We had a beautiful sunrise while I was on my way to work on Tuesday of this past week. The clouds had a neat texture to them as well which made it more interesting. I hadn't been seeing as many because it is getting lighter out these days but in a week or so we will be back in the dark due to Daylight Savings time change. 😒
It's Friday, TGIF! Today's image is one I took back in late January when I was getting the nice snowflakes. The birds were busy at the feeder due to the snow and I captured this little Dark Eyed Junco on the ground. It had some lovely bubbly bokeh behind it so sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
It's a double digit day today! 😀 I have a few spots when I bike ride to look for Jewel-wing Damsels. I got lucky on this day and was able to capture 2 of them together on a plant in one of the streams they usually frequent. I find the shape of their wings interesting.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is the Clasping Coneflower. It normally blooms May through July and I took this image in June. It is in the Sunflower family and can grow to 2 feet tall.
Today's image is one from last winter of a lovely male Cardinal in the Walnut tree in the back of my house. They don't sit still very often but I got lucky with this one.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Today's image is another snowflake I was able to capture in late January. This one had some rime on it but was also fairly defined. It is a focus stack of 12 images.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is from my trip to Colorado and the Colorado Railroad Museum. This locomotive was on display when I was there in July but has since been moved back home to California after 40 years. It is now at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine RR in Fish Camp. They are going to restore it back to operating condition which is really cool news. Glad I was able to see it before it left. Look forward to someday seeing it in California. The locomotive was built in 1926 for the Swayne Lumber Co. It then went to Westside Lumber until 1961. In the 1980s it ran there until 2004 when it went to the Colorado RR Museum. The boiler is in working order but there are other things on the locomotive that will have to be brought to working order.
Today's image is one from this past November that I took thinking I would use it for a calendar photo but I took a different one that I liked better. This is the Smoky Hill River that is one of the 3 that join and which my town is named for, Junction City. The other 2 are the Kansas and The Republican.
Happy Friday TGIF! Today is a partial palindrome date day. 😁 As I write this, it is supposed to be snowing today. Last weekend was warm and rainy though. On a walk I was able to capture this photo of water drops on heads of grass. The bubbly bokeh in this image made it perfect for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
I feel for a summery photo for today because winter is supposed to be back tonight. This is an image of a Bumblebee enjoying Purple Prairie Clover on a summer day last year.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's image is of Narrow-leaf Bluets. These usually bloom May through September and can be from 4 to 20 inches in height. They have a deep taproot so are able to withstand drought very well.
Today's image is a duck I was able to capture this past summer on a very small pond near where I bike ride by. I believe it was traveling through as it is not a very sustaining pond, it can dry up at times. This is a Blue Winged Teal I believe.
It's Monday, happy new week! Today's image is another snowflake I was able to capture in late January. This was a bit different one as it is 2 snowflakes stuck together that formed the same, without the longer branches that are more common. Still beautiful I thought. This was 8 images focus stacked together.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image was one I had taken to use as my Christmas card image for the upcoming season. It was, until we received 8 inches of snow and I took a proper one. 😁 At the time I didn't know if this would be all the snow we would get. This is my Live Steam Accucraft Shay locomotive and it's train out on the snow.
It's Valentine's Day! Happy Saturday as well. This is an artsy image of the roses I received last year. Sometimes roses don't last very long but these were a good bunch and lasted well over a week.
It's Friday, TGIF! It's also Friday the 13th. People feel it can be a bad day but, for me, it's typically an OK day. 😅 Today's image is one from this autumn with lots of my favorite bokeh, the bubbly kind. These are leaves from my Amur Maple tree that had turned a nice red color. Sharing this image for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I felt like sharing a butterfly today. My Autumn Sedum was very popular once again this past year for all varieties of bugs and butterflies. This is a Wood Nymph that came out of the woods to enjoy it. 😄
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one I find very photogenic. This is the American Elderberry bloom. Each flower will produce an Elderberry. They can grow to 10 feet tall and I have seen them that tall out at Konza Prairie. They usually bloom May through July and they are found in the Honeysuckle family. The berries, if you can get them before the birds, are a very good source of Vitamin C.
Today's image is one I captured on a summer day this past year. I was walking back to the house through the yard and heard a bird calling from one of the trees. I saw this young Mississippi Kite sitting in the tree and calling. Guessing it was calling to be fed. I could tell it was young due to the coloring but the masked eye gave away what type of bird it was plus the sound of it's call which you can't hear. 😊
Happy Monday and happy new week! This is another snowflake, actually 2 snowflakes that are quite different, that I captured near the end of January. I was quite pleased with how this one turned out. It is 18 images stacked together for focus.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Here is another very steamy shot I was able to capture during the Labor Day weekend show this past year. This is the Porter locomotive as it took on water in preparation to pull a train around the grounds.
Today's image is the last tree that I processed with an Black and white and then infrared treatment. This was another tree that was at Hershey Gardens in PA that I thought the effect worked rather well with. I liked how it showed off the twisty trunks a bit better.
It's Friday, TGIF! Today's image is from Minnesota near the shower house I use when I camp there for the show. They have lovely Hollyhocks of various colors growing behind the building. This was a lovely magenta colored one with some great bubbly bokeh behind it. Sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
While I was in Colorado this past summer I was camping by a Prairie Dog town where I was able to observe them one evening. I find them adorable but I am sure people that have them digging in their yard do not. There are 6 of them in this image. They were on alert, probably because I was around so several were keeping watch while others were foraging around.
It's Wildflower Wednesday today here on the Blog! Today's flower is Woolly Verbena. It usually blooms June through September. It's also known as Hoary Vervain. Prairie Chickens and small mammals eat the seeds. It is very drought hardy and it's roots can extend 12 feet.
Today's image is of a Red Tail Hawk that was flying overhead one day while I was out on a walk. This image shows how you can identify one easily when they are in flight. The short bar on the outer part of each of the wings is the identifier. Red Tails are very difficult to ID when sitting as their markings can widely vary and make them look similar to other hawks like Red Shouldered.
Happy Monday and happy new week! It's also a double digit day today! 😀 We have had a few good photo opportunities for snowflakes in the least 2 months, the best one was a little over a week ago. Some had a good amount of rime on them but were still quite lovely I thought such as this one. Rime forms when water droplets freeze on the flake after and as it forms. This is a 16 image focus stack to bring out the details.
Happy first day of February, the year is moving along and winter too, looking forward to being done with that. It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is a steamy shot of the Wagner locomotive that I get to operate up in Rollag Minnesota at the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's school and/or Reunion. We were operating the locomotive on this day in September during the Labor Day weekend show. The steam is produced from the injector as it was being ether turned on or shut off. "Train Poop" refers to the ash and coal remnants that come out of the ash pan when we clean it. 😂
