Sunday, January 31, 2021

1/31/21

 This is an image I took quite some time ago at my first visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum.  This is a scan from a print so had to be around 1990.  This is Denver, Leadville & Gunnison RR 2-8-0 Consolidation type locomotive built in the 1880s.  It is the oldest locomotive in the museum collection and they did a feature on it recently during their virtual tours.  The video can be found on Youtube here.


 

Saturday, January 30, 2021

1/30/21

 I have shared a lot of sunsets lately but this one is a sunrise from January 13th.  The sky was quite beautiful that morning, even to the west the clouds had a pink fringe to them.



Friday, January 29, 2021

1/29/21

 This is another image of one of the cool Clearwing Moths I saw at my Lantana flowers this summer.  They feed on flowers just like tiny Hummingbirds the way they hover around them.  They are very difficult to catch, you need a fast shutter speed.  And, of course, due to the lovely bokeh made by the flowers in the background I chose this photo for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, January 28, 2021

1/28/21

 Today's image is of a lovely Painted Lady butterfly on my Butterfly Bush.  That plant is quite the draw for butterflies if you are looking for something to plant to attract them.  Plus it has lovely blooms to photograph them on.  This image has virtually no bokeh, it has a very creamy background.



Wednesday, January 27, 2021

1/27/21

 It's another Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog.  Usually in the winter I would run out of wildflower photos but I got a lot of new ones last summer and today's I found in the archives.  This is one of my favorites but I rarely get to see it.  This is a macro view of a Nipple Cactus bloom.  They are out on Konza Prairie and most years I miss the bloom but this was one time I was able to see and photograph it.  



Tuesday, January 26, 2021

1/26/21

 With my opportunities to take raptor pictures lately I am learning that some that I am seeing are not what I thought and I am seeing new birds which is cool.  This first shot is a new one I captured on a walk a last week.  I learned that from the wing pattern this is a Rough Legged Hawk, most likely a female due to the dark belly.  Rough Legged Hawks are over winter visitors that are in Kansas from October to April.  The second photo down is a recent one that I shared before in December for comparison of a Red Tail Hawk.  It is ID's by the light color wings with the prominent dark band.

Rough Legged Hawk



Red Tail Hawk


Monday, January 25, 2021

1/25/21

 I am looking forward to flowers blooming again.  As I write this, the forecast is 100% chance of a wintery mix for today.  We shall see as we have not really had a real winter yet.  Anyway, my image for today is of a lovely Stargazer Lily that was given to me by my friend for my birthday a couple of years ago.  I love it's lovely color.



Sunday, January 24, 2021

1/24/21

Welcome to Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is another from the archives.  This one goes back to April of 1989.  This is a Burlington Route 4-8-4 locomotive that was on display in St Joseph Missouri in Patee Park.  I have seen images where in later years it was undercover then and looked well cared for.  I need to go take a newer image.  It was donated to the city in 1962 after years of service for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy.  It was built in 1937.





Saturday, January 23, 2021

1/23/21

 I took this image in mid November of last year while we were having some beautiful sunsets.  I decided to get a bit artsy with this one and shot it through the tall grasses growing along the road.



Friday, January 22, 2021

1/22/21

It's Friday, TGIF!  I captured this Clouded Sulphur (due to the dark bands on the top side of the wings) butterfly in the middle of a Butterfly Bush bloom this past summer.  Of course I also chose this photo today because of the bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, January 21, 2021

1/21/21

 It's a double digit day.  More than that, there will be a 21st second of the 21st minute of the 21st hour on this 21st day.  I got that from a friend who got it from someone else. 😁  This is a Blue Dasher Dragonfly that I captured on the cattail reeds in my pond with a bit of lovely bokeh as well.  Bokeh is good any day.



Wednesday, January 20, 2021

1/20/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday on the Blog!  Today's flower is Bird's Foot Trefoil.  I forgot where I took this, I believe it was on Konza Prairie judging from the date in June.  It is a new one for the Blog but an older newly rediscovered image.  😀  The name comes from the slender seed pods that develop and resemble a bird's foot.



Tuesday, January 19, 2021

1/19/21

 I have another bird to add to my sightings and captures!  I saw this bird on the way home from a walk on Sunday.  I may have seen it before and thought it was a Red Tail Hawk but it is smaller and the tail is banded.  This is a female Merlin, the male is more of a blue-grey.  They overwinter here in our area apparently from September to March.  They are an aggressive bird and can be found harassing other raptors and even larger ones.  I had been looking for a Kestrel while on this walk but didn't see it and hope whatever her dinner was, it is not that as the feather color was similar.  



Monday, January 18, 2021

1/18/21

 I took this picture at my in-law's home last year, the last time we were able to visit before the virus got really serious.  It was a lovely Clematis bloom that I played around with the background a bit.



Sunday, January 17, 2021

1/17/21

 This is an image I took in the very early 1990s at the Chicago Science Museum of New York Central locomotive 999 which held the fastest land speed record of 112.5 mph in 1893 to 1903.  After it's record breaking run in 1893, it was displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and in 1933 it was displayed at the Century of Progress World's Fair and in 1948 to 49 at the Chicago Railroad Fair.  In between and after it provide many years of passenger and freight service up until it's retirement in May of 1952 following a re-enactment of it's record breaking run.  It was acquired by the museum in 1962 and sat on display outside until it underwent a complete restoration in 1993 and was moved inside to be put on display in the Transportation Hall. 



