Garden Update

This is a view of my monster zucchini plants. I spent quite a bit of time last weekend pruning the leaves so I could actually see what was going on down on the ground. I had to cover up pretty well and it wasn't fun considering how warm it was last weekend. Plus, I cut down enough to fill one of those huge heavy brown paper garbage bags they sell at the hardware store for grass clippings. I still ended up with a mosquito bite on my face. I've been trying to be diligent about picking the zucchini so they don't grow to monster size. But I found several hiding in the garden. I used one to make a zucchini crisp. I diced one zucchini and it was enough to fill up a 13 by 9 pan. lol. It's really good. It tastes like apple pie.




These are my tomato plants. They're also huge and have many tomatoes already. But none of them are red. It's been too warm in the evening for them to ripen. Gotta start warming up all of my tomato recipes soon.

I can't say that these are the most artful pictures. But I just had to share them. It's been a productive growing season.

Black Tiger Swallowtail

Yesterday I blogged about a picture of the yellow tiger swallowtail I photographed at Cheekwood. This is a picture of the black tiger swallowtail. Very pretty. But as usual, difficult to focus on since it's black. There are a few tricks to force the camera to focus automatically, which is probably the best bet when running around after butterflies with a camera. Not much time for a manual focus. I took a lot of pictures of this same butterfly at Brookfield Zoo, but they didn't turn out quite as well. They were busy checking out the flowers, being very fluttery.

Tiger Swallowtail

I managed to catch a picture of this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly during my recent visit to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. There's three or four different types of the Tiger Swallowtail. I think this might be the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, but I'm just guessing based on some brief research. We were also chasing around what I now know to be the black form of the Tiger Swallowtail. But I think I like the yellow form the best. Just call me the butterfly seeker.

Bug Lunch or What's in a Name?

This is another shot of mine from Cheekwood. I thought this little flying creature was so interesting. I can't say that I've seen anything like it around where I live. Anyone have a clue what it is? I first thought it was a butterfly because of the antennas (antennae?). I thought it was just the right shade to be flying among these flowers. Black eyed Susans? Who knows. As usual, I'm totally clueless about the name of the both the bug and the flower. But I love the color! There were also some big fuzzy bees floating around having lunch at the time. Getting pictures of flowers, butterflies and other misc bugs requires hazard pay.

Chasing Waterfalls

As I have already said, last weekend, I was in Nashville. Lisa, Laura, Jen and I visited Cheekwood to see the Chihuly glass exhibits. But, I just had to stop and take some pictures of the small waterfalls. I took similar pictures at different speeds to demonstrate that water is very interesting. The picture above is at ISO 400 (F stop is at 9.). The water looks like it's in motion-you can see the blur.



This is a similar picture but with the ISO at 1600 (F stop is 6.3). The faster speed catches up with the speed of the water. So now it almost looks like a big icicle frozen in place over the small waterfall. I prefer pictures of flowing water at faster speeds.

Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to
I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all
But I think you're moving too fast -- TLC

Chihuly Cattails

During my recent trip to Nashville, we had a chance to see the Chihuly glass exhibit at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. (www.cheekwood.org/Art/Chihuly_at_Cheekwood) It's really interesting. They're exhibiting the Chihuly glass in the natural settings of the Cheekwood gardens. This is a small view of Chihuly's Cattails exhibit. Again, if you're in Nashville, make some time to go see this!

break for the blues

Well, the blues and rock and roll. I had a great time this past weekend in Nashville with friends. We saw some great musicians, including Bart Walker, Sexstone and the Kris Bell band. Bart played the blues on Sunday at BB King's on second street. He's there every Sunday evening with his band. Go check him out if you're in Nashville and have time. You won't regret it!

Butterfly or moth?

Here's another beautiful winged creature from Brookfield Zoo's Butterfly exhibit. I honestly don't know the name of this one. Actually it looks kind of like a moth to me. I think it's pretty. Wish the picture was a little less fuzzy.

Monarch Butterfly

Finally, a monarch butterfly! I see many of these, more this year than in previous years. I wasn't standing very close to the monarch and was only using my regular lens. So, it kind of surprised me that the picture turned out so crisp. Monarchs are the most well-known butterfly. They migrate in massive groups over long distances and can even cross the Atlantic. This pretty little insect has to be pretty determined. lol.

Zebra Longwing Butterfly

Here's a zebra longwing butterfly from my visit to the zoo over the weekend. These butterflies eat the leaves of the passion flower. The passion flower contains a toxin. So when the butterfly eats the passion flower leaves, the butterfly itself becomes toxic to predators. It's awesome the way mother nature works sometimes.

more butterflies

I know that the butterfly on the left is a Queen. Can't tell you the name of the one on the right. Any thoughts? So pretty! Love the butterflies.

The Common Buckeye

Butterfly, that is. So pretty! We had a good day yesterday. Can't wait to go back soon. Captured this with my regular lens.

Butterflies

I dragged my family to the zoo today. It was a last minute thing. I love the zoo in the summer because of the butterfly house. I don't know the name of this butterfly. They had a guide posted of the types of butterflies in the house, but this doesn't look like a monarch to you, does it? Anyway, I love the chance to get close to these types of insects. LOL. let me know what kind of butterfly you think this is.

My Favorite Flower

This is my favorite flower in my garden...at least for today. It's so pretty and delicate. It's also pretty small--only about a couple of inches across. So I couldn't get the camera to focus quite the way I wanted. But I still like the picture.

Time out for clouds

We're having some really weird weather tonight. There are nasty storms north of us. But we just had a Charlie Brown sized storm cloud float over our tiny little town. It poured rain for about 10 minutes. It's still icky and dark outside though. Can't tell if any of that stuff to the north and west will drop by here again. This is a picture of the storm front headed at us. For some reason it's turned around. Well, you get the idea.

What the heck is that....revisited

What is that? Those are the blinds on the sliding door in my kitchen. Those blinds are always closed in the afternoon. We get a lot of light in our kitchen from the west. Really heats things up if you're making dinner!

what the heck is that?

What the heck is that? This is one of those toys that you're supposed to throw in to the pool and send the kids diving after it. Of course, diving is only allowed in the deep end. Of course, no diving for me. Swimming is now a thing to do to relax, not exercise. lol

Summer Fun

We've had an absolutely beautiful week. We have done a lot of swimming over the past couple of weeks, except for a couple of days where it was actually a bit too cool to swim. I didn't use any special techniques here. Just set the camera on automatic, then aim and shoot.



We had a very sunny day today. I just love the way the sun sparkles in the water.

more backyard lilies

Not MY backyard silly. My sister's! Did I ever say that I love flowers? Natural light always seems to work best when it comes to flower pictures. At least it does for me.