Pictures of Nature

Hiding Heron

2009-12-29T10:45:00.003-05:00

By mere luck I noticed this heron hiding amongst some small pines at the water's edge and caught a picture of him in hiding.

I paddled around the corner of the stream and was able to catch the lovely bird in profile. He's a lot easier to see that way. Plus I did zoom in on him a bit.

Yellow Rose

2009-10-26T14:49:00.003-04:00

I took this picture on Sunday over at Sarah Duke Garden. Skies were gray and the lack of direct sun made for great photos. We'd had rain recently and everything was very green despite it being a cold day.

Needles

2009-10-06T16:51:00.000-04:00

Pretty needles and not-so-pretty needles. Just a few yards apart on the same path.

A Small Pond

2009-08-09T22:42:00.001-04:00

This pond is in southwestern Wake County near Harris Lake. I was hiking early in the morning along side it.

A Tree beside a Lake

2009-08-02T22:41:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T23:10:00.002-04:00

Backyard Purple

2009-04-21T10:14:00.001-04:00

Ride 'em Turtle

2009-04-06T14:17:00.004-04:00

There's a turtle in that picture above. Even if you click on it and look at it full size, the turtle's not easy to see. In fact, you can just barely see the waterlogged stick that he's riding.

In the picture below, where I zoomed in on him, it's a little more obvious what's going on. Still, what turtle in its right mind is going to be riding a stick that's moving at a good clip in a strong April breeze?

It's not obvious in the picture but that log that the turtle is perched on is in the middle of a bay and moving along at about a normal walking pace. The turtle was effectively acting as a sail, allowing the wind to move the branch a lot faster than the water it was in.

Purple in March

2009-04-02T09:22:00.000-04:00

Raindrops on Pine Needles

2009-03-30T23:35:00.001-04:00

The title says it all. It started pouring while I was hiking this past weekend and I took a picture of some drops on the end of pine needles before putting my camera away for the day.

Alpacas in East NC

2009-03-29T21:48:00.003-04:00

I visited with some alpacas yesterday. I was at a roving house party near Pittsboro, NC on Saturday and took this picture at an alpaca farm which happened to be the first stop on the tour.

Two Birds Honking

2009-03-26T13:25:00.003-04:00

Red-bellied Woodpecker

2009-03-25T01:01:00.003-04:00

This little guy visited me today. I live away from wooded areas so I don't see these guys very often. I was quite happy to get a few good pictures of him before he left for leafier areas.

SC Pinecone

2009-03-13T15:34:00.002-04:00

Early morning on the lake

2009-03-12T13:04:00.002-04:00

Just before 7am in the morning, when I arrived at Lake Hartwell this past Saturday.

It's two squirrels

2009-03-11T21:01:00.002-04:00

Almost Sunset

2009-03-10T17:41:00.003-04:00

The sun almost all the way down while kayaking across Lake Hartwell in SC.

Rocks on the shore

2009-03-09T09:10:00.002-04:00

Who are YOU calling Fluffy?

2008-12-21T18:07:00.003-05:00

It was a rather cold morning today and this dove was all fluffed up trying to stay warm. The poor little dear. I almost forgave the beast for pooping on my railing. Almost!

2008-12-07T11:14:00.001-05:00

I snapped this picture while hiking along a creek yesterday. It was a gray overcast day, quite chilly, and that coolness is reflected in the water.

Crazy Squirrel

2008-12-02T05:57:00.001-05:00

Just get a look at that crazy glint in this squirrel's eye. That guy is nuts!

Bad Apple

2008-11-30T11:46:00.003-05:00

A little photoshopping on this image. I emphasized the withered apple and decreased the contrast on the background. Sue me!

At least it's wet

2008-08-10T04:06:00.000-04:00

Yellow

2008-07-28T00:57:00.002-04:00

I took this picture on Sunday and while I love the rich yellow color, it looks almost like some of the petals are missing. I can assure you that I didn't pluck this flower and deprive it of it's beauty---but if not me, then who?