Saturday, January 16, 2021

1/16/21

 On December 21, the Winter Solstice, there was the Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction event and was the longest dark day of the year.  It also provided a beautiful sunset that evening.  While I am not usually a fan of airplane vapor trails, these provided some interesting lines in the image to go along with the color.



Friday, January 15, 2021

1/15/21

 Last summer, large butterflies like Swallowtails seemed to be a more common sight for me which was enjoyable but unusual.  This is a Black Swallowtail female on a bloom of my Butterfly Milkweed, which is not a weed at all but a native wildflower, in the garden.  I chose this image for today due to the bokeh created by the Milkweed because it's Friday and Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, January 14, 2021

1/14/21

 I love Dragon and Damselflies.  One that I don't see very often but I was able to see at 2 different times this past year is of the broad winged variety.  This is an Ebony Jewelwing.  I love their vibrant blue bodies.  



Wednesday, January 13, 2021

1/13/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! This is one of my favorites.  I have tried to grow it several times and it will do well during the year but it never comes back.  I must not have found the right spot for it yet.  This is Blanket Flower or Gaillardia.  This group was still blooming fairly late in the summer when I shot this.





Tuesday, January 12, 2021

1/12/21

 This winter I have been able to view and capture at times a couple of Red tail Hawks that have been staying around a bit to the north of me while on my daily walk.  They have been perching on the tall power poles along the highway and then will fly and chase each other at times.  This was one of those times when it was flying by.  I think it was checking me out too.



Monday, January 11, 2021

1/11/21

 I love Water Lilies.  My large pond had a yellow one in it that emerged after pulling out a bunch of Cattails around it.  This past year I put this one from my small pond in it and it seemed to thrive fairly well.  It bloomed several times during the summer and produced some really large pads.  I took this shot of it shortly after a rain.



Sunday, January 10, 2021

1/10/2021

 It's Steamy Sunday on the Blog and I am back in the archives again.  This is another view of the locomotive that was donated to the US by the British after WWII.  It was named the Eisenhower and here it is on display near the Eisenhower museum in Abilene Kansas for his 100th Birthday celebration in 1990.  the locomotive lives at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay Wisconsin.



Saturday, January 9, 2021

1/9/2021

I like to share landscapes on Saturdays if I have a good one.  This image is the last sunset of 2020 that I took.  I was on my way back from shopping and saw that the sky was looking rather lovely so I went to a spot that I knew had a good view to the west.  It was well worth it and I was glad I had my phone with me to capture it. 



Friday, January 8, 2021

1/8/2021

 I love butterflies and I fortunately get a good amount of them on my flowers in my gardens.  They make great subjects if you are patient and wait for them to settle for a moment.  This is a Painted Lady I captured on the Butterfly Bush this past summer.  The bokeh was great behind it as well so I had to share for my first Friday's Are Bokehlicious post as well.  😃



Thursday, January 7, 2021

1/7/2021

 One of my favorite insects is the Ladybug.  They are difficult for me to find and they are usually moving around looking for aphids to eat very quickly so hard to get a photo of.  I saw this one on a walk one afternoon and was able to get a decent shot of it.



Wednesday, January 6, 2021

1/6/2021

 It's the first Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog of the new year!  I am going to start off the year with one of my favorites which is also the state flower of Kansas.  This is the Common Sunflower.  I find Sunflowers bright and cheery and they make me happy to look at.  I think we are going to need some happiness here in the US today.  SIGH



Tuesday, January 5, 2021

1/5/2021

 I love Herons but I don't get to see them often.  When I do see them they either take off right away before I can get somewhat close, or, like this one, are already in flight when I see them.  I was able to capture a fairly good shot of one flying away one day.  I love how their legs hang out behind them in flight.



Monday, January 4, 2021

1/4/2021

 I don't play in B&W very often but I love it a lot but I also think that others don't appreciate it as much.  I love how the shadows and detail work in a B&W image as compared to color at times.  I played some more with the Poinsettia image that I shared a couple of weeks ago and I like how it showed off the detail in the leaves so well.



Sunday, January 3, 2021

1/3/2021

 It's the first Steamy Sunday of 2021!  As always, I have to start off the new year with my favorite railroad.  This is another pencil effect image I did of the Cumbres & Toltec Railway train.  I look forward to being able to travel and ride this railway again.  It's quite a fun experience to travel like the old days through parts of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.



Saturday, January 2, 2021

1/2/2021

 Our sunsets in November and December had been quite beautiful but if the sunrises had been as nice I missed them.  😄  I wanted to start off the new year's landscape images on the Blog with a sunrise shot so this one is from very early November.  A sunrise to celebrate a new year and hopefully a better one for us all.



Friday, January 1, 2021

1/1/2021

 Happy New Years Day!  We made it to 2021!  Here's hoping it is a better one for all of us than the past year has been.  My image to day is to symbolize regeneration as I hope things will regenerate to more the way they were before the virus hit and that we can all get out and see people and do things again.  This is my African Violet given to me by my good friend that I lost.  It is in it's regeneration stage of putting out new blooms.  As always, Friday's Are Bokehlicious so I had to take the photo with some lovely festive bokeh behind.