017

12/26/17

Well winter is finally here in temps and a bit of snow and I am wishing for summer.  This is a shot of a stalk of grass that I thought made for a lovely image that I took this past June in Minnesota.


Monday, December 25, 2017

12/25/17

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!  Happy Monday to everyone as well!  Hope you have a lovely day!  Enjoy some yard art Snowmen.  


Sunday, December 24, 2017

12/24/17

Happy Christmas Eve to all who celebrate and happy Sunday to all.  I took this image over a year ago now and it is a good thing I did since I never got another chance after.  This is another version of what I used for my holiday cards this year.  This is my G-scale locomotive and train out on my garden railway.


Saturday, December 23, 2017

12/23/17

I took this image of my older Hallmark Ornament of the Millennium Falcon guarding my Christmas tree from the Dark Side.  I thought it appropriate since there is a new Star Wars movie out.  😃


Friday, December 22, 2017

12/22/17

Only 3 days till Christmas!  I think I am finally ready, are you.  😄 My image today is all about the bokeh.  The theme over on G+ was about Passion.  I am passionate about capturing photos of butterflies and I am passionate about the Christmas Season and festive lights now and any time of the year.This image combines it all with a Butterfly decoration from my tree photographed against the lights of the big tree.


Thursday, December 21, 2017

12/21/17

Happy Winter Solstice!  Today is the first day of winter break so posting earlier than normal.  I took this image a while back and thought it was appropriate for the day.  We have not have cold enough temps this year to take anything similar.  Also, today marks the day it was exactly one year ago that we had a significant snowfall.  If this keeps up I won't be able to take my traditional Christmas card photo.  Anyway, this image is a macro of frost on our storm door.


Wednesday, December 20, 2017

12/20/17

I decided on something nice and bright today because even though we can't get rain or snow we seem to be headed into some dreary cloudy days.  I captured these flowers in a field in Minnesota this past June.  I believe they are wild Veronica.  I just love the bubbly bokeh in this image as well.


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

12/19/17

I captured this Canada Goose family in Minnesota this past June on one of the lakes there.  They were out for a leisurely swim.  The goslings were getting pretty large already.


Monday, December 18, 2017

12/18/17

This is an image I shot the next day after the image I shared yesterday.  I was riding the Durango & Silverton and we were on the way to Silverton.  This is a bit of the beautiful scenery you see along the way.  If you look close you can see a small waterfall that resulted from snow melt from the rocky peaks.  Some of these still had snow on them even in July.


Sunday, December 17, 2017

12/17/17

My image today goes back to the Durango & Silverton Railway once again.  I took this image the day I was down in the canyon by the Las Animas River trying to get photos in the style of William Henry Jackson.  This is the locomotive that I rode behind the next day as it made it's way along the Hi Line.  At this point it is only moving along at 5 miles per hour due to the steep drop off.  This image shows the red granite in the hills here very well on the left.  


Saturday, December 16, 2017

12/16/17

Eek, there are only 9 days till Christmas!  I am not ready.  My image today is one from this spring when we used to get rain.  I had been photographing the waterfall at the Geary State Fishing Lake and was on my way back to the car when I stopped to take this shot.  The Redbuds were in full bloom as you can see from the one in the foreground which added a nice pop of color.  The moon is visible as well.


Friday, December 15, 2017

12/15/17

Finally had a chance for rain yesterday and just got drizzle for a short while.  Sigh  This is an older shot in winter when we had some snow.  These are husks of Bitttersweet, the berries are gone, most likely eaten by birds.  The husk pops open when temps fall below freezing.  I like how these provide pops of color during an otherwise dull winter.


Thursday, December 14, 2017

12/14/17

I'm staying in a warm spring mood today.  Actually, it was so warm this past weekend that some of these guys were out and about.  This is a Honey Bee that I captured on my Salvia that they really seem to enjoy.


