9/3/18

Being without internet really stinks.  Quickly posting while I can.  This is an older image I got of 2 Swans in flight at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.

8/22/18

I spotted these lovely Canada Anemone wildflowers while I was at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota this past June. 

8/16/18

I was able to capture this Dragonfly who posed for me quite still so I could get 2 shots for a focus stack.  I saw this one up in Minnesota at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge and loved the way it was staring me down. 

7/28/18

This is a close up image I was able to get of the Snapping Turtle I saw up at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota this past June.  They have quite the different textures on them and are even more ferocious looking up close.  😊

6/23/18

I captured this fierce looking guy alongside the road in Tamarac Wildelife Refuge.  I am pretty sure it's a Snapping Turtle and I did not want to get too close to it so I shot it with a zoom lens.  😁

5/17/17

My image today is appropriate because it was taken on a windy day in Minnesota and we have been having very windy days here.  This Swan family was not thrilled with me being around and taking their photo so they were heading for the reeds.  The little ones were very cute I thought.  I took this image at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge which is always a good spot to see some kind of wildlife.

11/23/16

Today starts my long weekend!  Yay.  My image for today goes back to a day in June in Minnesota.  I captured this Swan family feeding near some reeds in one of the many bodies of water there.  This one fit in for special mention in the Bird Poker Game on Google + because it is a side view and there are 5 of them.  I like that I captured one of them in the actual act of diving for food.

10/13/16

Pretty cold out this morning.  Winter is coming.  As I write this I have not checked to see if my tomatoes are OK.  I took a chance and hopefully did not lose.  My image for today I took while at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge this past June.  The totally blue sky background was kind of boring so I never shared but I was happy to capture these Swans in focus as they flew by.  The Bird Poker theme this week is Birds In Flight and this fits so there you go.  :-)

9/5/16

I took this image back in June when I was at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  There were Dragonflies everywhere.  I captured this lovely golden one on a leaf of a milkweed plant when it sat still long enough to capture.

8/31/16

So I am posting more birds today.  Waterbirds too which seems fitting with all the rain we have received lately.  :-)  I saw this lovely Swan family on an outing to Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota on a rather windy day in June.  The wind was making the lake very choppy but this family did not seem to mind it during their swim.

7/8/16

When I was in Minnesota I got to see their state flower in bloom.  There were so many of them in one area of Tamarac Wildlife Refuge because it was a good year for them.  This is just one of the groups I saw and there are at least 25 in this one.  Was very beautiful to see so many of this unique flower which is part of the Orchid family.

6/30/16

Well, I guess now it's after today that we are supposed to cool down.  Chances for rain too but we shall see.  My image today is of a very elusive butterfly I saw at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  My mom-in-law knew what it was, a White Admiral.  I now know what the more cooperative one I saw in South Dakota was.  :-)  I either saw this one several times or saw several of these but could never get what I think of as a very good shot as I could never get very close and it did not sit still for long.  I had to take this with a Zoom lens and I chose this image because it showed off the wings and color well and I felt like sharing a butterfly today since I am not seeing any around home except a Skipper here and there.  Very sad.

6/29/16

So we are a bit cooler and chances for rain so that is good.  That boiling heat was not good.  I had shared an image of the Loon family I was able to see at Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  This image is from a bit earlier.  At first it was just mom and the 2 babies but then Dad came in to join them and this is a capture of that.  

6/18/16

On Thursday I was able to travel for an annual photo outing with my mom-in-law and her brother.  We visited Tamarac Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota once again and saw lots of great photo opportunities.  The highlight of the day was seeing this Loon family down on one of the lakes by the Visitor Center.  I had only seen a Loon twice before and able to get a photo once.  It was quite cool to see a whole family.  In this shot I was able to capture one of the young Loons in an adult pose.  Very cute.

8/21/15

Well it was another quite lovely morning.  I think tomorrow won't be so nice unfortunately.  This image goes back to a place where I will be in only a week and a half now.  Sheesh how time flies.  This is from one of my visits to Tamarack Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  This is the state flower and is a Showy Lady Slipper or Cypripedium reginae . There is also a yellow version of this flower that I have shared on the Blog.  They do look like slippers with long bows or laces to me so well named.  :-)   

1/21/15

So today I am wishing it was summer.  Anything but this dreary blandness.  This is a Dragonfly that I was able to photograph in Minnesota at Tamarack Wildlife refuge this past summer.  When I was at the refuge there were so many swarms of dragonflies, I had never seen so many at one time.  I had lots of chances for photos.  This is one I liked due to it's golden color and clear wings.  I had never seen one like this in Kansas.

12/31/14

It's New Year's Eve and bitterly cold, 7 F this morning.  Yuck.  This is an image from last summer that brings me some warmth today.  I observed this Swan family at Tamarack Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  Tamarack is a great place to visit, lots of wildlife and nature and wildflowers to observe, it's just beautiful.  These Swans were on one of the large bodies of water there.

7/17/14

I got this photo a while back at Tamarack Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.  This is a Lady Slipper which is a type of Orchid and this color version is the state flower of Minnesota. 

7/2/14

Been busy today and so now just getting to post.  I was able to get this shot of this lovely swan family a couple of weeks ago.  I took this at Tamarack Wildlife refuge in Minnesota.  A lovely place that never fails to disappoint with great sights of nature.