Hoot H-Hoo Hoo!

Turns out I have a Great Horned Owl at my house.  Good thing my cats are indoor-only...He doesn't miss a thing.

Rain Drop

The rain drop reflects the Dahlia's leaf. That storm was good for something...

The Princess (and the Prince) and the Pea

Who says you can't have it all?

Rose Art

The thing about gardens is they are living, breathing, 3D art.

You have to appreciate them in the moment...

Tomorrow their beauty will be very different but equally stunning.

Many thanks to Lisa, who invited me in to photograph her art. It was blooming beautiful in every direction and every day!!

Aliens...

This flower looks like it comes from another planet, especially in the early morning light, until it transforms itself. Guess what it becomes...

A Secret Garden

If you are ever invited to visit someone's secret garden, go.

But don't tell anyone.  Part of the magic is that it is secret.

 

 

 

From the quiet puddle of water in the bird bath...

to the cascading waterfall of hydrangea flowers...

to the more minute details...spend some time.  You will love it!

Rain Drop Reflections

My Endless Summer hydrangea are jurassic!!  Even the leaves are spectacular.  All of the rain is doing a world of good.  Look closely at the larger raindrops.  Do you see the reflection of the sky framed by the treetops?  Do you see the bird?

Good Bones

This Queen Elizabeth rose has "good bones"...so good that she is beautiful even in middle age.  Don't you think?

Cozy

Formal portraits are fine, but isn't it more fun to get cozy...

giggle...

squeeze...

...and snuggle?

The Nymph

I just returned from a Kevin Kubota photography workshop in Oregon.  It was fabulously fun...and loaded with helpful information.  There was a beautiful nymph in the woods, and the light was magical...I couldn't stop shooting...

Blossoming

FINALLY!!  A quick trip to Winterthur for a glimpse of spring!!

People

Check out the People Gallery.  You might find yourself.  You won't know until you look...

Pop...Pop, Pop...Pop!!

Finally, my crocuses are popping up!!  Talk about a miracle...The winter that never quit just did!!  Now go out and look for ANY evidence of spring.  It has got to be there, somewhere...dig if you have to.

The ExTerminator

I'll be bark...with the bugs.

Blue Eyes Like No Other's

Now HE has blue eyes!  If the wrinkles around my eyes could look this good!  He is a Bali Mynah, a kind of starling, and is critically endangered...a really rare bird, so to speak.  Not only is he endangered because of human encroachment on his habitat but because of poaching.  Now I ask you, who could poach this creature?

A Daffodil

I wish I could say that I shot this yesterday, but there is still a lot of snow on the ground.  Not even a crocus is in sight.  In honor of St Patty's Day, I had to turn to my archives from a year ago for a sense of spring.  When I photographed this, I was trying to capture the feeling of those wonderful leaves that spill out of the ground and surround a daffodil as if to help prop it up.  I used my wide angle lens to emphasize the leaves expanding out of the ground.  Spring is coming...at least that's the plan.  Have you seen any signs that the end of winter is near?

Do what you love this weekend

Look what I found?  A nice leaf pod thingy...Wanna watch me play drop and catch?

Okay, well I drop it...

Then I jam on the brakes, focus really hard on it and dive, dive, dive...

Then I grab it!  And do it again and again!  Sometimes I do this all afternoon.  What are you going to do this weekend? 
I hope you find a nice leaf pod thingy...

Tower of Light

I went to the New York Botanical Garden for the Orchid show.  The orchids were amazing, of course.  What is not to like?  After the winter we have had, It was worth the trip just to be in a warm tropical place bursting with color and the smell of fragrant flowers and earth. Total sensory overload in a really good way.  At first glance these Giant Bromeliads seem to be just background material for the real show of the flowers.  But look at this--it is literally glowing with light!

Pride and Feathers

This Great Blue Heron is sporting some very fine feathers!  Check out his "comb-over"!

Tulipia Pastia

I am going to the Philadelphia Flower show.  I know there will be an abundance of beautiful flowers.  It's a pity I won't see any of these...

Your Eyes Had Me at "Hello"

Your "red" eyes...They are actually more raspberry than red.

And they go beautifully with those purple plumes. 

You are even more stunning close-up.  I had never seen a Tricolored Heron before, but you were worth the wait. 

Finding Color After the Blizzard

I went to Bailey Arboretum after the Blizzard while the world was very quiet, very peaceful, and very white. Had to find some color...Only took one lens, unfortunately. I could have used my macro and my new supersonic zoom...

I spent time shooting the trees and benches all covered in snow just because...and then saw these bushes.  I love the color combination of chocolate brown and cherry red.

After flailing around in the snow for this shot, I started heading toward the frozen pond and was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful, chubby owl. He was flying across the path in front of me toward a branch in a far tree. Just had to stand there and enjoy him or her. He was too far for my lens, and I didn't want to startle him. He was definitely a bit twitchy that I was there. I had heard hooting while I was shooting earlier, but didn't think anything of it as I have NEVER actually seen an owl there despite my best efforts. He finally flew away, and I continued to walk toward the pond entirely frustrated that I didn't have my zoom. 

And then I saw Lady Cardinal and although she was too far, too, I knew she would be a little more tolerant of my presence. I had to crop way in to show this, but she is a tiny glimmer of wonderful color. She was staring straight at me from her branch-framed perch. She may be small, but she has a mighty presence. Don't you think?

New Year, New Lens

I finally received my new 100-400mm lens. It has been a two-year wait for this thing. During that time, there were lots of different rumors about when Canon might release it. It was worth the wait...but maybe I need some curtains in the den. Apparently we are just as interesting to the creatures outside as they are to us.

This little female Dark-eyed Junco was torturing the cats, Trixie in particular. Trixie tried to get at the bird by standing up on her hind feet and pawing rapidly at the floor-to-ceiling window while making some weird clucking sound. The bird was hardly fazed and kept staring.

And then I looked up and saw this squirrel enjoying some bird food.

Even in the middle of a meal in the first snow storm, no one can keep their eyes off us. He was probably watching Trixie go crazy in the window...

And then the snow subsided, but apparently the show wasn't over, at least for this female cardinal. She was sitting on a branch near her all-red "boyfriend". I was so focused on him that I didn't even see her until I saw the image on the screen. She is really a beautiful girlie and from now on, I will look for her near him.

Wishing you a happy new year and a new lens to look through in 2015!