Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Bill Pevlor
Enigma on Wings
I spent some time the other day taking my first hummingbird photos of the season. This is a female, ruby-throated hummingbird looking straight at the camera. The wings are just a blur.
To get this unique look, I took all the color out of the original image, added a bit of sepia tone and then a texture effect.
To get a better view, click on the image for a larger version.
Monarch of the Meadow
This monarch butterfly, sitting on the head of a cone flower, was stretching its wings in the early morning sun. I like the way the petals from the flower look like trailing streamers.
I was delighted to capture this image because butterflies have been a real challenge for me. Of all my attempts – chasing the fidgety creatures around with my camera – I’ve only been able to catch a couple of images I’ve been happy with. I just happened to catch this one early in the morning, not fully awake. I even had to nudge it to get it to open its wings.
To see a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Comforting Glow
It hard to beat the beauty of a sunrise filling the sky with color and the waves with sparkles. This is one of my favorite subjects – the lighthouse at Algoma, Wisconsin as the sun rises over Lake Michigan.
If you have a large monitor, you may be able to view a larger image by clicking on the photo.
Garden Party
I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
Rick Nelson
These are the some of the regulars who frequent the birdbath and feeders in our yard. The yellow ones are male American Goldfinches. The other three are House Finches – the males having the red coloring.
In the interest of full disclosure – I never got more than three of them to belly up to the bar at one time, so a little Pops Digital magic was needed to fill up the spaces.
To get a better view, click on the image and you’ll see a larger version.
Unassuming Charm
“Thou unassuming Commonplace Of Nature.” ~ William Wordsworth
This has been a banner year for daisies in our yard. They seem to be popping up everywhere. It’s also been a good year for the orange hawk weed you see in the background.
To view this photo in a larger size, click on it.
On A Pedestal
This is a great time to crawl through the garden looking for bees and bugs. This guy was about his business – working the garden, buzzing from flower to flower.
View a larger image of this photo by click on it.
Poppy Progression
Poppies are some of my favorites. The colors are always vibrant, the multi-layer petals are interesting and the center provides a natural focal point.
This photo shows the poppies in three stages – the pre-bloom bud, the bud just beginning to burst forth, and full, glorious bloom.
If you have a large monitor, you may be able to view a larger version of this photo by clicking on it. To see other, previously posted poppy images, click HERE.
Beauty Fades
By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower. ~ Rabindranath Tagore
This is one of the first poppies to bloom and fade in our spring garden. I applied a texture to the image. To me, it didn’t seem right to gaze upon its unfiltered demise.
Click the photo to view a larger version of this image.
Gold on the Water
The light reflecting off the water looks like streaks of liquid gold. This is a view of the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse. It sits on a long pier that extends out into Lake Michigan.
If you have a large monitor, you can get a better view by clicking on the image.
Winged Wonder
On a walk along the trails of Door County’s Potawatomi State Park (near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin) I encountered some of the strangest bugs I’ve ever seen. There were a number of these bugs on a tree. They were not easily spooked, so they were easy to photograph.
The large image is a shot looking up the tree – as the bug was facing down. It looks like a rather unique bug…but not so much different than a lot of flying bugs. The thing that makes this the strangest bug I’ve come across is how it lays it’s eggs.
The bug’s body was about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length. Those strands that arch up over it’s abdomen (the back end), were inserted into the tree. (Better seen in the side view.) When I finally saw one move, it pulled those strands out and they were three to four times the over all length of the bug’s body. It was like watching some very small-scale version of an space alien movie monster.
It took quite a bit of Googling to figure out what this bug is. According to www.exploretheoutdoorsohio.com this is the giant ichneumon wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus). Those long things are called an ovipositor. It inserts them into the dead wood of a tree, in search of one thing: the larva of another wasp, the pigeon tremex horntail (Tremex columba). It can detect the wasp larva’s movements in the wood, locate it, and then lay an egg next to the larva. Once the ichneumon wasp has done this, it will then sting the horntail larva, paralyzing it. Later, the ichneumon wasp larva will hatch and devour the horntail wasp, and continue to grow to adulthood.
I didn’t realize this was a wasp. Lucky for me, it is harmless to humans! The article I read said, “If you’re walking in the woods and come upon some dead trees in a sunny area, search around a bit and you might be lucky enough to find one.”
You can view a larger version of either photo by clicking on them.