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
Wisconsin
Summer Jubilation
The day lilies are abundant this year in Northeast Wisconsin. These are a couple of specimens found in our front yard.
Every year we have a clump of day lilies that bloom around the utility pole in the front yard of our home. This year, will all the rain we’ve had, they are putting on quite a show.
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Where There’s Smoke
A lot of smoke from previous bursts added a dramatic effect to the sky for this cluster of fireworks at the annual Independence Day celebration at Kewaunee, WI.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the weather was very pleasant – in fact a perfect night on the lake shore – but there was little air movement. What little air movement there was, moved toward us from the direction we were viewing the fireworks. As a result, the smoke from the fireworks hung in the air and, as you can see here, obstructed our view at times. Still, a great time was had by all.
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Color and Chaos
The rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that the spirit of Independence Day was alive and well in Kewaunee, WI. This well attended fireworks show is part of Kewaunee’s annual celebration.
The weather was wonderful for enjoying an evening with friends on the shore of Lake Michigan. For the photographer in me, I could have used a bit more of a breeze at our backs. That would have cleared the smoke away better, giving us an unobstructed view of the color and chaos.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this photo by clicking on it. If you’ve never zoomed in to a clear, fireworks photo, you should give it a try.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Fuzzy Stump
This tree stump has hair! What looks like redish hair sprouting from this decaying stump is moss sporangia. The forest is full of these tiny life forms this time of year.
I’m always intrigued by these tiny plant structures, often found while walking through the woods. On a recent hike, hunting mushrooms, I spotted this collection growing from the moss on a stump. A small stream of sunlight was filtering through the trees to illuminate the spot. I also like the cocklebur stuck in the moss near the top of the stump.
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Spring Coming On
The trees are starting to sprout leaves and the crops are sporting their spring-time green in this scenic view of rural northeast Wisconsin.
A couple of days ago I was grilling steaks in my driveway. I noticed the cool clouds filling the sky as the sun was slipping toward the horizon. I ran inside to grab my camera, flipped the steaks on the grill and hurried across the road to an adjacent farm field. I positioned myself to capture the sun behind a tree, standing in a field of oats. After snapping a couple of frames, I had to hurry back to those marvelous steaks on the grill.
If you look through my collection, you will find a number images featuring this same tree and the sunset. (The Wild Blue, Serene Sunset, Rural Sunset – to name a few)
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Sandhill Crane in Profile
The stately Sandhill Crane is a common sight in the farm fields of rural northeast Wisconsin during spring.
As I’m typing these notes, I can hear the loud, unmistakable call of the Sandhill Cranes interrupting the early morning silence around our rural homestead. I can’t see any, but they are out there.
This is the second of two Sandhill Cranes that appeared in my yard a couple of weeks ago. Take a look the first image and the story behind it, titled “Crane Down.”
According to Wikipedia…
The sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska’s Sandhills on the American Plains. This is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the lesser sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis canadensis), with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.
Adults are gray overall; during breeding, their plumage is usually much worn and stained, particularly in the migratory populations, and looks nearly ochre. In flight, their long, dark legs trail behind, and their long necks keep straight. Immature birds have reddish-brown upperparts and gray underparts. These cranes frequently give a loud, trumpeting call that suggests a rolled “r” in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. Mated pairs of cranes engage in “unison calling”. The cranes stand close together, calling in a synchronized and complex duet. The female makes two calls for every one from the male.
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Should Have Been There
The blazing orange, pre-sunrise sky provides a brilliant background to the lighthouse and pier at Kewaunee, WI located on Lake Michigan’s western shore.
This is a compilation of three separate images, stitched together to create the full image you see here. The lens I was using was limiting my view, so to expand the viewing area I took several shots with the intention of joining them together later. Normally the process doesn’t work well when there is movement in the frame – as you see with the waves in the foreground. This one blended better than expected.
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Springtime Vibe
These sweet, tiny, wildflowers are known by a variety of names such as, Spring Beauty, Virginia Spring Beauty, Eastern Spring Beauty or Fairy Spud. Not all clusters are as vibrant in color as these, most plant blooms are white with very subtle striping.
They bloom in early spring. The life of the individual flowers is short. They bloom lasts only three days, and the five stamens on each flower are only active for a single day. They can be found in many different habitat types, especially in forests. I found these in the woods of northeast Wisconsin.
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King of Thrones
An artistic display of toilets and tubs at the Kohler Design Center at the world headquarters of Kohler products in Kohler, Wisconsin.
This image was captured on a recent visit to the Kohler Design Center. It made for an enjoyable and interesting afternoon. We began our visit to Kohler with lunch at The Horse and Plow; one of the restaurants nearby – also operated by Kohler. Then we toured the Design Center which is a showcase of bathroom and kitchen products, as well as other products manufactured by the Kohler corporation. We also strolled through their museum in the lower level of the Design Center.
You can view a full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Crane Down
A sandhill crane seems to have found a green spot to rest. It was struggling to walk, due to some injury to its right leg and dropped to this stance for a short while.
Though sandhill cranes are plentiful in our area, I’ve had a difficult time getting a good photo of any. They are particularly shy and head for the hills whenever I attempt to get close enough for a decent photo. I spotted this one out my back window one morning as I was preparing to go to work. I could only see its head and upper body because it was behind the mound of grass it eventually rested on, as seen here.
When I first saw it, it was bobbing its head and hopping around with a flutter of its wings. It’s early spring so I thought it was some kind of mating dance going on. Of course, I ran for my camera. When I returned, it had made its way up the mound and I could see that its bob, hop and flutter was the result of some kind of painful leg injury. It was limping on it’s right leg and the herky-jerky motions, as it hobbled, to take some of the weight of its leg. After limping to this spot, at the top of the mound, its long legs buckled and it plopped into this position where it remained for several minutes. I closely looked at some of the other photos I took, while it was standing, and I didn’t notice any malady with the right leg other than the joint seemed to be larger.
When it eventually got back on its feet, it limped around a little until it reached down and ate a huge night crawler it found in the grass. A few moments later, another sandhill crane flew in and landed nearby and this one took to the air, flying off across the farm field and beyond the woods.
As I mentioned, these birds are shy – at least all the ones I’ve encountered. I was only able to get this image by shooting out the not-so-clean window of my garage. Even then, I was keeping myself hidden as much as I could; shooting at the edge of the window frame. I’m sure, if I would have attempted to get outside for a better vantage point, the bird would have been off at the slightest sound of the door opening.
I also got a few photos of the second sandhill crane that came just before this one flew away. I’ll post it sometime in the near future.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.