Keeping an Eye on You!

This is my son’s Buff Cochin pair, standing together. I meant to post this photo on Valentine’s Day, but forgot I even had it.

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Keeping an Eye on You! - Winter 2012

Bridger keeps them safe, so when they are outside, they are still protected by a welded wire enclosure. He has good reason, as coyotes and raccoons, opossums and foxes, even hawks, owls, and eagles all love a good, fat chicken dinner!

Buttercup does her best to help keep them safe, but as she rides to work with us daily, she is not home during most days – not the most effective security system ever devised!

 

It’s a BIG World Out There!

A small, red beetle crawled up an apple leaf. At the edge, what should he do?

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What's Next? - Summer 2010

What would you do, were you a small, red bug? Fly off into the wild green yonder? Travel around the edge of the leaf? Cross over to the other side of the leaf?

Conflict in the Woods

At first I was going to leave Buttercup home so I could have a better chance to see wildlife.

I relented and let her come along. We heard snarling and hissing. I wondered what it could be, but Buttercup recognized those hen house raiders from some previous midnight encounters. One went up a tree, while the other tried to hold off the dog.

In this case I actually got the shot thanks to my assistant, Buttercup – and she also served as model 🙂 Good Girl, Buttercup!

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Rosy Ruffles

Soft rains, balmy breeze, a little sunshine – weather can create a rosy outlook on life. Or for life 🙂

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This little wild rose seems to be anticipating spring’s arrival, even dressing up a little, with a rosy tint to both the stem and the festive ruffled edges of the emerging leaves. It is still guarded by those curving thorns, though!

I am also enjoying the much needed rains, followed by warm, sunny weather. Actually, as soon as this posts, I will grab my camera and head back out the door. Woo hoo!

Silvery Secrets

Multitudes of small, silvery butterflies flutter around these flowers on warm summer days.

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Silvery Flutters - Summer 2011

Until looking at the still images, I was unaware of their secret beauties. The delicate, black and white striped antennae tipped in golden yellow is the most striking hidden feature. I also love their furry little faces and the false eye and face at the other end that might serve to trick predators into attacking a less vulnerable part of their anatomy, hopefully giving them a chance to escape.

I have always loved being out in nature, but the camera both gives me “permission” to spend more time outdoors and also reveals so many lovely little secrets that I couldn’t (or didn’t) spot with my own, “normal” vision. I hope I am becoming more observant and also winning my lifelong fight to grant value to the artistic side of my personality, rather than dismissing it as unuseful or not worthwhile.

Some Itches Just Gotta Be Scratched!

Does she have an itchy foot?

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Itchy Foot? - Summer 2010

This was another insect Bridger spotted. He ran in, “Mom! I think you will want to take a photo of this praying mantis out here!” I grabbed my camera and hurried after him.

When I got there and started shooting, this praying mantis turned out to be a natural model, striking several interesting poses in quick succession. This was my favorite, though, chewing on her foot, because it made me think of my dogs and horses 🙂

This was when I was new enough to my camera that I was having a hard time with some focus and depth of field issues, but you can see most of her pretty well.

Contemplative Caterpillar

Bridger was excited to spot this very large caterpillar one morning in September of 2010. He thought I might like to make its portrait. He was right!

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A Caterpillar Contemplates... ? - September 2010

I don’t know what caterpillars contemplate in general, but this one was trying to start to spin its cocoon. Talk about an opportunity for deep contemplation, the time spent metamorphosing, wrapped in a cocoon, might just be time for deep coming-of-age thoughts!

Should we take a cue from the moth and butterfly world, and tightly wrap our teenagers in swaddling clothes to contemplate their coming of age years?

Grass & Wee Bug

Zooming in on the gold, sunset-lit filaments of this grass seed head, I saw an anomaly.

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Wee, Small Fellow Hiding in the Seeds - Summer 2011

A fat filament? No, it moved. Although it was well camouflaged, it definitely had legs and eyes. I don’t know what it is, but several of the same variety of grass sported similar denizens. Do you know what it is?