Green sky

2008-07-27T22:03:00.003-04:00

Lovely green ~~fronds~~ Mimosa leaves between me and the sky. Now living on my desktop wallpaper. A little bit of NC summer inside with me.

It's a Duck

2008-05-24T22:53:00.003-04:00

Yes, I'm quasi-quoting Monty Python there. "So, if she weighs the same as a duck...?"

This particular duck was found today at Sarah Duke Garden, floating away and happy as could be. His partner was on the bank and acting kinda bossy and contrary. I don't know what accounts for the temperament difference but speculating on that difference could get me into trouble within my own species.

Sunrise

2008-05-15T15:25:00.003-04:00

The sun is rising above the trees as I stop paddling for a minute to admire the scenery.

Heron before Dawn

2008-05-11T03:51:00.006-04:00

I went out on the lake at 6am, about 25 minutes before dawn, and saw this bird at a point between two coves. I only got a few pictures of the heron before it flew off and these are the only two that weren't too blurred by the motion of my kayak and the dim light available.

The picture above was taken first, as I was approaching the point, and was taken at maximum zoom. The picture below I took about 2 minutes later while looking sideways at the heron. It was this motion, turning around in the kayak, that caused the bird to take off. Odd that he'd be afraid of people.

Laying up along shore

2008-05-10T03:09:00.004-04:00

I was taking a picture of a heron while close to shore and got pushed onto the small rocks alongside the shoreline. It was hard to take a steady shot from this vantage point! Oh, the heron flew away, dammit.

Heron

2008-05-08T22:48:00.003-04:00

Here's the fellow I was referring to in that last post. He was quite a ways away. I was using my 12X zoom and it's a little fuzzy due to the waves bouncing me around and it being an overcast day. I opened up my aperture as much as I could...

Want some tires?

2008-05-08T22:44:00.003-04:00

I was kayaking this morning and took a picture of some tires. They're being used as a wave barrier at a sailboat marina. I used them as cover to take some pictures of a heron. They're rather shy and prone to fly off once they see you. The tires, on the other hand, are quite reliable and don't go anywhere. Not as pretty tho.

An Accident Waiting to Happen

2008-05-01T23:48:00.001-04:00

This is the kind of picture that can make you nervous if you like zipping about in a power boat. I took this picture in January, on a bitterly cold day, in upstate SC. I was hiking and the log was quite a ways out--I used my 12X zoom to get the shot--so there wasn't anything I could do to the log. I just hope that it washed up on shore before some speedboat hit it.

Most lakes in the Carolinas were created in the 1940s by flooding valleys. As a result, there's lots of dead trees waiting down there. Scary thought.

Purple

2008-04-29T00:47:00.002-04:00

I love purple flowers. These were at Sarah Duke Garden at Duke University. I took the picture 2 weeks ago and really need to go back there soon. There's a lot more flowers blooming now since we've had warm weather and some decent rain the past few days.

Contemplative Turtle

2008-04-27T10:13:00.003-04:00

Last week I came across this fellow. It appears that he's just being mellow, calmly contemplating nature. I can't blame him one little bit. The picture below is the area immediately upstream of his perch. Not a bad place to live.

Ouch

2008-04-26T11:52:00.003-04:00

I found this guy on a piece of cardboard right near my deck after work on Friday. He wasn't moving and at first I thought he was dead. He's got quite a wound on his back, between his front legs. A bird, maybe? In any case, after I took this picture he slowly moved under the paper. His back legs were slow but moving so apparently there wasn't any spine damage.

Gotta pee?

2008-04-20T09:28:00.003-04:00

The body language on this little fella reminds me of a kid that has to pee. The crossed "hands" and legs just convey that message of urgency. So cute!

Feast

2008-03-20T20:56:00.000-04:00

I hardly ever get any pictures of birds at this feeder.
How can they resist the luscious feast here?

blue jay

2008-03-18T20:06:00.003-04:00

Blue Jays. Cyanocitta cristata if you want the Latin. Commonly referred to as "those damn Jays".

