Buds, Blooms and Beasties

I rummaged around my hard drive today and worked on a few photos taken last spring. Thought I'd toss a few of 'em at the wall and see if any stick. Hope you enjoy.

Some birds have what I call a "cold eye." They look mean. In some instances, like chickens, I think it harkens back to their dinosaur/reptilian ancestry. In others, like hawks and other raptors, it indicates focus and ferocity.

The bright eye of the common Grackle looks cold to me - belying its behaviour which is generally peaceful and gregarious. In the photo below, the grackle appears almost as a silhouette. My intent in showing the pic wasn't to illustrate the cold-eyed aspect of the bird, however. Nope. It shows what happens when a beak full of sticky suet meets a couple of peanuts.

This is a seriously hungry/greedy grackle. I hope he didn't choke.

Although taken from quite a distance and consequently not at all sharp, I thought some of you might enjoy a couple of pictures of Night Herons. They are uncommon in my experience. I've only ever seen them in the large urban pond nearly Hilary's home. Although plunked in the middle of a large, metropolitan area, the pond is an oasis for wildlife. It's the only place where I've seen Green, Night and Great Blue Herons hunting and roosting - occasionally all three on the same day.

The first photo is of a juvenile Night Heron.

The next is of an adult.

Back to the cold-eye thing for a moment. Cardinals are not normally birds I would consider having that look. Then darned if I didn't take a shot of one glaring at me! You'd think a fine male cardinal, resplendent in red, would be above being ticked off by an avian paparazzi. But noooo....

I was fortunate one day to be in the backyard, camera in hand, when a pair of goldfinches and their fledgling came for some brunch. I hadn't seen a young finch before and was pleased to get a couple of decent pics.

"Mom said not to look down but I can't help it."

We'll take a break from critters now and switch to some artsy-fartsy, pretty shots of flowers and such.

Hands-down, my favourite veggie is fresh peas eaten straight from the pod. I was enjoying a few on the back deck one day as the sun was considering heading to bed. The soft light got me thinking - not enough to get into trouble, or develop a headache - just thought I'd put an empty pod on the railing and take a shot. The result put me in mind of a praying mantis. Sorta.

Maybe I DID think too much....

The next pic is of a flower bud. I like the bokeh (blurry background). I think it makes the shot.

Hilary had a beautiful Iris in her front yard last year. It presented some nice photo opportunities.

And a closer look at the blossom after a rain.

There's a walkout from my kitchen to the deck in the backyard. The outer door is old, wooden and warped. A few years ago, the doorknob broke. I bought a new knob assembly and promptly failed to install it. I forget whether it was because I broke something or did something wrong. In any event, I decided to, uh, temporarily stuff a dish cloth in the knob hole to keep out drafts. It worked well enough. It's still there. This is what it looks like from outside.

I'll wrap up this offering with a shot of Ben and a caption.

"Chewing the lawn?...Me?...Nope...nuh-uh."

That's all folks. See you next time.

More Of The Same - Only Different

                                                                                                  "Hmmm...don't think I'm quite wet enough."

                                                                                                                         "This oughtta' do it."

                                                                                                     "Ah,perfect...what are you lookin' at, Bub?"

Ever seen a juvenile cowbird? No? Never? Well, if you scroll down a smidge, you will.

Since I was a child, I was fascinated with the way ants tended to peony buds. They're attracted to a sweet resin put forth by the bud.

The posture and look of the cat below is that of a born hunter.

Below, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard pose nicely for an appreciative photographer.

I am always pleased to see young folks engaged in the fine art/science/pastime of fishing. I am especially pleased when the young folks are girls.

In the field near my house there are a couple of scrubby shrubs that only grow a foot or so above ground. They aren't much more than a scant hodgepodge of short twigs. But come summer, they produce lovely orange blossoms. Example below.

I'll wrap up this offering with a shot of a butterfly and some apple blossoms.

Thanks for taking the time to take a peek. Stay well.

Flora & Fauna

Anyone with a large-ish window with proximity to birds has heard the occasional "thump" as a feathered body collides with glass. It's a reasonably common occurrence at Chez Baron as my yard is very bird-friendly. (Bird-friendly = lots of trees, bushes, flowers, weeds and, oh yeah, feeders.)

