Ode to green

When I think of nature, of the world around me, I often think of green.  A simple color, found all around us.  Not flashy like orange or red, not cool like blue.  But red, orange and blue would not look nearly as vibrant without the soft green to set it apart.  Yes, green works very hard to make our world a more beautiful place.

Green comes in many shades, shapes and textures…

And green makes the perfect backdrop for these Spotted Jewelweed flowers

And the purple of the Astor perches perfectly on their green stems.

And what is better to hide the mysteries of the forest than a canopy of cool green.

I believe Kermit said it best….It’s not easy being green.

Morning in Michigan

I went with my family on another camping trip this past weekend.  As I usually do, I took a morning walk with my camera, through the campground and into the woods.  I love to see the world waking up.

Sunbeams streaming through the trees, showing the misty air.

Mist rising off the Rifle River.

Is it just me, or is this chipmunk following me around from campground to campground?  I swear I see him everytime.

Have you ever heard the expression “Chipmunk Cheeks”?  Now you know where it comes from.

 

The moon was setting this morning, but still clearly visible over the trees.

Monkey Business

Recently, I posted some pictures of dragonflies for my Sister in law.  After seeing them, her friend made a request of me – to get, in her words, some, eh hem “Badd ass picture of a monkey”.  Well, as you can imagine, this posed a bit of a problem.  Monkeys, you see, are rather scarce in Michigan.  Not one to shy away from a challenge, I set out, determined to find a monkey to photograph.  I scoured the jungles of Michigan, until I finally located my quarry – the elusive Michigan Monkey.  Capturing this little guy was more fun than a barrel of, well, you get the picture.

So Kristen, this chimps for you!

A Look Back at a Few Favorites

Thing have gotten pretty busy lately.  As I explained in my last post, I have been spending most of my photographic time lately working at a specific event, so I have not had time to go out on a “photo safari”.  Because I want to post regularly, I decided to re-post a few of my my favorite pictures from the past.  I guess you could call it a “Greatest Hits” post.  Grab the kids, gather round, and lets all take a look at…..

My Favorite Things

(Apologies to Julie Andrews and Oscar Hammerstein II)   

Songbirds and blackbirds, a family of loons,              Rabbits and squirrels and crafty raccoons,                    Small furry critters and creatures with wings,                These are a few of my favorite things.

A toad on his stool and green spotted frogs,                  Lacy-winged dragonflies, snakes under logs,                  Small creepy crawlies and insects with stings,                These are a few of my favorite things.

Glowing sunsets,                                                             Stately eagles,                                                                     And the moon above.   

I  pick up my camera and head out of doors,                      And capture the things I love.

 Thanks for stopping by.  I will get some new pictures up soon.  I promise.

2010 Bay Area Summer Music Festival

For the past week I have had the pleasure of taking pictures at the 2010 Bay Area Summer Music Festival.  This is a weeklong series of workshops, recitals, classes and concerts, for High School and College students, as well as adult musicians.  It is held in Essexville, Michigan.  Here are a just a few pictures of the event.

Please visit the Bay Area Summer Music Festival at their facebook page and their website, http://www.bayareasummermusic.com/.

(Click on the pictures for a larger view)

 

Some random thoughts

Ok, I know I have been delinquent in posting pictures.  I have been a bit busy and have not had time to go out on a real photo safari.  So I decided today to just take some random shots of whatever I see around me.  Nothing special about them,  they are just for fun.

That is one way to avoid the bills.

 

Yes, I took a picture of an anthill.

 

Some weeds, er, wildflowers.

 

Houseplant in silhouette.

 

The grow ‘em big up here in Michigan.

Eagles and Loons and Terns, Oh my!

Eagles

Several Bald Eagles have taken residence around our lake, including a couple of adults and two younger eagles.

One of the resident eagles, keeping watch from the oak tree in front of our cottage.

Soaring over the lake.

Perched in a tree across the lake.

Loons

Our lake is also home to a family of Loons. The two juveniles look almost like the parents by the time we get to the lake.

Loons in love.

Drying off the wings.

Coming in for a landing.

Capsian Tern

We were also lucky enough to see a Caspian Tern feeding on our lake.

Diving in for a fish dinner.

Who let the frogs out……

What would a set of vacation pictures be without some frogs.  And in this case, toads too.  Here a few shots of some hoppy little friends I made.

This post is dedicated to my friend Tess, who is strangely attracted to toads.  Hmmmmm, still looking for Prince Charming?

This is my son Alex, who took over the job of Frog Whisperer from his older brother this year.

More frogs…..

This little guy was up in the yard.  He was no more than an inch long.  Notice the drops of dew on the grass.  I have affectionately named him Microtoad.

I am sure you have heard of some mushrooms being referred to as toad stools.  Well, here is the reason why:

    

I hope you enjoyed our visit with my amphibious friends.  Come back soon, I still have to do the birds!!

Dragonflies, and other little things that crawl and fly

Spending a week at the cottage in Hale, MI, gives one plenty of opportunities to take pictures of insects and other small crawly things.  Now, I do not want to give the impression that the place is overrun with bugs, it is just….. well, ok, it is overrun.  But most are harmless, interesting, and some are downright beautiful.

I want to to dedicate this post to my Sister-in-law, who loves dragonflies.  I made sure I got a few shots just for her.  So, Ann, this bugs for you.

I found a damselfly that appears to have just shed its skin.  It was sunning on an old tire, used as a boat bumper on the dock.

Two more damselfies that were, um, copulating.

Here are two very pretty dragonflies with an interesting pattern on their wings.   Hmmmmm, seems to be a whole lotta lovin’ going on.

There was a patch of wildflowers  a short way from the cottage.  I found several more dragonflies there.  Here are two especially nice ones.

   

There were more than just dragonflies and damselflies.  We cannot forget the spiders too.

***** WARNING *****

If anyone is disturbed by pictures of bees and other stinging insects, you may wish to stop here ( you know who you are Tess).

There were a couple of bumble bees and small wasps on the wildflowers too.  They must have been great flowers, because they totally ignored me, which was quite alright.