They frequent this area and I certainly do hear them often enough but for some odd reason I rarely see them in my yard. As you can see above, the markings on the back are quite striking and they have a distinctive beak as can be seen below, but despite their beauty, Jays are damn hard to like. They just make too much damn noise.

Spring

2008-03-14T19:18:00.002-04:00

Even though it's only mid-March, here in eastern NC there's Spring in the air and the grackles are thinking of sex. Naughty birds!

A Bridge at Duke

2008-03-07T21:24:00.001-05:00

Spring is coming

2008-03-04T12:11:00.001-05:00

Grackles

2008-02-25T14:38:00.003-05:00

Grackles are interesting birds. I love their mannerisms. I don't get many pictures of them 'cause for the most part they prefer to forage for insects on my yard rather than eat seeds out of my feeders--and they're somewhat timid around people. As you can see, this particular Grackle decided to take the easy route. At least on this day.

Early morning fog

2008-02-23T06:58:00.004-05:00

While waiting for some Brunswick Stew to heat up in the microwave I went outside to take some pictures of the predawn fog. This was around 6:30am so there wasn't much light.

That can easily be seen by how blurred the above picture is. I first tried to just handhold the camera. Oops.

Here's the second try. This time I steadied the camera on the railing of the deck. I didn't want to bother getting my tripod out for a shot like this.

As you can see, there's a huge improvement. However I thought I'd just try and see what it would look like using the flash.

Hmmm. Those things you hear about water reflecting light are true. Even though the fog didn't seem all that dense, it sure did *uck up this shot. There's so much reflected light you can barely see the trees in my yard.

Icicles and bushes

2008-02-15T00:34:00.002-05:00

The view yesterday from the lower half of my dining room windows. I really need to trim those trees back a little! Cute icicles though.

A Little More Snow

2008-02-14T16:34:00.004-05:00

We got a little more snow last night. We'd had so much warm weather of late that I thought there was little chance of getting snow again this year. Wrong!

It never got above 40f today but the sun came out so strong that almost all the snow is now gone. It was pretty while it lasted.

A bright star in the trees

2008-02-05T23:33:00.000-05:00

Just the sun poking through the trees. I took this picture near the suspension bridge at Eno River Park this past Sunday.

Bridge to the other side

2008-02-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

I went on a hike today at Eno River Park with a ground of about 15 people. It's a group that Julie's been a member of for a while but it was the first time I went hiking with them. I'm not much of a "joiner", y'know?

This is part of the group wandering across a suspension bridge. The bridge bounced a lot and was great fun. It was like drinking heavily and not being sure if you could stay on your feet. The hike was a bit less than 5 miles and it was a great day for it. High 50s and a subdued sunshine made for a pleasant time. You should have been there with us! Rolling hills and well groomed trails, river views and mossy logs--but no snakes this time. Sorry.

Cold Cardinal

2008-01-30T23:57:00.001-05:00

I took this picture a week ago and put it up on my main blog. I looked it over today and decided I liked it enough to post it here as well. You really need to click on it to see it larger to appreciate how miserable the poor cardinal is. Birds in the south, assuming they're not migratory, just don't appreciate snow very much. I completely understand their point of view!

This bird is bad!

2008-01-24T15:01:00.001-05:00

Lee gave my birds some Christmas presents under the slender pretence of giving them to me. Ha! We all know she likes birds better than people.

But the gift backfired.

According to Lee, my Wal-mart birdfood is nasty and this high grade stuff she gave me would attract "better birds"--no sense of egalitarianism there, huh? Instead all I have is a very territorial mockingbird that grazes in the new feeder and won't let all my other birds eat at the old feeders. Bad bird!

Snow and Cardinals

2008-01-23T00:08:00.000-05:00

She looks so concerned and vigilant whereas hubby, there below, just looks like a greedy pig.

To be fair, maybe they just have different ways of dealing with the snow and cold. I must admit--and maybe it's the male in me--that I also would rather go for the muffin than the bird seed.

