Tuesday, November 30, 2021

11/30/21

 I was at my in-laws in St Joseph Missouri and had another opportunity to photograph Bluejays.  They have 4 of them that visit for peanuts.  I like to capture them while waiting to go get them in their Ornamental Pear tree.  The light was a bit harsh due to the morning sunlight so I had to play with this one a lot but I liked how it turned out.  



Monday, November 29, 2021

11/29/21

 Happy Monday!  Today's image is one I got of my Leopard Frog buddies late in the season.  I liked how the water looked behind it in this shot.




Sunday, November 28, 2021

11/28/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is the former Soo Line Switcher 353 that I get to help fire on during the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher Reunion over Labor Day weekend.  Here it was just coming in to the Baker Depot where we do our crew changes and where we always stop to load passengers.  It's rare I get a shot with no people or my bicycle in it.  😁



Saturday, November 27, 2021

11/27/21

 Today's image is another from our lovely autumn.  We have finally had a few hard frosts so most of the leaves are gone now but it was lovely while it lasted.  I took this image of the Bluffs Pond from the overlook.  It is a 2 shot panoramic image that is best viewed large by clicking on it.



Friday, November 26, 2021

11/26/21

 It's Friday, TGIF!  It's Black Friday here in the US where people typically shop for deals and do it quite early in the morning.  Not my thing.  😁  Friday's are also Bokehlicious!  I chose this image of my Sea Oats grass that had some lovely backlight on them and some subdued bubbly bokeh in the background.



Thursday, November 25, 2021

11/25/21

 Late this summer I was treated to a few butterflies in the yard.  This Common Variegated Frittilary was enjoying the Marigolds one afternoon.



Wednesday, November 24, 2021

11/24/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's wildflower is one from another state though they can be found in some areas of Kansas.  This is a self seeding annual, Impatiens capensis Meerb, commonly known as Jewelweed or Touch Me Not.  It gets the latter name due to it's seed pods basically exploding when touched which allows them to self seed easily.  I took this image in Minnesota.



Tuesday, November 23, 2021

11/23/21

 My image for today is one of a Red Tail Hawk in flight that I was able to get back in October that I was pretty happy with.









Monday, November 22, 2021

11/22/21

 Today's image is a type I don't share often but I was pleased with how it turned out.  I meant to share it last week but, time got away from me..  This was a view from my yard in Kansas of the Venus and Moon Conjuction event on November 7.  When viewed large I was able to capture some crater definition in the moon.  I liked the capture in the blue hour of the evening.



Sunday, November 21, 2021

11/21/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is a bit different as I usually share a train.  The hubster and I recently got a new toy and we fired it up for the first time this past weekend.  It's an Iroquois Steam Roller and was built in approximately 1915.  It steamed up and worked better than we thought so we are letting some water out here in a bit of a blowdown which is why all the steam.  It was a cool day so it showed up well.



Saturday, November 20, 2021

11/20/21

 Today's image is another I was able to get this autumn of the lovely colors in the area.  This image is of Homer's Pond in town taken from the open park area on the west side.  This is a 2 image panorama best viewed large by clicking on it.



Friday, November 19, 2021

11/19/21

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Friday's Are Bokehlicious as well and I have this lovely Hollyhock image for today with some lovely bubbly bokeh behind.  I shot this one from the rear and liked how the light accented the details of the petals.  These are growing in Rollag,MN behind the Shower House.  A big group of them that is always lovely to see.



Thursday, November 18, 2021

11/18/21

 Today's photo is another of my Praying Mantis buddies that was trying to help me work on my deck.  I put it in the strawberry bed.  It was nice enough to pose well for me after I moved it.  Funny how all the ones I had seen this year were on my deck.  Too bad they really couldn't help.  Might be done by now.  😏



Wednesday, November 17, 2021

11/17/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog.  Today's flower is one that just appeared in my yard last year for the first time.  It seems to flower in late summer and is a lovely blue.  It is called Ivy Leaf Morning Glory.



Tuesday, November 16, 2021

11/16/21

 While out bike riding I have had some opportunities to take some bird images.  Several times a Red Tailed Hawk was sitting in this tree as I rode by.  One day I stopped and was able to capture this shot of it before it flew off.



Monday, November 15, 2021

11/15/21

 I took this image in early summer but had never posted it.  It's one of my favorite flowers, a Daisy.  Like Sunflowers they just make me happy.  A good way to start off the week.



