backyard visitors, birds, friends, moments, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip

Helping hands…

This little hummingbird was flinging herself against the window in my friend’s barn yesterday afternoon, in a frantic attempt to escape what he thought was captivity.  In reality I’d seen the two hummingbirds zoom through the barn and out the other side earlier in the day.  When she told me she was going to have to catch her I imagined a butterfly net and all out pandemonium, and hoped they’d both survive.  The reality was that she was able to catch her bare-handed in the  corner of the window.  She said that even as she fluttered with all her might she still felt so delicate and she was afraid she’d hurt her.  This wasn’t the first time she had had to perform that same task, and this whole episode took just a minute.  The bird stayed still for a few seconds when she opened her hands, long enough for me to get this picture.  Actually a whole lot of this same picture, and then my friend took a few more steps to the big open doorway of the barn and off she flew, none the worse for the whole experience.

And, as usual, there were a few more creatures on hand for the excitement…05-30-19bee05-30-19bee205-30-19birdie105-30-19birdie205-30-19blackcappedfeature05-30-19hummer1I asked Merlin to be sure, but of course the male Ruby-breasted Hummingbird seemed pretty obvious, and I had made assumptions that the other was the female, and I was correct.  And our other visitor yesterday was a White-breasted Nuthatch.

 

a second look, backyard visitors, birds, friends, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, technology

“Up your ISO”

This phrase has become a joke within my camera club, FCCP, Florida Center for Creative Photography.  It’s a favorite saying of our fearless leader, Jeff, and I took it to heart yesterday.  It was cold and overcast and I wanted to wrap up in a blanket and read, but every time I went into the kitchen to get a cup of tea I would see not one, but two, hummingbirds buzzing around the feeder.  So eventually I put the biggest lens onto the new camera, plus I used the extender, and I upped my ISO to 12800 and attempted to get pictures of them in flight.  The extender requires you to use manual focus though, and I probably would have done better without it.  I suppose that’s why we practice.  And the ISO could have gone higher even, so I’ll probably be out there later today.  It might even hit 70 today.  That would make this Floridian happy!05-29-2019flying205-29-2019flying305-29-2019flying34

'scene' along the way, adventure, backyard visitors, birds, fun, gardens, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunset

It’s my blog-iversary, again!

WordPress congratulated me this morning because I signed on two years ago today.  I remember looking forward to my one year anniversary last year, but this year I don’t know when it was going to cross my mind.  Of course I have been a little distracted for a while now.  And who could concentrate around here?  If you stand at the kitchen window you see this…05-27-19grosbeak05-28-19almostflyingPlay cribbage on the porch and you not only see the lovely azaleas, but this buzzy little fellow makes you chase him around for a photo.  Or is it a her?05-28-19bee2

If you are lucky as you turn a corner you might spot a bear or two.05-24-19babybear05-24-19bears

Or you might be driving home towards the end of the day and spot some sunset color, and then find that it didn’t add up to much in your photos.05-25sunset205-25sunsetBut that’s okay because Naughty Nellie’s is on the way home, or worth a stop even if it isn’t exactly on the way home.05-25-19naughtynellie'sI don’t care what flavor you may choose, if you have it served up to you in a homemade waffle cone it will be delicious!

'scene' along the way, a second look, food, friends, fun, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel

A walk in the park…

Something about our inability to take a nice picture of the state house in Concord the other day had us back there yesterday.  Early, not sunrise early, but early enough that the golden dome was in the sunlight rather than shadow.  And on a holiday when there wouldn’t be parked cars and lots of people annoying you by just going about their business.  Of course festivities were planned for the day so we moved on to a couple of local parks to walk and see what we could see.  I think it all was just an excuse to go out for a huge breakfast at the Newel Post.  It was great, but it put me in a stupor for the rest of the day.  Note to self; more walking, less eating…05-27-19Statehouse05-27-19bicentennial05-27-19red-wing205-27-19whiteflowers05-27-19starflower05-27-19spider05-27-19whitepark

backyard visitors, birds, gardens, moments, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel

Sometimes…

…the stars align and you are able to have an absolutely perfect day.  A lazy day to sit on the porch and perfect your cribbage skills, and listen to the cardinals calling to each other.  And enjoy the view of the flowers in the sunshine, and the buzz of the bumble bees.  And perhaps you might get out the tripod you’ve been lugging around for a month, and put your biggest lens on the camera in an attempt to get a photo of a hummingbird, and they show up.  First the chipmunks helpfully pose so you can get your camera ready, and then right on cue those little hummingbirds appear.  It didn’t take an hour for them to find the feeder after it went out for the first time this year.  Could we have done without the mosquitos and black flies?  Well, yes.  But that’s a small price to pay for such a nice day…05-26-19chippie05-26-19hummer105-26-19hummer305-26-19chipmunkfeature05-26-19sparrow05-26-19hummer4

'scene' along the way, friends, fun, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip, weather

Chasing the sunshine…

Glimpses of blue sky got me out for photos yesterday.  And when the sun stuck around  it was really pretty.  Not a bad day really.  I love this scenery, not to mention this relaxed (for me) visit with my oldest, dearest friend.  For her there are two high school graduations, the final push to get all the last minute things done at work/school, and a looming retirement, all happening in the next couple of weeks.  The anticipation of losing the routine of work has her talking to herself.  I hope she likes it as much as I do…05-25bluecanoe05-25church05-25grange05-25highland205-25highland505-25highland3Do you see the little airplane weather vane in the center right of this picture.  I’ve tried to take a picture of it before because it made me smile.  This time the wind direction cooperated, and the nice zoom on the new lens did the trick.05-25airplane