Light Snow

2008-01-21T19:43:00.001-05:00

At the risk of offending people with a good sense of humor, I'm titling this picture "Light Snow".

This past Saturday we received a couple of inches of snow in the Piedmont area of NC. Today most of it's gone due to two days blessed with lots of sunshine albeit unseasonably cold temperatures. It's 26f now at 7:40pm. Brrrr. But last night it dropped to 10f which for this area is very, very cold.

snow dunking

2008-01-20T05:02:00.001-05:00

We had some snow here in NC this weekend and it had horrible affects on some of the locals. Here you can see a Dark-eyed Junco bobbing for seeds in a snow covered dish. 12 miles away in Chapel Hill the Tarheels, despite having a 18-0 record, lost to the unranked Maryland team. It had to be that damn snow.

Pudgy Cardinal

2008-01-19T05:44:00.000-05:00

Apparently I'm a food enabler. Shame on me!

Bird in Tree at Dawn

2008-01-18T03:51:00.001-05:00

Waterfall

2008-01-13T05:57:00.001-05:00

My Dad and I hiked into this waterfall a few days after Christmas last month. It was quite beautiful--and surprisingly full of water considering the drought here in the Southeast. Of course there had been a fair amount of rain that week in upstate SC. It always seems to rain there when I visit, drought or not.

red dawn

2008-01-11T00:45:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken Thursday morning. About 20 minutes apart. In the picture above the sun hadn't quite risen over the horizon yet and there was still a strong shift towards the long wavelength end of the spectrum. By 7:50am, below, the sun was just rising over the tree line in the background and much of the red was chased out of the sky.

It was a pretty dawn but by 9am it was raining and the clouds never left all day long.

Misty Morning

2008-01-10T00:53:00.001-05:00

I couldn't sleep so I was up to take pictures in the pre-dawn light. It was pretty this morning, I think it was Monday, but the next day was even prettier. More on that later...

Red Breasts

2008-01-08T23:32:00.000-05:00

Gulls on a lake

2007-12-31T13:25:00.000-05:00

I came across this cluster of gulls while kayaking across a lake. This was as close as I could get before they flew away.

Where's the water?

2007-12-27T01:22:00.000-05:00

Where did all the water go? This poor dock doesn't look like it's going to stay healthy much longer. Already some of the steel girders underneath it are bending a little. North and South Carolina certainly could use rain--and not just a little bit, we need lots!

sailboat on a blustery day

2007-12-25T06:13:00.000-05:00

I took this picture a couple of days ago when it was quite windy. The two guys in the sailboat were having trouble managing to navigate the narrow neck of the cove here. Due to the low water, the marina for the sailboats had gotten difficult to enter and these fellows took 3 tries before they managed to aim that boat correctly in the wind. They looked very cold.

Beams of Light

2007-12-23T21:37:00.000-05:00

I took this picture while kayaking yesterday on Lake Hartwell in upstate South Carolina. The day was chilly and very overcast but the rain hadn't started yet so it was still relatively pleasant. That soon changed, unfortunately.

Stare down

2007-12-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

This morning I took this picture from a door, cracked open slightly, and I guess the Cardinal caught my movement. A moment before his crest was down, but as you can see here--I got his most intimidating stare once he noticed me and my camera.

Lazy Waterfall

2007-12-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

The lazy doesn't describe the waterfall, it describes me. I've not posted in over 2 weeks! Tsk-tsk-tsk.

I took this picture back at Thanksgiving while visiting the upstate region of South Carolina. Lots of waterfalls along the SC / GA border.

Curious and curiouser

2007-11-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

These two seem very interested in whatever was happening below. I had some seen in some flower pots on the deck so maybe they were watching birds down there. I don't recall. I took this picture 5 days ago while getting ready for work.

hiking trail

2007-11-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

I took this picture from a hiking trail off of the Blue Ridge Highway in NC. I'm very glad I didn't have to make that entire climb by foot. Just look at how those trees on the right fall off. That's very steep terrain. It's so hard to imagine the settlers back in the 1800s traversing these mountains on foot and, god forbid, with wagons. I went up the Cumberland Gap a few years ago and the entire time I was driving up I was thinking about that. Yikes.

