Tuesday, February 28, 2023

2/28/23

 It's the last day of February already.  Today's image is another I have been able to capture of a Red Tail Hawk.  The opportunities have been pretty good this past winter.  I captured this one in some nice light back in December as it flew by.



Monday, February 27, 2023

2/27/23

 My Amaryllis finally bloomed again for the first time in 2 years.  I actually have a couple of bulbs that have put up a flower spike.  This was the first to open though.  The time they spent outside this year must have been what they needed to thrive.  I captured them against my black felt background.



Sunday, February 26, 2023

2/26/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Todays image is from this past October when the Abilene & Smoky Valley railroad was operating former ATSF locomotive 3415.  It was it's last weekend of operation before it went in for it's FRA inspection and tube replacement.  I decided to give this image a B&W treatment to give it a rather timeless look.  It was waiting to head out with it's dinner train.



Saturday, February 25, 2023

2/25/23

 I captured this image of a Blue Jay in the Mulberry tree a while back.  I thought it looked rather cute as it was looking at the food below.  I have a mix that includes peanuts that they like to come and get.



Friday, February 24, 2023

2/24/23

 It's Friday, TGIF!  I am looking forward to summer and hoping for more sights like this.  This is a Monarch that was visiting my Zinnias.  The lovely bokeh was created by some Marigolds in another spot.  Sharing this image today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, February 23, 2023

2/23/23

 It's a double digit day!  Today's image is of a dragonfly that is very common to my area.  This is a Twelve Spot showing off very well why it is named as it is.  😁



Wednesday, February 22, 2023

2/22/23

 Today is a consecutive number day.  😀  It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog as well.  Today's image relates to last weeks image.  This is Musk Thistle or Nodding Thistle after it has fully opened.  They look like a big pink puffball.  



Tuesday, February 21, 2023

2/21/23

 Today's image is another of the hovering Kestral photos I was able to get recently.  It is very cool to see them do this and then dive for a meal.



Monday, February 20, 2023

2/20/23

 Happy Monday!  I loved the light on these Penstemons that grow by my Gazebo pond.  This is basically straight out of the camera with only a slight crop and resize.  I am not sure of the variety of Penstemon but they spread well or maybe too much depending on your point of view. 😉  I planted some in another area in the hope that they would spread there as well.



Sunday, February 19, 2023

2/19/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  I am still back in the archives.  Today's image is from a trip to Nebraska a few years back.  This is a Big Boy that is on display in Omaha.  It is one of 20 that were built and operated between 1941 and 1959.  It is on display in Kenefick Park named for a former Union Pacific President, John C Kenefick.  He had a dream for 2 of the largest locomotives to be perched overlooking Omaha and in 2005 this became a reality.  4023 is partnered with diesel locomotive Centennial 6900.  If you enter Omaha on I-80 from the east, you can see them above you in the park.



Saturday, February 18, 2023

2/18/23

 I find these birds so cute but they are rather difficult to capture for me because they move around the tree so quickly.  This is a Nuthatch.  They can be seen moving face first down a tree.  I got lucky and this one paused long enough for a few shots.



Friday, February 17, 2023

2/17/23

 TGIF!  It's Friday, we made it!  Friday's Are Bokehlicious as well and I have a lovely bubbly bokeh image for today.  This is my water Iris that I have been cleaning up all the dead leaves from in my pond the past couple of weeks.  They are quite lovely when in bloom and since I have been cleaning them up over the winter they have really thrived.  They are also known as Bog Iris.



Thursday, February 16, 2023

2/16/23

 We are supposed to have snow today, we shall see if it happens as I get these ready to post early.  I am dreaming of summer these days.  This is my favorite grass as I find it very photogenic especially when backlit by the sun.  This is June Grass that I photographed last June out on Konza Prairie.



Wednesday, February 15, 2023

2/15/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is considered invasive but I find it a lovely one.  This is Musk Thistle or Nodding Thistle.  It can spread very rapidly and crowd out other vegetation.  It can even seed after being cut down if not thoroughly destroyed.  I find the flower head quite interesting though with it's patterns, it's very photogenic.



Tuesday, February 14, 2023

2/14/23

 Today's image is one that I was able to capture as a Red Tail Hawk took off from a light pole along the street I was walking on.



