Wednesday, June 30, 2021

6/30/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog once again!  The year is half over as of today, wow it is going quickly.  Anyway, today's wildflower is once again from Minnesota.  This is their state flower and is the Showy Lady Slipper, a memeber of the Orchid family.  I found this group a couple of weeks ago while at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.



Tuesday, June 29, 2021

6/29/21

 Usually I only capture this Red Headed Woodpecker on a bird feeder of some type in my yard but I spotted where he was flying back to each time and was able to capture him in the tree.  I like how the early evening light was highlighting him.



Monday, June 28, 2021

6/28/21

 The Dragonflies are out and about here lately though not in the numbes I saw in Minnesota.  I captured this one on a reed in the pond at the railroad I play at outside of Topeka a couple of weeks ago.



Sunday, June 27, 2021

6/27/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog and I finally got to do something steamy.  I was up in Minnesota and got to play with the 14 inch Wagner locomotive.  I took this image while I was firing it up on Saturday morning at it's roundhouse.



Saturday, June 26, 2021

6/26/21

 On the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion grounds is a couple of lovely barns.  This one usually has a bunch of stuff parked around it and is not that great to photograph.  When I was up there last week it was very photogenic looking without that and I captured this image of it at sundown on Sunday evening.



Friday, June 25, 2021

6/25/21

 It's Friday, TGIF, and Friday's are Bokehlicious!  Today's image is one I was able to capture of a Heron as it flew away from me out at Milford Lake.  The waves on the water are providing the bokeh for this image.



Thursday, June 24, 2021

6/24/21

 I was able to see two different butterflies that I don't find here in Kansas while I was in Minnesota.  This is one of them I captured on a leaf by my trailer.  This is called a Northern Pearly-Eye.





Wednesday, June 23, 2021

6/23/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  I am going to do something a bit different today and share a Minnesota wildflower.  I was recently up there and visited my favorite place to go, Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.  Growing along the road were a large number of Wood Anemone flowers.  Here is a closeup of one of the blooms and a bud.



Tuesday, June 22, 2021

6/22/21

 I finally saw one of my buddies over at the Gazebo pond the other day.  This Leopard Frog thought it was being quite stealthy in amongst the Speedwell but I was able to see and capture it.  I was happy to finally see one, they have been scarce while I see the Bullfrogs fairly often.



Monday, June 21, 2021

6/21/21

 Happy first day of Summer!  We have been quite hot already.  Makes me a bit worried of what actual summer will be like.  My Water Lilys are producing really well this year in both ponds.  This lovely one is from my smaller backyard pond.



Sunday, June 20, 2021

6/20/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  It's also Father's Day so hope all the father's out there have a great day.  Today's image is another archive shot and a rare monochrome one from me.  I think it works really well for steam train images, it gives them a more vintage look.  This is the steam train at the Grand Canyon that I was able to ride a few years ago.



Saturday, June 19, 2021

6/19/21

 This is how I usually see Great Blue Herons, far away from me.  I had been looking for them out by Milford lake one day on a bike ride and they were not around.  While riding home I was very surprised to spot this one in a pond on the far side of a farm field.



Friday, June 18, 2021

6/18/21

 TGIF!  It's Friday and Friday's Are Bokehlicious which is why I have chosen this particular photo to share for you today.  This is a shot from my garden a few weeks ago of one of my favorite types of Iris.  I was worried I would not get any blooms because something ate the plant early on but fortunately it did not afect it blooming.  I believe this is a Siberian variety of Iris with some Tulip leaves providing the bokeh background.



Thursday, June 17, 2021

6/17/21

 I had a happy occurance this past week.  I have had some Common Milkweed that I transplanted a few years ago when they were re-doing our road and got it to survive and thrive.  This type of milkweed is the favorite of Monarch Butterflies and they will lay their eggs on them.  Not sure that happened but I finally was able to see and capture a Monarch on my Milkweed!  A step in the right direction.



Wednesday, June 16, 2021

6/16/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is the wild version of one of my favorites.  This is a Columbine.  There are other versions with Pink, Blue, Red, or Purple flowers which are larger in size.  I cannot seem to get them to thrive and return.  This smaller bloomed variety seems to thrive in our area and spreads pretty well.



Tuesday, June 15, 2021

6/15/21

 The Mississippi Kites are back in the area.  I see them gliding in the sky fairly often in the mornings recently.  I captured this one while walking one day recently.  It had been raining so I think that's why it's a bit frazzled looking.  😀



Monday, June 14, 2021

6/14/21

 I have finally seen a couple of Damselflies and a Dragonfly around my pond.  They seem slow to emerge this year but maybe not.  I was able to capture this beautiful copper colored Dragonfly on a complimentary colored rock late last week.