Thankfully, most such collisions are benign, causing no hurt to birds or glass.

A few months ago, I heard several muffled little thumps in the span of a few seconds. This is what I saw:

Apparently, this chickadee was having serious issues with his reflection. The little rascal would buffet his "rival" once, twice, five times and then perch on a nearby limb and rest up until the next bout. The amusing sparring match carried on for several days. I'm thinking it stopped because emerging foliage altered the lighting. In the chickadee's mind, he probably figured he won.

The next shot also features a winner. Like the first, it's not going to win any photographic awards. The lighting was poor and the photographer not as ept as he could be. The robin doesn't care about any of that, though. He caught dinner.

Some of you will recall that herons, especially the Great Blue Heron, are very special to me. Every encounter with them over the years warms my heart. Getting a chance to take some pics during some of those meetings is a blessing. Actually getting a decent shot or two is thrilling.

It is a regal-looking bird don't you think? With the keen eye of the born hunter.

I love watching them take slow, careful steps as they prowl shorelines, often pausing for long seconds as they survey each square inch of surrounding water for an unwary victim. When they spot one, quick as a snake - they strike.

Mmmmm...sushi....

From one of the largest birds in this area to one of the smallest. The wee fellow below is a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. (Thanks for that research, Hil.) Which is a lot of name for a bird smaller than a Chickadee. Cute little guy, though.

Twigs, branches and their shadows are often a photographer's bane. They distort and obscure and can generally mess up a shot. (Especially for those of us without the software, or skills related to such software, for removing unwanted stuff from photos.)

In the next shot however, I was actually pleased with how the shadows of the twigs helped highlight aspects of the chickadee.

Time for some flora, I reckon. Lest my subject line prove to be a fib.

Bleeding Hearts is a sad name for a pretty flower.

I like the way the emerging leaves in the next pic blend with the background.

And we'll wrap up this offering with a shot of crab apple (I think) blossoms.

Thank you kindly for your time and attention. See you next time.

This, That & Some Others

Photos, that is. I'll caption the first three.

Sigh...so many seeds...so little time....

How much is that doggie in the window?

(Priceless)

"Have we met? You're kinda cute. What's your sign?"


The crocus below added a welcome bit of colour to Hilary's yard this past spring.

Son #1 found an unusual stick while on a walk. There was a dog stuck to it.

Young birds are adorable. And none moreso than Cardinals.

The lovely female mallard below seemed to be enjoying a beautiful day.

I enjoy shooting at night but am rarely pleased with the results. I liked this next one well enough, though.

Goldfinches are always welcome visitors to my feeders.

And I'll wrap up this lot with a pic of the poster child for Angels With Dirty Faces. (In this case, it's Lincoln, a neighbour of Hilary's.)

Adios for now. Thanks for your time.

More Stuff I Found In My Camera

Without further ado - a few more pics:

A Downy Woodpecker couple are regular visitors to the backyard. They are especially fond of suet. Below, the male indicates I am not fibbing.

I've taken dozens, perhaps hundreds of shots which show some aspect of a departing bird. They're always either out of focus or partly out of the frame, or in some way unusable. I delete 98% of them. But every once in a while, an otherwise-poor shot offers something positive. In the following pic, a departing chickadee's blur still manages to reveal something of their fluidity and grace.

The dessicated currants below are still an important mid-winter source of food to many birds.

I have no idea what the flower below is. But the photo works for me.

I like the colour of these berries and the way they seem to be hanging in space.

The cute fellow below lives in my backyard and has come to be known as Patio Bob. I don't think I'd be overly surprised if some day he tucks a Volkswagen into those cheek pouches.

The colours of the leaves below caught my fancy. Not as bold as many autumn colours but the longer I looked, the more I saw and appreciated.

The sparrow below enjoys a bit of a nosh and some late-afternoon sun.

A lone sentinel stands watch.

I think I'll close this day's offering by mooning y'all.

Hope you're having a good one, wherever you are. Thanks for taking a peek.