The Moon Part 3

The moon is getting a little bigger each night. First a quarter, then half and now this one which doesn't really look 3/4 to me. Can't wait to see it on Saturday.  It is supposed to rain Friday. More pictures to come as the phases change.

Dragonfly too.

In addition to the beautiful butterflies flitting around, I was fortunate to find a dragonfly buzzing around. I usually go to the lake to take pictures of dragonflies. I enjoyed seeing one right around the corner.

Another Beautiful Butterfly

I went out this afternoon to the butterfly bush next door and got a couple of good pictures. Here is one, which shows that you don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

Sea of Red

Just had to include this picture of a whole bed of red Asiatic Lillies. They are so beautiful that the picture doesn't do them justice. Enjoy.

As the Moon Grows

The moon has been out while it is still daylight. It sure makes it easier to take a picture. I did get the tripod out and used a 100 - 300 5.6L lens to capture the moon. Of course had I had a telescope with camera mount, it would have been a great, close up shot. I can't complain too much about this one. I am going to try to capture one each day or two as it grows bigger. I'll post them as they come.

Jeweled Wings

I was fortunate enough to go take butterfly pictures at a friend's butterfly bush. I thought this one turned out nice.

Once In a Blue Moon

I haven't taken pictures of the moon recently but the moon was out early and I was in the mood, so here it is. I'm going to try it again this afternoon but with a tripod. I had the camera in shutter priority at 1/500 and that helped offset the effects of hand holding but imagine how nice it would be if it was perfectly still. I really need to use the tripod all the time. It is more professional and is a good habit to be in if I ever want to get those tack sharp images I love.

Unconditional Love

I have a dog and she's almost eleven years old.  I adopted her when she was about 6 months old. She has been by my side through homelessness, moving, good times and bad. (Sounds like a marriage vow) She has always loved me. She learned how to smile and does a little dance when you say "Wanna go outside?" I love her. She is my constant companion so this blog post is dedicated to little Gizmo.

Pretty Blue Bird aka Bluejay?

I was outside looking for butterflies to photograph when I saw this bird hopping around on the ground. It then flew up into a tree that was close by. It stayed up there long enough for me to get a couple of shots. I think it is a Blue Jay. I haven't seen this bird around the neighborhood. I mainly see Scrub Jays. This was a treat.

Mailing List

I have chosen ten of my important friends and associates to receive an email update whenever I post on my blog. I used to post only once or twice a month. Now that I am posting nearly every day, I realize that the amount of email it generates may get to be annoying. If you enjoy getting a cool, new, nature inspired (most of the time) photo each day, then do nothing. However, if it getting to be too much of a nuisance, let me know and I will remove you from the list. I do hope, however, that you will stop by my blog from time to time to see what I'm up to. Thanks for your support!

Lisa

Daylily Dreams

My neighbor's daylillies are blooming profusely. I love seeing them. My photography name was based on an extreme macro of an organge daylily, so I thought I would post another picture that I took yesterday.

It's Aflutter

I've been trying to get butterfly pictures but I'm just not seeing them around. I managed to get one of the white butterflies but it didn't turn out very sharp. I did get a Gray Hairstreak the other day and today I finally got one with its wings open. These little bitty butterflies flitter and flutter so much that they don't hold still long. I hope to get more pictures as the spring and summer wear on.

All Things PINK

Yesterday it was the pink and yellow Moth, which, by the way, I found out is called a Rosy Maple Moth. It seems they have an affinity for maple trees, hence the name. Another pink thing that is popping up now is the Mimosa tree's blooms. The blooms look like one of those fountains made of fiber optic lights. They are delicate looking. Here is one:

Winged Beauty

I was walking outside and noticed a pink and yellow moth on the screen. What a pretty creature. I hope I can find out what kind of moth it is. Later this afternoon I was walking in the clover watching the bees when I saw a very small but pretty butterfly. Unlike the one in my previous post, this one's wings were intact.

A Job Well Done

My son, who dropped out of high school not once but twice has finally finished and will get his high school diploma. Working in a program for adults at the GTCC Greensboro campus, he completed the requirements and will walk in June. I'm very proud of him. We were hanging out the other day and I decided to take "senior" pictures. Now, he wasn't dressed up and this was just informal but I'm happy with the results. After editing the photos, this is one of my favorites. More to come. Enjoy.

Those Pesky Squirrels

They are still at it. Those brazen, pesky squirrels are eating up all of my birdseed and getting fat and happy. They've managed to get the top off of the feeder. Before you know it, they will figure out how to get inside the feeder. The birds manage to get a little. But the squirrels have eaten so much that they can't run away very fast. If they are going to get my birdseed, then I'm going to get pictures. It's not a fair trade but it will have to do.

It has been a Hard Life

Haven't seen many butterflies just yet. I did see one that kept fluttering and then resting on the rocks in the driveway. He stayed still long enough for me to get a picture. That is when I noticed that the poor thing's wings were all torn up. Yet still it presevered. That is a good lesson for us. Life may hand us some bad circumstances but we still have to presevere.