Epiphyte

2007-11-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

Here's an air plant I noticed in a very old tree in the mountains north of Asheville a few weeks ago. You can see the lichen growing all over the branches--this tree looked very unhealthy! There were two trees like this growing next to one another. This one had small yellow fruits and the other had small red fruits. I don't know what type of tree it is tho.

Misty Stump

2007-11-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

I took this picture while kayaking early one morning in SC. It was late October and the temperatures had just turned cold. The change in weather helped cause a great deal of mist that even endured a while after the sun came up.

Hiking Trail

2007-11-03T11:15:00.001-04:00

A hiking trail 20 miles north of Asheville, NC in late October. Despite a very dry summer, fall colors were abundant at higher elevations. Out of the mountains it was a different story with the trees having dull plumage at best.

Hazy ole Atlanta

2007-10-31T16:34:00.000-04:00

The hazy Atlanta skyline taken while descending Kennesaw Mountain, 15 miles or so north of Atlanta. Kennesaw was one of my favorite hikes back when I lived in Georgia. It was great to walk along the shady trails once more. I can't say I miss Atlanta though. Too much damn traffic.

purple flowers

2007-10-30T01:21:00.001-04:00

These are some flowers off of the deck. I took the picture after a brief sprinkle before the raindrops evaporated. I'm using the picture as my computer wallpaper since the left side is blank which is perfect for having icons and the right looks so pretty.

3 mushrooms on a log

2007-10-28T23:09:00.000-04:00

The title tells pretty much the whole story, folks. Three mushrooms on a log. I took the picture a week ago up in the mountains north of Asheville, NC, on a hiking trail just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was a bitterly cold morning with the wind scouring the skin every time I stood up. So I started taking pictures way down low... like this one of the three mushrooms.

Blue Ridge Highway

2007-10-25T20:05:00.000-04:00

These two pictures were taken from the same spot a few seconds apart. I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway when I took the pictures, a little north of Asheville, NC.

They illustrate how just a little zooming can subtly change the feel of a picture. In the picture above there's the slight marring of the jet contrail as well as the framing effect of the tree branch in the upper left and the tall pines on the right. The picture below has a somewhat flat appearance due to the mountains creating a line across the midpoint of the picture.

The location was quite pretty but framing the original picture well, or cropping later on can make a big difference in the "feel" of a shot.

Fish Story

2007-10-21T20:26:00.000-04:00

...you should have seen the one that got away!

Feet in Nature

2007-10-17T01:07:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I'm not sure why, every so often I'll take a picture of my feet in betwixt other types of pictures. Here's two of those shots from a hike a week ago. It's an odd habit.

A Walk Down

2007-10-14T07:52:00.000-04:00

I walked down this trail the other day to take some water pictures. I was hoping some rain we had recently would have given the stream enough omph to make it photogenic. Unfortunately the drought is still in full force and the picture below was the best I could find. Maybe in a few more weeks there'll be more water...

A fungus among us

2007-10-10T21:36:00.001-04:00

Here's a fungus on a tree. I was amazed at its appearance--and slightly disgusted. Something about growing on dead things, I guess. The setting was really nice. As you can see above, the log the fungus is growing on has a nice settled appearance, filled with rich browns and greens. Very photogenic. And there's the greenery framing the shot--but look at that closeup below. That's just nasty! But it was just too interesting to ignore...

Green river and Julie

2007-10-08T00:43:00.000-04:00

The picture above was taken in Eno River Park and to no surprise then, the subject is Eno River itself. I took the picture on Saturday and immediately after, Julie took a similar picture with her camera. And since two people wrote to ask me about Julie, below is a picture of her taking a picture of the scene in the picture above. That's a lot of uses of the word "picture".