Sunday, June 13, 2021

6/13/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog once again!  Dipping into the archives again to a trip to Colorado.  This image is of Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad locomotive number 1819.  It is a Prairie type 2-6-2 that was build in 1906 by Baldwin Locomotive Works.  It currently sits on display in Lamar Colorado and is much more rusty these days.  Hopefully they will do some cosmetic work to it soon before it gets beyond repair.  Back when I saw it several years ago it looked much better, it had some rust but not too extensive.



Saturday, June 12, 2021

6/12/21

 I had to walk a few times recently due to having some rain. I have been treated to seeing several types of birds while walking including this Red Tail Hawk that was circling above me and giving me a good opportunity for a few shots of which this is one.  These hawks are distinguished in flight by their red tail but also because of the dark bars near the end of their wings where the feathers spread.



Friday, June 11, 2021

6/11/21

 TGIF!  It's Friday and Friday's Are Bokehlicious!  I have this lovely bokeh image for you today of one of the Iris growing in my garden this spring.  They are done for now but bloomed very well and beautifully this year.  I love these purple ones due to their lovely smell which is very grape like plus they are quite lovely in general.



Thursday, June 10, 2021

9/10/21

 While out on Konza Prairie this past weekend, I was able to see and photograph my favorite grass.  I don't know many by name, I am much better with flowers, but this one I know.  This is June Grass blooming in June.  😃  I especially love it when it is backlit by the sun such as in this photo.  The way the edges are highlighted is really beautiful to me.



Wednesday, June 9, 2021

6/9/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog once again!  This past weekend gave me acouple of opportunities to see and photograph wildflowers in bloom with 2 walks out on Konza Prairie.  It's been an odd blooming year with all the rain and cooler start we got.  Some flowers are blooming early and others are late.  I captured this Cat's Claw Sensitive Briar in some light that mabe the bloom look like a firework I thought.  It get's it's name because if you touch the leaves it will close up and also because it has small thorns on it's stems.  You can see them on the flower stem in the photo.



Tuesday, June 8, 2021

6/8/21

 This past Saturday, my town held it's Annual Fly-In. It is not strictly for Bi-planes any longer but there were a couple of them there.  I missed being able to get a photo of one of them due to having to work the event in a booth but I was able to capture this one and there were some great clouds around to capture it in as well. 



Monday, June 7, 2021

6/7/21

 I am not sure if it is all the rain or what but I have seen a lot of snails around lately.  I captured this one on a rock by the stream of my gazebo pond.  It was leaving the stereotypical slime trail behind it.  😄




Sunday, June 6, 2021

6/6/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog and a double digit day.  😀  I have a new photo program that I have been teaching myself to use and I taught myself how to do the Pencil technique I have used in Photoshop before.  This is another dip into the archives with an image from the Grand Canyon Railway using the Pencil Look technique.



Saturday, June 5, 2021

6/5/21

 Last week I rode my bike out over the damn at Milford lake in the evening.  We have been having a good amount of rain lately but I was able to take advantage of a break.  The clouds were creating some really nice light both in the sky and on the lake.



Friday, June 4, 2021

6/4/21

 My various types of Iris seemed to bloom quite well this year.  Over by the gazebo pond the yellow variety was quite abundant and beautiful.  The cattail reeds, other plants, and light were creating lovely bokeh and because today is Friday and Friday's are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, June 3, 2021

6/3/21

 I have seen my first frog buddies.  I captured this Bullfrog being cliché on the Lily pad recently.  I have not seen any Leopard frog buddies yet, I have found that a bit surprising as they are the ones I usually see first.  I hear a lot of frogs jumping in and don't see them so they may be around.



Wednesday, June 2, 2021

6/2/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  The wildflowers are blooming like crazy.  It's been quite lovely.  I am not seeing many butterflies out enjoying them yet though, hopefully soon.  There has just been a few here and there.  Today's flower is just starting to bloom and is one of my favorites to photograph.  This is a Cobaea Penstemon or Prairie Beardtongue which comes from the fact that the flowers look like long open mouths and the main stamen inside has hairs on it.  These flowers attract Hummingbirds and butterflies.

Don't forget to check out my Wildflowers By Color pages located by links off the main page of this Blog to help you in IDing the wildflowers you are seeing.



Tuesday, June 1, 2021

6/1/21

 It's June already!  Summer will officially arrive and the year seems to be flying by.  I was out walking the other day and I saw that the Kestrels are still here.  I saw 3 of them and was able to capture this one in a tree with it's dinner before it flew off to another perch.