Wednesday, December 13, 2017

12/13/17

I decided on a splash of nice bright color for today.  This is a male Baltimore Oriole that was enjoying some jelly from the deck feeder one day this spring.


Tuesday, December 12, 2017

12/12/17

Today's image goes back to the Grand Canyon in July.  This tree standing overlooking the Grand Canyon is a Utah Juniper, I had originally thought it was a close relative, a Cedar.  I love the character of their twisting trunks.  These trees can be quite old and this one due to it's size is likely over 100 years old.




Monday, December 11, 2017

12/11/17

I decided to start off the week with a cute little Chipmunk I saw in Colorado.  We were stopped to let hikers off on the Dirango & Silverton ride and a few Chipmunks were around looking for a treat.





Sunday, December 10, 2017

12/10/17

My image today goes back to my trip to the Durango & Silverton Railway this past July.  This is back at the Durango station and our locomotive, 481, was about to set the passenger cars on their track for the next days service and then head to the turntable to be moved into the roundhouse for it's cleaning and servicing for the next day.


Saturday, December 9, 2017

12/9/17

This is a photo i took back in July.  I had been out at the lake trying to get a Sunset photo and not really getting what I wanted.  I started to head home and as I was getting close I saw this sky color beginning to develop so I took a little detour to get a clear view.  I liked this shot best with the pond in the foreground.


Friday, December 8, 2017

12/8/17

It's Friday!  My image today is from this summer again, I'm thinking warm thoughts since it's cold out.  I captured this Blue Damselfly just outside my garden on a blade of grass.


Thursday, December 7, 2017

12/7/17

Winter is here in temps today, only a high in the 30s.  My image today was taken on a nice summer day in June at a friend's house where she is lucky to have Barred Owls come and hunt in the yard.  I captured this young one in the tree in between it swooping down to the ground for a snack.  Owls are such cool, beautiful and mysterious birds. 


Wednesday, December 6, 2017

12/6/17

I am missing summer already.  Here is an almost perfect Red Sunflower I was able to grow this past year.  I'm still deciding on a new spot for them.  They were a bit to crowded.  I have several months to decide.  😏


Tuesday, December 5, 2017

12/5/17

Well the temps are more normal today.  Not used to it being cold.  My image today is of the Burr Oak tree in my side yard that I captured in late afternoon sunlight.  The leaves changed oddly this year and hung on for quite some time.  Some trees even still have leaves.  This one had very green bunches of leaves still while others turned color.  I put a bit of a glow on it as well to heighten the sunshine effect.  


Monday, December 4, 2017

12/4/17

So now we are not only dry but it's windy to dry it out even more.  Sigh.  No rain in sight for a week at least too.  Anyway, today's image is one from Minnesota.  I captured this Ladybug which, due to the fact that is has no spots, is the Asian Lady Beetle variety of Ladybug.  I captured this one on the new rail that was being laid for the large scale train I get to help with there.


Sunday, December 3, 2017

12/3/17

I have had this image for awhile and never shared so this is one from the archives.  This is a night photo shoot I attended with some cool locomotives in attendance,  Here in this image are the noses of Nickel Plate 765 owned by the  Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.  Next is the former Southern Pacific Daylight 4449 currently owned by a Friends of group located in Oregon.  Then lastly is Pere Marquette 1225 currently owned by the Steam Railroading Institute in Michigan which is where I was for this event.  It was probably a once in a lifetime experience to be able to see so many famous steam trains at one time.




Saturday, December 2, 2017

12/2/17

I was looking through images of the Grand Canyon and decided to share this one.  I took this shot while hiking a bit of the Bright Angel Trail back in July on a nice hot day.  It's true about drier air not feeling so hot as humid air.  


Friday, December 1, 2017

12/1/17

Yikes, it's December 1, only 24 days to Christmas and where has the year gone.  My image was taken on a summer day last year.  This is a Tiger Swallowtail enjoying the Butterfly or Buddleja Bush in my yard.