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time a picture of a human has graced this website. I'm quite certain there's never been a picture of me on here! I think of this as my anti-human blog so it'll probably be a long, long time before you see the human form on here again.

Saturday was a really good day for picture taking. It'd rained the day before and everything was greener than it'd been in several weeks.

All coiled up and hissin'

2007-10-07T02:45:00.001-04:00

Isn't that fellow a beauty? He was on the Cox Mountain trail when Julie and I were trudging our way slowly up the mountain. We both took a well appreciated breather and made friends with the handsome guy. I don't know much about snakes, but I'm assuming it's a Black Snake.

Fortunately Julie isn't skittish around snakes 'cause as you can tell better here, this guy is big. The trees and such make it easier to judge scale. I think it was 6 feet long but it's more than possible that I'm exaggerating. The length of a snake is as subject to exaggeration as the size of fish--and the end of the story is invariably "but he got away". Besides, guys are notoriously bad judges of length.

Here's what the cutie looked like when I'd followed him a little ways in the woods. I think this was his way of saying that he wanted some alone time. As you can probably guess, at this point I became quite willing to give him more privacy!

Mushroom Tree

2007-10-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah. I know. Mushrooms don't grow in trees--but they do grow on trees and there's a freakin' bunch of them on this tree. Of course the attraction of this picture, taken earlier today at Eno Park, owes a lot to the green backdrop. We finally received some rain on Friday and while it was only a quarter inch or so, it greened up the leaves quite a bit.

Sunny Day in Eno

2007-10-04T01:46:00.000-04:00

I took this picture last weekend at Eno River park. I'm planning on going hiking there again this Saturday so I'll get more pictures. Oh, joy.

This time I'm going to try to drag my sorry ass out of bed early so I can get better light. Late afternoon light is pretty filtered through a tree like in the picture above--but it's too unrelenting to make for the pictures I prefer. For those, getting early morning--before dawn is best--light really helps. I just wish I wasn't allergic to mornings!

Meditation on the river

2007-10-02T00:26:00.000-04:00

The picture above is a spot on Buckquarter Creek in the Eno River Park. To me it looks like a perfect place to meditate. It's beautiful there, even with the water so low due to our drought, and the sound of the water moving over the rocks is quite calming.

Here's a map of the trails near the creek if you're curious.

Below is a closeup of one of the rocks that you see in the picture above. These rocks are normally under a foot or two of water and they're so smooth and hard that they resemble the old iron you see in civil war era cannons. The rock even feels like metal and is perfect for sitting on or laying against. The cool rock felt wonderful in the hot sun of this late September day.

Eno River

2007-10-01T00:11:00.001-04:00

I was hiking in Eno River park on Sunday and took bunches of pictures. Over 130 in all. The day was warm but pleasant and absolutely sun drenched. Here's one of the pictures:

ants

2007-09-29T21:50:00.001-04:00

It's amazing how strong ants are. I know that's not an original observation but when you see an ant haul around objects two, three, even four times their size--it's impressive.

In the picture above you can see the setting--one of my bird seed feeders that the ants are taking advantage of. I suspect it's as much for water content as for food. We're in the midst of a very long drought. The picture below illustrates the daunting journey that faces the ants before they get back to the ground and their home.

structural pads

2007-09-26T00:28:00.001-04:00

I think I've put up pictures last year or the year before of these plants from the Koi Pond at Sarah Duke. Each year I'm amazed again at how they look. I don't know what type of plant they are, but I'd never seen anything like them before.

Each plant has 5 leaves and the smallest one has all those extra "ribs", as you can see better in the picture below. Weird. There's also flowers in the center but I've never been there when one was in full bloom so I don't know what they look like.

Tree Branch

2007-09-25T00:11:00.000-04:00

Of the pictures I took Sunday at Sarah Duke this one is my favorite. I'm not sure why. Just something about the composition, I guess. Click on it to see it big and see if you think so too.

water flower

2007-09-24T00:02:00.001-04:00

Same day as the last picture, same koi pond too. This lillypad bloom was just a few yards from the one that the dragonfly was on in yesterday's pic. Both these subjects were pretty far out in the pond so I had to use the macro at 12X zoom. Most of the pictures were too blurred to use but these two pics came out fairly steady.

