Tuesday, June 30, 2020

6/30/20

Well, it's the last day of June and feels like mid August with our mid 90s weather again.  Sigh.  Because sunny Sunflowers make me happy I am sharing an image I took last week of some volunteer ones in my garden that are blooming already.  You have to find happiness in the little things these days it seems.


Monday, June 29, 2020

6/29/20

I have at least one frog that is quite tolerant of me, I think it's one that has been around a while and knows I am not there to bother them.  I can get quite close to it before it will move away.  I got this shot of him recently looking back at me from the water and thought I would share.  I think frogs have such character and seem to be smiling all the time.


Sunday, June 28, 2020

6/28/20

Steamy Sunday has rolled around again!  I don't share steam traction engines very often but I liked how this one turned out and this is a bit of a special occasion.  So in the past I have always referred to this 20 HP Minneapolis as "the engine my husband gets to work on".  Now I get to refer to it as the engine we own.  The owner decided to sell it this year and gave us the opportunity to buy it and we did.  It will remain in Minnesota for now.  In this image it is working on a saw mill at Rollag along with a return flu Minneapolis that the same previous owner used to own but has now also sold.


Saturday, June 27, 2020

6/27/20

I was in Missouri last weekend.  While on a walk I happened across this Killdeer that must have had a nest very close by.  It was doing it's act of being injured on the road in front of me.  It was neat to see up close.  They build their nests in such silly places on the ground, how they survive I'll never know.  This act must work well with predators.


Friday, June 26, 2020

6/26/20

The Red Clover has been quite the draw for butterflies this year.  This is a giant Swallowtail I captured on it a few weeks back.  Because Friday's Are Bokehlicious I chose this image with the greenery behind creating some lovely bokeh.




Thursday, June 25, 2020

6/25/20

My frog buddies at the big pond have been keeping me entertained.  I captured this duo one day and it made me smile.  not sure if the one was trying to hide or just wanted a bit of shade.  Whichever, i thought it was cute.


Wednesday, June 24, 2020

6/24/20

It's Wildflower Wednesday on the Blog once again!  I am working on a project having to do with the wildflower images I have captured and hope to unveil it soon.  It is taking a lot more time to do than I thought it would.  Anyway, today's flower is a Blackeyed Susan.  They are blooming quite profusely along the side of the road right now.


Tuesday, June 23, 2020

6/23/20

While I was in Missouri they had a good amount of rain compared to our measly 1/2 inch in a month and it was very humid on Saturday morning.  The spiders had been active and their webs looked like they had jewels on them.  Probably were even better if I had been up a bit earlier but I was pleased with what I got.  I loved the bokeh in this image, it could have been a Friday one but bokeh is good any day too!  


Monday, June 22, 2020

6/22/20

My mom-in-law in Missouri has some Butterfly Weed growing in her garden.  Look what we found munching away on it this weekend, a Monarch caterpillar!  Cool!  I would love to see some munching away at mine.  So far just Swallowtails visiting which is good too but..  


Sunday, June 21, 2020

6/21/20

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!  This is the weekend I would usually be in Rollag Minnesota at Steam School helping to run this locomotive for students to see how it operates.  Unfortunately this year is all weird and they canceled the school because it is popular and hard to social distance.  This is a 14 and 3/4 scale Wagner locomotive that used to operate out near Niagara Falls back in the day and I thought it worked well with the cut out technique applied to it.  This image was taken last year with it's new caboose on it.  Cabooses are very popular for various train rides but normally you would not have found a caboose on a passenger train.


Saturday, June 20, 2020

6/20/20

I have been able to view more birds that I don't usually get to see much this year.  With the large pond I found there are Red-wing Blackbirds there and this one let me get fairly close to it.  I was able to get this capture of it calling to other ones but I like how it looks like it is yelling at me.  Maybe it was.  


Friday, June 19, 2020

6/19/20

We made it to Friday and Friday's Are Bokehlicious!  There isn't as much bokeh in this one as usual but I had to share a butterfly image today.  I captured this female Black Swallowtail enjoying the Common Milkweed plant I was able to transplant and keep alive.  It actually stayed around long enough for several images.  I liked this one with it's wings spread nicely to show off the details.  Some of the Milkweed blooms are providing some nice bokeh.



Thursday, June 18, 2020

6/18/20

I was able to capture this Sphinx Moth at the Lantana flowers on my deck one evening a few weeks ago.  They are quite difficult to capture because they come when the light is low and they can move rather quickly.  I was lucky to get this one relatively in focus.


Wednesday, June 17, 2020

6/17/20

Wildflower Wednesday is here once again.   It seem to roll around rather quickly these days.  I captured this image late last month with my phone but it came out rather well and even captured the rain drops from back when we got rain.  This is a Missouri Evening Primrose blooming on the grounds of the old schoolhouse near where I live.


Tuesday, June 16, 2020

6/16/20

I have seen a bird in our area that is new to me.  It is a Lark Sparrow.  They inhabit short grass prairies and not very dense like, rocky, poor soils or mowed areas.  I captured this one on a walk on a recent evening just as it captured itself some dinner. 


