HeatWave

Images from the ongoing Heatwave.

Steamy Dawn

Field of Flowers

Deer Family; Beating the Heat

Spring has Sprung

Just a week ago brown and gray were the predominate colors across the southern Pennsylvania landscape.  But the sustained unseasonably warm temperatures has hurried the season along.  Now the countryside looks like it normally does in mid to late April!

I focused my attention on wild turkeys the past two mornings.  This hen was my only reward with the gobblers staying hidden behind a screen of brush.

Spending mid-day Friday on a local lake I found that the species of waterfowl that I expected at this time of year were present.  My waterfowl sightings included lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, pied-billed grebe, mallard, wood duck, and horned grebe.  However the 80 degree temp's are far from the norm.  Here a horned grebe takes off when my boat drew too near for its comfort.

I was experimenting with handling the 600mm lens on board the boat during this outing.  Its sheer size and weight precludes hand-holding it for any period of time.  For these shots I was using a folded tripod as a monopod.  The pod made it easy to support the lens but the boat movement made focusing and shooting extremely difficult.  Even though the water was fairly calm the rocking of the waves played havoc with getting good shots.  I did find that keeping the boat under power smoothed out the motion somewhat.  Here two male and a female lesser scaup takes flight. 

A flock of forty or so ring-necked ducks were also present.  These migrants as well as other divers always stop in for the spring perch spawn.  I have seen no indication that the perch spawn has started but with the warm temps I expect it to begin any day.

Trees of all types are bursting into bloom.  These dogwood flowers are two to three weeks early.  Friday evening found me mowing the lawn; the first I have ever needed to mow in March!

Summer: Fawns & Flowers

At a time when landscapes shimmer under the afternoon heat, early morning is the best time to see natures beauty unfold.  Black-eyed Susan's brighten our landscape most anywhere that has escaped the blade of the mower.

Wild Morning Glories dot overgrown fields and roadsides.  The blooms are short lived, closing their fragile petals soon after sunrise.

A close-up of the Morning Glory reveals dew drops glistening like jewels in the diffused sunlight shining through the silken bloom.

Whitetail fawns are also very active during the cool of the morning.  Exploring their new world and cavorting about, must at times, take second place to a refueling stop.

Appearing almost as Siamese twins, a pair of fawns graze while the grass remains wet with dew.

I appreciate everyone's comments and well wishes concerning my illness.  I have had a nearly complete recovery since my body temperature returned to normal.  The rash is nearly gone but I tire more easily than before.  I am awaiting to hear the outcome of lab test and then expect to consult with my doctor concerning whether more treatment is required. 

Country Roads

Unmowed roadsides are an excellent place to photograph wildflowers as the shots posted here can attest

Mid-summer's wildflowers, while mostly known as weeds, are just as beautiful as their spring blooming cousins that draw so many peoples attention.

Shooting roadside flowers is best done along backcountry roads with very little traffic for two reasons, safety and for lack of wind from passing vehicles setting the flowers to swaying. 

If it seems that I have been missing from the blog quite a while as my wife would say, there is a reason for that.  Sunday evening I felt very tired.  I blamed it on having worked 36 of the past 60 hours but after a nights rest and feeling even worse I came to realize that something else was at play.  Some type of viral infection has set in and my temp hovered between 102-103f for the next three days finally breaking early this morning.  To make matters worse this had to occur during the still ongoing heatwave.

Before the sun rose this morning I felt good enough to take a short drive along a couple of our back country roads and was treated to the surprise sighting of a bear with three small cubs.  The bears didn't linger and were out of sight before I could stop the car.  Just seeing them for a moment made it a very special morning, the first morning since Sunday that I felt up to driving and then to see a sow with triplets!  Now THAT is a special day!

A Moment for Flowers

What says Spring more than a the gorgeous bloom of the Flowering Quince

Arriving home this evening I was determined to make the best of the rare warm sunshine and get some spring cleanup done around our home.  As I graded our gravel driveway I noticed my wife shooting pictures of the project with her little Panasonic Lumix.  When I shut the tractor off to chat with her I noticed that our flowering quince has burst into full bloom today.  Of course I could have went to the house to retrieve a DSLR but with her little point & shoot so handy I set it on macro zoom to capture my first blossom of the year. 

Recently I have been in a photographic dry spell.  My schedule and the weather simply has not been cooperating.  With a number of fix-up projects underway, an excellent fishing season, and a full time job my photography and blogging has been taking a back seat.

This evening, after finishing a phase of a fix-up project on my bass boat, I ask my wife if she would like to take a walk.  Grabbing the camera I was determined to photograph something to post!  Our first stop as at a yucca whose blooms are just past their prime.  The late evening sunlight cast a warm glow across the creamy white flowers.

A bush growing along the road offered up its translucent red berries which glowed beautifully in the warm back light.

Hopefully the weather and the ducks will cooperate that I will be able to get an update on the ducklings soon.

Spring Lilacs

Lilac in Bloom

Many newer homes as well as most old ones have a Lilac bush growing among their landscaping plants. The first shot is of the bush growing along my driveway with the second shot taken at our next door neighbor’s home.


Speaking with our neighbor I learned that this bush was planted by his wife’s grandmother who had passed away nearly eighty years ago. I don’t know what the lifespan of these fragrant flowering bushes is but I do know that I look forward each spring to enjoying their beauty while inhaling their sweet scent that permeates the air.