Dragonfly

2007-09-23T19:23:00.000-04:00

I wandered around Sarah Duke Garden today for a while in the midday heat. It was around 92 and the sun was beating down on me hard but it was worth it 'cause I got lucky with a number of photos. I'll probably be uploading shots from today for the next week at least. Here's one of a dragonfly at the koi pond. He's just sitting there looking pretty.

butterfly at Duke Forest

2007-09-20T01:52:00.001-04:00

I took these pictures of a butterfly in Duke Forest, about a mile above the Concrete Bridge Road, next to the river. When I crept closer the fellow flew off but not before I snapped a picture of him leaving.

I like how the sun lights up the wings of the flittery thing.

the wall

2007-09-18T00:25:00.001-04:00

My afternoon assignment for the day was to pick up a post-doc at the airport. Due to a little weirdness in the bus schedule, I got out there nearly an hour early so I just moved down the road a bit to Umstead State Park where I found this lovely little wall by a river. That was a far better way to spend an hour than sitting in an airport lobby.

hoppity, hop

2007-09-16T00:31:00.001-04:00

Here's a slight change of pace. Amphibian instead of insect. I chased this little fellow half across salvation before he decided he was safe behind these old leaves.

A Preoccupied Bee

2007-09-15T11:20:00.000-04:00

Here's some Bee Butt.

The fellow seems quite occupied with his task of gathering nectar and seems to be quite unaware of all the pollen smeared on his butt.

Should we tap his shoulder --thorax?-- and let him know about the mess he's making?

another bug pic

2007-09-08T00:05:00.000-04:00

This picture turned out better than I thought it would. To me, the tops of the flowers look like a raised path above the world, suggesting that the two bees shown here are moving towards a goal. It's all very transcendental! Eastern mysticism and all that...

A game of Tag

2007-09-07T00:12:00.000-04:00

The antennae on the moth in back looks almost like the fellow is tagging the moth in front. I can't decide if it's a game of Tag or if there's a baton race thing going there...

more bugs

2007-09-06T21:47:00.000-04:00

It's been over 3 weeks since I've posted a picture. I guess I've just not been very inspired--and the excessive heat plus lack of rain here has really kept me from hiking so I've not taken many pictures this Summer.

I'm calling this picture "Face Off" due to the large bee appearing to be staring down the smaller bug. While it would seem to be an unequal contest, in reality of course they're not paying any attention to one another. Just picking up some nectar--and maybe a bit of pollen too.

Beetles, a magnolia bloom and a butterfly

2007-08-11T18:29:00.000-04:00

Here's two pictures I just took in my yard a few minutes ago. The title up above pretty much tells the whole story. I'm going to post this on my regular blog also since I've wasn't feeling too inspired today.

Above, as you can see, we have a fading magnolia bloom that is providing living space for a few beetles. Not the guitar wielding type tho. And below we have a butterfly that's sipping some nectar just a few feet away from the magnolia tree.

ants and a treat

2007-07-30T00:05:00.000-04:00

I've got a trumpet vine growing on my storage shed. Apparently ants really like it. My feelings about it are mixed--I've ruthlessly cut it back twice in past years. It's pretty but a little too ambitious a vine for my tastes. The ants seem to have a different opinion tho.

Morning glory in early morning sun

2007-07-24T03:31:00.001-04:00

wildflowers and lichen

2007-07-14T21:38:00.000-04:00

...the wildflowers are above and the lichen below--just like in that parking lot off of the Blue Ridge Highway last weekend...

torn between two walls

2007-07-12T23:35:00.000-04:00

This ivy was noted last week growing between two restaurants. One had to stop and wonder how so much lush greenery managed to almost exclusively stay only on one side of this quite narrow alley. Less than 3 feet separated the two buildings. I was carrying some left-overs so I didn't investigate further but I was curious.