Monday, June 15, 2020

6/15/20

My first Sunflower is blooming.  This one was a volunteer from last year.  With the exceptionally warm weather we have been having it grew very quickly and is flowering already with a lovely large bloom.




Sunday, June 14, 2020

6/14/20

So this year I doubt I will be getting to do much in the way of playing with steam things.  It's this engine's 100th birthday this year and I won't even get to fire on it during it's special year.  2020 has not been a good year all around.  Sigh.  Anyway, still playing with the cut out technique and I liked how this image of the former Soo Line Switch engine up at Rollag Minnesota turned out.


Saturday, June 13, 2020

6/13/20

The month of June came in beautifully and then got blistering hot.  This is the sunset I was treated to on the very first evening of June.


Friday, June 12, 2020

6/12/20

About a week ago while I was out walking late one afternoon I spotted this butterfly in among the Red Clover.  This is a male Tiger Swallowtail.  The Red Clover has been quite the butterfly magnet.  It made for some lovely background bokeh as well so sharing this today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, June 11, 2020

6/11/20

I had an interesting visitor by the big pond about a week ago or so.  This is a Harnessed Moth that was sitting on the lid of the waterfall pump.  I love the pattern in it's wings which is where it's name derives from.  This is actually a 2 image focus stack to bring out detail.


Wednesday, June 10, 2020

6/10/20

It's Wildflower Wednesday!  Today's wildflower is Common Spiderwort.  It is blooming like crazy right now.  It blooms well in the early part of the day but as the day heats up, the flowers close up.  If you want to get a photo, you need to be out before noon.  There are a number of plants that do this to conserve energy.


Tuesday, June 9, 2020

6/9/20

I have seen Blue Jays around more than usual this year, they have even been coming to get seed under the feeder.  This is where I captured this image.  The 2 seemed to be trying to cool off maybe, it was a hot day and the other looks as if to be saying, "What's with you guys, let's eat!"  😄


Monday, June 8, 2020

6/8/20

I have the plant that is like a Christmas Cactus but it blooms in late spring early summer and the flowers are quite different.  It very rarely blooms but I got a bunch on this bit that I had started in another pot.  I had to kind if shoot this from below towards the ceiling and I liked how it turned out.


Sunday, June 7, 2020

6/7/20

So I was told that one of my cut out images my work well with the Live Steam stuff.  I tried one and I thought that it did indeed work pretty well.  This is my Accucraft 361 on my friend's High Line layout from a couple of years ago.


Saturday, June 6, 2020

6/6/20

Back in normal times, this weekend would have been the Wildflower Walk out on Konza Prairie.  Sigh  Even though it is an outdoor activity, you can't social distance enough if you want to hear what the wildflowers are and see them all.  This image is from the end of the evening when storm clouds were forming to the south a few years ago.


Friday, June 5, 2020

6/5/20

The Red Clover is blooming like crazy right now and it is a butterfly Magnet.  I have observed a number of Monarchs enjoying them, as many as at least 7 at one time.  Very cool to see.  I captured this one and with the great bokeh behind I had to share it today.  Fridays are Bokehlicious!


Thursday, June 4, 2020

6/4/20

I had several Ladybugs checking out the wildflowers for aphids in my yard a few days ago so I went out to capture some shots.  I was able to capture this shot and was very happy with it.


Wednesday, June 3, 2020

6/3/20

It's Wildflower Wednesday!  Today's is one from early spring.  I was pleased that this one bloomed so well.  It is Wild Plum.  I moved a couple of small, bushes, I guess you would call them, last spring and hoped they would survive and take off and they have.  They spread by roots and can make a nice little elongated grove after a while.  The flowers are lovely in spring and have a great smell.  They attract butterflies as well and I usually can get my first pics of the year of butterflies with them but unfortunately not this year.  
The White Kansas flowers Page has been updated with this flower, it is a different photo as it shows more of the plant.  I am currently revamping those pages and hope to announce the reveal soon.




Tuesday, June 2, 2020

6/2/20

I went for a bike ride the other night and took my camera along because I was going to a place where I had seen some birds i wanted to capture.  I saw that one and more, it was a good evening for birding.  This is one that I saw and was very pleased to get a decent capture of.  This is a Scissor-tail Flycatcher perching in among some Hemlock on a stick.  A neat looking bird with that long tail.


Monday, June 1, 2020

6/1/20

Happy first day of June!  Time all kind of seems the same these days, not much changes except the temps and it is going to be a warm start to the month.  Will be in the 90s a couple of times this week.  Sigh.
My pond has quite the number of frogs.  I have seen several groups of eggs and tadpoles so there will be even more.  It's so funny to walk to the edge and hearing them squeak and jump in the water.  I never knew they squeaked until last year.  My picture today is of a couple that let me get close.  I love the bubbly bokeh in the photo.  Should have been a Friday one but bokeh is good any day!