Visitor

There was a young dove that let me enjoy its company today, while I was carving out my place in the paper caves.

It looked me over a few times to be sure that I was not going to do anything harmful.

 Then it walked over to the other side of the railing on the deck, made itself comfy on the corner and went to sleep.

We spent over an hour together, in peaceful meditation.

Silhouette Hummings

Just a touch of colour from the tail of these sweet, little birds and the silhouette becomes a bit more than it was before. I wasn't sure I was going to get anything out of these, it was so close to nightfall, and the flash annoys these little birds, so I took em by hand, sans the tripod (I'm bad about that), and here's what I ended up with. I like the silhouetted image, and the curve of the wings, and branch. How about you?

Click to see a larger image

Click to see a larger image

Click to see a larger image

Click to see a larger image

Dragon Flies

There is a shift that takes place when viewing the world on macro. Where we once were giants, we become part of a much more intricate world than we were before zooming in. 

Hot Fun in the Hummer Time

He almost looks like a little statue on top of this branch as he braced himself with his wings, while the wind blew through the branches.

These little birds really like the delphinium. This one fought off 3 other hummingbirds while I was watching them, just to keep the claim made on this bundle of blue.

Perched atop the lilac tree on a very small branch. He fluffed up his feathers because the wind was blowing enough to sway that branch back and forth.

This last one makes me laugh. He was so enthusiastic about getting that nectar out, that he stuck his whole head in sideways to reach the sweet spot in the flower. I'm pretty amazed that I caught it.

Puddles of Sunshine

When the red hot poker blooms it does so with a bright yellow that seems to capture the sunshine inside of it. The small tubular petals climb to the top changing from yellow to bright orange. It's a favorite of the hummingbirds.

Humming Right Along

Those of you who know me, know that I spend my spare time stalking my backyard for hummingbird photos. While I have feeders up to keep them happy, and encourage their return, I prefer to get shots of them in their own natural habitat (sans the feeders).

While I was out today, I noticed one that looked very different from those that I have seen in years past. It did not have the metallic green back that many of our backyard hummers have, but rather it was rusty coloured

. The markings were much darker, and the eyes much bigger than the greenback hummers. I was very patient waiting for him/her to get comfy with my presence, and then I saw his treasure!

I have not looked this one up yet, so if you know for sure what type of hummingbird it is, please let me know. If I figure it out first I will come back and let you know :-)

Flowers in the Yard

An Oriental Poppy looks like crumpled tissue paper before it blooms.

An Iris that has just a touch of purple, and silver...

it's a bit easier to see when you get closer.

Painted Daisies add a splash of vibrant colour.

In two shades of pinks.

Grandmother Columbine

These flowers are all in our backyard. The Iris' are just now beginning to bloom. As the colours unfold I will post more of the variations. If you click on any of the images it will open a larger version for you to look at. The white Iris above, is a good one to do that with, the nuances of silver dust are hard to see otherwise.

Peterson's Rock Garden

There is a wonderful place that sits on four acres of land called Peterson's Rock Garden. The man responsible for building the wonderful replicas out of stone, glass, shells, and obsidian is no longer living. Rasmus Peterson was born in Denmark, and wanted to show his appreciation of his "new world," he spent the last 17 years of his life creating a miniature word out of small buildings. Here are some of the things we saw:

Sky Speak

Moody sky

Solar Eclipse

The sky was quickly changing tonight. I had forgotten that it was the night of the Solar Eclipse, until I took this picture and saw that the sun was partially cast out.







Clouds continued to play with the light and pictures were painted right before my eyes, here's a few for you to enjoy too.










These shots were taken within an hour of one another, in the order that they are displayed.











The light began to fade, into beautiful shades of blue. It was wonderful to watch.

A Walk In the Yard~

Spring brings with it some of my favorite dashes of colour...


This is one of our peony tulips, I love the full bodied blooms that they share with the yard.










This is a development that has transpired over the years. We planted red tulips, and yellow tulips, now we also have these beauties.










... a little closer :-)

Cat and Bird

When I got home yesterday, there were some visitors in the yard...


This cat belongs to a neighbor, and is a good hunter, as I have witnessed by the clusters of feathers he occasionally lays at the doorstep of my garden shed.








But what I saw was not the "Mighty Hunter" tossing feathers in the air...

It was this spunky little bird that was playing cat and mouse bird with the Mighty Hunter. He would stay close enough to keep the cats attention, and then when the cat got into pounce mode, this little Jay would hop a little closer.





I had a right mind to warn the poor little bird, but instead I went inside to get my camera. When I came back out Mighty Hunter was in stalk mode again.







He seemed to be pretty comfortable in between the grass and the sidewalk, while the little Jay picked up a friend.




Now they were both rushing up to the low laying hunter, and then hopping off again. I was afraid for the cat!







Eventually the cat tired of the chase, and sauntered off to his home again. The little birds followed him for awhile, and then took to the trees.