Monday, February 13, 2023

2/13/23

 Happy Monday!  Today's image is of a flower that took FOREVER to bloom.  I planted this in late June due to some extenuating circumstances.  By frost time they still had not grown very much and I couldn't bear to let them die so I put them in a small pot and brought them into the office.  It just bloomed 2 weeks ago!  How crazy is that.  I figured it wouldn't bloom till I put it back outside but it surprised me.  This is a Rudbekia which is a variety of Black Eyed Susan.



Sunday, February 12, 2023

2/12/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is another archive one, this time from the railroad at Mount Pleasant Iowa, the Midwest Central.  This is the #6 also known as the Maria and is the flagship of the railroad.  It is an 1891 Baldwin Works 2-6-0 from South Carolina.  It was restored and first operated on the MC in 1960.  I took this image of it from the cab of their Shay locomotive several years ago while there for one of their Halloween runs.



Saturday, February 11, 2023

2/11/23

 This is another of the Cardinal images I was able to capture fairly recently when we had a bit of snow.  This male Cardinal was taking refuge in the Trumpet Vine in the backyard and made for a lovely subject.



Friday, February 10, 2023

2/10/23

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Friday's Are Bokehlicious as well so I have the perfect image for today.  I took this image of one of my large yellow Marigold flowers and the shorter ones created some great bokeh.  All of these were volunteer flowers.  There were quite a lot and I am wondering how many will regrow for this year.



Thursday, February 9, 2023

2/9/23

 I am really looking forward to summer and seeing these guys around again.  This is a Twelve Spot Dragonfly that I was able to capture rather close up.  Dragonflies and Damselflies are very cool creatures in my opinion.  They can be fairly tolerant of having their photo taken.  I love their huge eyes, very alien looking.



Wednesday, February 8, 2023

2/8/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  I am looking forward to warmer weather and wildflowers growing again.  In the meantime, this is one that generally blooms later in the summer in my area but can be found June through October.  This is Snow On the Mountain which is in the Spurge family and is related to Poinsettia.  I find the plant rather lovely, it is not a good cut one though due to the milky sap it exudes when cut.  



Tuesday, February 7, 2023

2/7/23

 We see these birds in the winter in our area usually but this one I captured while on a walk in St Joseph Missouri one afternoon.  A Bald Eagle was sitting in a tree looking for a meal in a field.



Monday, February 6, 2023

2/6/23

 Happy Monday!  I thought I would share another snowflake image that I was able to capture the day after Christmas.  I liked that it was 2 different, pretty complete snowflakes stuck together.  This is a 14 image focus stack.  



Sunday, February 5, 2023

2/5/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is another from the archives.  This is the Union Pacific's Challenger locomotive when it was traveling through western Kansas some years back and I drove to see it.  3985 is an articulated (hinged to allow it to go through curves) locomotive with a wheel arrangement of 4-6-6-4.  The 2 sets of 6 driving wheels have their own steam cylinders.  It was built in 1943 and retired in 1962.  It was restored in 1981 and ran excursion duties until 2020 and was the largest operating steam locomotive until the Big Boy. UP donated the locomotive to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America who plan to restore it back to operating condition and it was moved there last year.



Saturday, February 4, 2023

2/4/23

 I have been able to get some really great Cardinal images recently, for me anyway, nice and sharp and well posed.  I could do Cardinal Saturday for the month at least.  This male was perched in the Mulberry tree after a light snow.



Friday, February 3, 2023

2/3/23

 It's another interesting digit day!  😁  It's also Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is from my garden a couple of weeks ago.  I have some Teasels that dried and they had snow hats on.  LOL  I chose this image for today because of the nice bokeh in it created by the other Teasels and dried foliage behind because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, February 2, 2023

2/2/23

 Happy Groundhog Day!  Hopefully spring is on the way.  Today is also a kind of interesting digit day.  😋  Today's image is of a butterfly that is usually the first one I see each year those this past year I was surprised by a Swallowtail.  This is a lovely Buckeye butterfly on the the Ironweed that I captured a while back.



Wednesday, February 1, 2023

2/1/23

 Happy first day of February!  Spring should be on the way in not too long a time in my area.  It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog.  Today's image is a bit different.  I took tis photo very recently.  This is Canada Goldenrod in winter after the flowers have dried.  The stalks stay green for quite a while into winter.  It normally blooms July through September.  It is falsely accused of causing Hay Fever.  It's pollen is spread by insects and not the wind.