Sunday, November 14, 2021

11/14/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image goes back to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.  This is Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive 1187 that was built in 1888 at their Altoona Shops.  It is a 2-8-0 Consolidation type and was used for freight.  It was retired in 1939.  It was the first locomotive to introduce the Belpaire firebox named after it's inventor Alfred Belpaire. This design allowed for more space for steam, more area for combustion while also providing greater strength.



Saturday, November 13, 2021

11/13/21

 We ended up having a fairly colorful autumn this year.  The leaves are rapidly dropping now so it will be all gone very shortly but it was quite lovely while it lasted.  This is one of my favorite images I was able to get one day on the way home from work of a lovely tree lined road on the edge of town.



Friday, November 12, 2021

11/12/21

 TGIF It is Friday!  Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog and I have a lovely bubbly bokeh image to share for today.  My Maple tree whas changing color recently and I captured some f the leaves backlit by the sun.  The leaves on the trees behind and the sunlight are creating the lovely bokeh. 



Thursday, November 11, 2021

11/11/21

 It's a double digit day and also it is Veteran's Day here in the US.  Remember to support our Troops.

Today's image is one I was able to capture a while back of a lovely Clouded Sulphur butterfly that was enjoying the Ironweed flowers in my yard in late summer.



Wednesday, November 10, 2021

11/10/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is Blue Sage, also known as Pitcher Sage to honor botonist Dr. Zana Ptcher who was also an Army surgeon.  I captured this image of it in late September but I saw some blooming and captured it up into the beginning of November.  It's normal bloom time is July through October.



Tuesday, November 9, 2021

11/9/21

 My frog buddies aren't very active any longer now that it has gotten cooler out.  This was an image I was able to get of one of the Leopard frogs sitting on a rock at the edge of the pond and surveying the area.



Monday, November 8, 2021

11/8/21

 I was able to get this image just about a week ago.  My Red Salvia has still been blooming as we have not had a freeze as of yet.  I liked this image as it seemed to be coming up out and into focus.  This is actually a 2 image focus stack to bring out a bit more detail.



Sunday, November 7, 2021

11/7/21

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog once again.  Near the end of October we went out to the railroad I volunteer at outside of Topeka Kansas.  After the run we were cleaning out the locomotives and I took this shot of the locomotive I get to run as we were blowing it down to empty it of water and any possible scale.  It was especially important to empty of any water due to winterizing them which is just making sure they are competely dry.  We take plugs out and then blow them out with air after they naturally blow down.



Saturday, November 6, 2021

11/6/21

 I was pleased to see that we actually have some good color here in my area this autumn.  A lot of trees had lost their leaves and we had some pretty high winds but in driving around last week there was still lots of color to be seen.  I took this image of the color along the Smoky Hill River as I was on my way to dinner on my bike last Friday.



Friday, November 5, 2021

11/5/21

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Friday's Are Bokehlicious as well so I have this image for you today.  This is a Painted Beauty Butterfly I captured recently on my Salvia with the grass behind creating some lovely creamy bokeh.



Thursday, November 4, 2021

11/4/21

 On to 4000!  😃  Today's image is a close up I got not that long ago of a Bumblebee enjoying on of my Zinnias.  The flowers are probably all done now because as I write this we are forecasted to have had a freeze on Monday night.  Now, in to the dreary season.



Wednesday, November 3, 2021

11/3/21

 Today's post marks a very special one, this is my 3000 posting and image I have shared on this Blog!  Wow!  I had to commemorate with a photo that has some of my favorite things in it.  Today is usually Wildflower Wednesday and there are some New Mexico wildflowers in this image.  I don't have a closeup of them but they bloom in May.  😃  This photo also has one of my favorite subjects, trains and is of my favorite railroad, the Cumbres & Toltec from Colorado and New Mexico.  I captured it here returning to Chama, NM.



Tuesday, November 2, 2021

11/2/21

 Today's image is another fairly decent one I was able to capture of the Egret that has been out at Milford Lake.  I was surprised to see one this year, I have rarely seen them around but saw this one fairly consistently in one of the coves.



Monday, November 1, 2021

11/1/21

 Happy First day of November!  Where has the year gone?  Sheesh.  Here are a couple of my Gazania blooms to start off the month with.