Litterbug

I see one of these birds at my bird feeder every morning. Every time I try to take its picture it flies away. It made me think of this bird from last year. The ground was littered with flowers, as if a big wind had blown them all down. It wasn't a big wind. It was a little bird. This little bird and its partner would grab a bloom and drop it to the ground. I guess there was something tasty in all of those blossoms. I was lucking enough to catch the bird in the act here.

Majestic Blue Heron

I like to go to the Burlington-Mackintosh park to take pictures. There is a nice lake and lot's of wildlife. One of my favorite subject is the Blue Heron that lives there. I hadn't seen him this year but happened to see him flying on the other side of the lake. Since I had my 100-300 lens, I was able to snap a couple of quick photo's. I can't wait to get some more pictures of him. I wish these were tack sharp, but I just caught a quick glimpse of him. Here are three of those pictures.

Make Beautiful Pictures

I had an instructor tell me once to "Go out and make beautiful pictures". I'm pretty sure he was talking about people pictures but I love nature and wildlife photography. So I try to see the beauty in this world and take pictures of that beauty. Once again, I was fortunate enough to go to my neighbor's flower garden and enjoy her bounty. Here is an Asiatic Lily that has started blooming.

Those Brazen Squirrels

I've got a couple of squirrels who manage to chow down on my bird seed even though the feeder is "squirrel proof". I wasn't sure how they were getting up to it. Now I know that they are scrambling up the pole and around the hook and down to the feeder. They have got so brazen that they don't even jump down when I open the screen to take pictures through the window. The squirrel here seems to say, here is my best side, photograph away. I heard some chattering and hissing and looked and two of them were on the feeder fighting over it. I just wasn't fast enough with the camera and the smaller one jumped down. Here are a couple.

The Dragon that Flies

I finally did get a dragonfly picture. I've never seen one like this before. I've seen green ones and blue ones by the water but this guy was hanging out on some rocks closer to the woods. He was kinda cool looking.

A Gourd of Course

I enjoyed a day at the park before the rain moved in. Tried to get some good dragonfly pictures but there weren't that many out. I happened to look up and see these birds (Purple Martins?) busily flying out to get food and then back to go into the nest. This one was just about to climb inside.

This is the Passionflower

I found out that the previous flower that I featured the other day was in fact a flower from a Tulip Poplar tree. This is what a passionflower looks like. I think it resembles some spaceshipping alien thing but it is pretty. I took this picture on a cloudy overcast day. It is from the green thumb of my neighbor.

Swan Lake

So there is a big pond, a  lake over at one of the local universities. Anyone can come and watch the ducks and the geese and a pair of swans. Apparently they get fed by the visitors because when I walked close to shore to take pictures, the swans swam right up to me. Once they realized I didn't have any food, they swam away but I was able to get a couple of good pictures. Here is one of them.

My Photography at Zazzle and Wallhogs

I really want to get the word out that some of my photography is on Zazzle.com and Wallhogs.com. I would love for you to check it out and think about purchasing from either of these when you need a gift. They handle the billing and mailing and I get a percentage of the sales. Check it out. http://www.zazzle.com/daylily_dreams_photo and http://www.wallhogs.com/in_stock/category/228?page=4. On Wallhogs the link will take you to page 4 of my photographer's gallery, so check out pages 1, 2, 3. The newest photos are on page 3 & 4.  I hope you will go check out these sites.

So what kind of flower is it anyway?

I'm walking my dog and I look down and see this flower laying on the ground. It looks like it might be a passionflower that got knocked off of my neighbor's plant during the winds of a storm that passed through. Naturally I picked it up and took it home to photograph. It was going to die anyway so I might as well preserve it before it wilts. Here is one of the pictures that I took. If anyone knows what it is, please comment below and let me know!

Super Moon

It was cloudy last night so I missed the supermoon, where the moon is at the perigee, or closest part of its orbit around the earth. It also was a full moon, hence, supermoon. I did get some nice pictures last time around and I'm going to post one of those today.

The Bees Have It

Decided to go out and photograph the bumblebee that was buzzing around a tree out in the front yard. I'm sure they can sting but the bumblebees seem pretty docile and don't mind me getting a litttle close. I just followed the bee around as it did it's thing. This is one of the images that I cropped and saved. I shot it at F-4, 1/500th of a second at 105mm using my 24-105L lens on a Canon T1I a DSLR that is my little carry around.

I love Spring!

I love Spring. There are so many beautiful things to photograph. The flowers are out, the birds are building and sitting on nests. Those cold drab days are for the most part gone. (Of course I remember April snows). The weather just invites me to come outside and enjoy all the beauty that God has put on this earth. Let's be good stewards of the planet. Here is a picture of my neighbor's Iris. She has the absolute best green thumb and is gracious enough to let me come take pictures.