Wild Bouquet

Autumn treats us to some of the most delicious colors of the year. Colorful foliage combined with the last of the season’s flowers closes out the growing season in a blaze of glory. I found myself drawn to the arrangement of this natural bouquet with the goldenrod and the dark forest providing the backdrop for the colorful wild asters.

This image was taken at the Mosquito Creek Watershed Restoration Project while visiting the Pennsylvania elk range.

Elk Trip: The Conclusion

The Elk featured in the previous series were the only elk we managed to locate on this trip.

Within perhaps fifteen minutes of first locating the elk they moved into the surrounding timber. We continued to drive about the area with no success and would occasionally check back on this spot.

After a couple of hours the sun broke through the clouds illuminating the goldenrod pictured here. After stopping at the Benezette Store restaurant we made an uneventful journey home.

This short trip was a teaser, soon I will be returning to Pennsylvania’s north woods to seriously photograph the Elk Rut.

Missing out on Summer

Recently I feel that my busy schedule has been forcing me to miss out on the rapidly passing summer.

I photographed these dew laden wildflowers back on July 18th on one of the last morning I have been able to spend in the outdoors. Wildflowers are always pretty and they are at their very best when covered with the heavy morning dew.

Hopefully things will be back to normal by the upcoming weekend and I can once again spend some quality time photographing nature. Thanks again for all of your comments. I’ll be trying to return to visiting your blogs soon.

This image was captured with the 100-400mm L and a 25mm extension tube.

Yellow Swallow-tail on Thistle

Hopefully the Butterfly photography will improve as the summer progresses but for now the populations seem to be below normal. If I were to guess the cause I would suspect the cool wet spring. Our temperatures have averaged below normal with rainfall above average until July ushered in a drying spell.

Farmers may hate thistles but make no mistake Butterflies love them. When looking for butterflies images one will never go wrong wondering about in a patch of thistle. Contact with the sharp needles can be uncomfortable but the beautiful blossoms combined with the brilliant colors of butterflies is a combination hard to beat.

These images were captured with a 100-400mm Canon lens & 25mm Kenko extension tube. I have found this to be a useful combination as the 400mm allows one to maintain a comfortable distance that does not alarm the butterflies while still capturing a suitably large image. A tripod is a necessity with this combination as it is virtually impossible to maintain focus otherwise because of the extremely shallow depth of field.

Honeysuckle Memories

Honeysuckle

Back in the years of my childhood honeysuckle grew rampant in the fence rows. The lovely trumpet shaped flowers each contain a sweet edible droplet of nectar. I don’t remember who taught me the trick of picking the blooms and plucking the end off to lick the tasty droplet but I do well remember the taste of the honeysuckle on those long ago summer days of my childhood.

After making this image I again relived this old childhood memory by plucking a few of the blooms and tasting them again.

The honeysuckle is still as sweet as I remembered it.

Lilac Visitor

As the Lilacs bloom each spring colorful visitors are drawn to the fragrant blossoms


The 100-400mm lens allowed me to shoot while not invading the butterflies comfort zone

Spring Blooms

Colt’s Foot is now blooming every sunny day in my area. It is usually found along roadsides where open ground is shaded by deciduous trees during the summer months keeping competing plants and grasses at bay.
Colt’s Foot flowers close at night and during periods of cloudy weather. They only open during times of sunshine

The blooms on this ornamental shrub in my lawn only needs a few more warm days before they open completely. From the looks of the long range weather forecast it may have some time to wait.

Goldenrod & Skipper

Two weekends ago Snakeroot was the wildflower of choice for our local insects. Now nearly all of the attention is riveted upon the prolific Goldenrod.

Sunday afternoon found me spending a couple of hours photographing wildflowers and insects in an overgrown meadow. This tiny little skipper is my favorite shot from that session.

Simple Beauty

A Butterfly and a Thistle flower, Simply Beautiful

Self Admonition:
Never become so busy with the seemingly important things in life that you cannot find time to admire the simple beauty of a Butterfly or a Thistle bloom.

Awaiting the Storm

A Sunflower glows as the dark storm clouds crush down upon it.


For more Sky Watch and to join in on the fun, visit Tom and the Team at the New Sky Watch

Popping White Dutch Clover

This image started with a macro of a White Dutch Clover bloom in my lawn. With Photoshop I increased the contrast and then brought the black level up until the background changed to mostly black effectively removing distractions. Lastly I applied a touch of unsharp mask to sharpen the edges.

My goal usually is to create an image as close as possible to how I experienced the original scene, but in this case I took the liberty to become somewhat more creative.

Personally I like the results.

What do you think? Be honest, I promise not to be offended if you don’t care for it.

White Dutch Clover, once common in lawns is now considered a weed by many. I encourage the clover in my lawn. White Dutch Clover fixes nitrogen eliminating the need for heavy fertilizer applications, it attracts and feeds bees, rabbits etc, it is also drought resistant and low growing not requiring frequent mowing. Attracting wildlife is reason enough for me to grow it, the other benefits are all bonus.

Tiny Snail

While composing photos of the lilies I was pleasantly surprised to find this tiny snail attached to the underside of one of the blossoms.

A macro shot reveals the beautiful intricate patterns that make up its shell.

For more Camera Critters and to join in on all the fun, visit our good friend and host Misty

With Trumpets Lifted Up

When viewed from slightly below the Lilies remind me of a band of trumpeters with horns raised.

Large patches of these hardy wild lilies are blooming abundantly along our rural roadsides.

Their early shoots are one of the first signs of spring to appear promising an end to the seemingly long winter. Now in early summer they are providing a welcome burst of vibrant color along our travel routes.