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Ruby Tuesday — Hummers

29 August 2011, 8:25 am

You’re going to have to look hard for the color red in this post.

I was watching this hummingbird through the lens of my camera.  The sun was low, and I was hoping he would turn just right so those dark-looking feathers on his throat would light up like Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

Another male comes charging in…

I apologize for the blurriness, but I wasn’t counting on so much action going on!  There have been two males and at least one female battling for dominance of this crab tree.  By the way, I was shooting in burst mode and there was well under a second between the two shots.

~Sue

Filed under Ruby Tuesdays.
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Wordless Wednesday

23 August 2011, 4:58 pm

–Sue

Filed under Photo Posts.
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The Hummers Are Back!

19 August 2011, 12:13 am

It sure would be fun if they could tell me all the places they’ve been!  We’ve had at least three of them hanging around the crab tree.  Well, actually the one male is very territorial and guards the feeder.

It was pretty close to sunset and there wasn’t enough light to get a really good picture, but I like how his ruby-red throat glistens in the direct sunlight.

Gee, it’s fun to have them back!

–Sue

Good News:  I got a Grandmother’s Flower Garden block almost completed tonight while watching totally stupid TV.

Bad News:  I think I’m allergic to chocolate!!!  That’s so depressing, it makes me want a piece of … apple?  Oh, this is going to be tough.

Filed under Out My Window.
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Widow Skimmer

5 August 2011, 11:24 am

I remember in my working days, by Friday I was really “dragon”…okay, pretty lame.  I was struggling for a tie-in to show you a dragonfly picture.  On a Friday.  Maybe it’s Dragon Flyday.

From what I can tell, this is a female widow skimmer.  They are large dragonflies and pretty common.

House stuff is consuming me.  Furniture delivered.  Walls painted.  Everything  back in place.  No drapes; shopping for fabric.  (JoAnn’s has 60% off decorator fabrics today through Sunday.)  Everything is taking much longer than expected.  Why should I be surprised?

Hope you’re not dragon too much today!

–Sue

Filed under Photo Posts.
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Photo Friday

8 July 2011, 7:30 am

The wildflower area behind us is teeming with all sorts of insects.  A sampling, because I know you’re just dying to see what’s crawling around in the weeds this week.  First, a damselfly:

And a dragonfly:

I’m pretty sure this is some kind of bee.  The little flower it’s on is probably less than an inch across:

This is something else that looks like a bee, but it is so much smaller.  It might be one of those flies that mimics bees.  It seems strange to say this, but sometimes I wish I knew more about bugs!

Finally, a picture of some butterfly weed, being pollinated:

–Sue

Filed under Photo Fridays.
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Sunset

7 July 2011, 7:30 am

Last week we had a very hot day, followed by some very menacing clouds and some rain.  After that front passed through, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

A tip when photographing sunsets.  I’m sure my camera probably has a sunset setting in one of its menus, but I didn’t want to take time to hunt around.  I took several shots of the sunset using different camera settings that were easy to adjust.  I used an automatic mode, an “intelligent” mode, and a mode that’s supposed to get truer colors.  I got dramatically different photos from the three settings, but I loved the rich color I got in this picture.

Moral of the Story:  It pays to play around with your camera’s settings if your first results are disappointing.

–Sue

Filed under Out My Window.
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Telephoto Tuesday

31 May 2011, 10:22 am

Puppy in the Clouds

–Sue

Filed under Telephoto Tuesday.
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Telephoto Tuesday

24 May 2011, 10:54 am

Here is Dancing With The Stars, my style.  I usually catch the dancing segment on Monday nights.  One thing I like about DWTS is you don’t have to be glued to the TV set; just pay enough attention to catch the star dances.

I watch by my kitchen window, and I started watching at 7:15 (missing the first 15 minutes).  Then things got shakin’.

7:20  Dancing the Argentine Tango was a Cardinal and a Cow bird:

The costuming was magnificent:

They finally agreed to stay on opposite sides of the dance floor:

7:43  Dancing the Viennese Waltz was a beautiful Monarch butterfly:

7:45  The action was hot and heavy from this point on.  Dancing the Salsa (hey, they’re both red) was a male House Finch:

7:46  Dancing the Quick Step to The Flight of the Bumblebee was, well, a Bumblebee:

7:49  Dancing the Paso Doble was a wasp:

At this point, the TV show was officially over, but one more dancer showed up a little late.

8:09  Dancing the Cha-Cha is a Downey Woodpecker:

More DWTS tonight.  Hope the lighting is good again in my crab apple tree!

–Sue

 

Filed under Out My Window, Photo Posts.
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Telephoto Tuesday

17 May 2011, 9:24 am

(or…any excuse to post bird pictures!)  Our skittish cardinal has been a regular at the feeder.  He just doesn’t hang around very long:

Jim made this board with partially drilled out areas to load with Bark Butter (a product that’s part peanut butter / part suet).  The squirrel LOVED it!  Since the association “took care of” the squirrel (he was naughty — chewed his way into the neighbor’s eaves), this downy woodpecker actually has a chance of getting some.  I like this picture that shows that great foot-hold.

And a cute little goldfinch.  They have become much more plentiful at the feeders.

Yes, spring has finally arrived in Minnesota.  Our crab blossoms have started to open.  The tree should be gorgeous in another couple of days.


That’s it for today.  Hope you have a great Tuesday, and some springtime sneaks into your life today.

–Sue

p.s.  Book Club today.  I finished The Three Weissmanns of Westport, and should have a new selection posted in the upper right-hand corner soon in case you’d like to read along!

Filed under Out My Window, Telephoto Tuesday.
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Telephoto Tuesday

3 May 2011, 10:01 pm

It’s always fun to see a bird I don’t recognize.  We’ve been enjoying the company of white-throated sparrows the last few days.  Apparently they are migrating to their summer homes further north.

White-Throated Sparrow

I love these birds because they clean up a lot of the seed spilled to the ground by the bigger birds.  Everybody loves somebody that cleans up after themselves — and even better, when they clean up after other people!

We’re also seeing some Goldfinches drop by, but the bigger birds (blackbirds and cowbirds) are kind of intimidating.

Goldfinch

The House Finches are so pretty..

House Finch

And we also had a female Cardinal come dine.

Cardinal, Female

–Sue

Filed under Out My Window, Telephoto Tuesday.
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