Each year I take at least one daily of this type of spider found ALL OVER my yard. I like them. Tiny guys with a pretty web. There are usually 4 connection points (2 each side) and some thicker and darker areas of web plus a really nice round shaped to the center. They are harmless and a curiosity to me not to mention a photo op. This guy was right outside my front door. Nice of him to pose for me.
I saw 102 on my house thermometer. 101 in the car. Repeat today!
I didn't take too many pics yesterday...only 14 which is way low for me. Instead I spent my time cropping 150 pictures to 4X6 size and printing at Wal-Mart and creating a photo album for Joey and Johnny. The pics span from February - June. The boys are headed to NY with their dad for a week, and they enjoy taking some memories of home with them.
The shots I did take were on the ride home from school (red-tailed hawk), and at the pool.
Here's a highly Picasa pp'ed shot of the daily. I'm not thrilled with the daily, and I didn't like this artistic version better either.
I took today's daily at a neighbor's mailbox. Each time I drive buy the beautiful pink and orange lantana bush, I hope to see a butterfly on it. I've been bummed the last week not seeing any, so today when I saw a black eastern tiger swallowtail on the lantana, I pulled over quick and got out with my camera. Not only did I capture the swallowtail, but I got a few Skipper butterfly shots too.
It was awards ceremony day today for the boys. The boys get out of school Friday and return to their year round school on July 30th for the next grade. Joey will be starting 4th grade, and Johnny will be starting 2nd grade. Each of the boys received the Panther Gold Award today, and Johnny also got Perfect Attendance. Joey was really bummed that he didn't get the perfect attendance award too. The rule is you can have one tardy and/or one absence and still get the award, but Joey missed two days due to fevers:-( I told him not to worry about it. I was proud of the effort he made to go to school even on a few days when he didn't feel well.
I took quite a few shots of Hummingbird Clearwing Moths on the butterfly bushes at Donnie's house yesterday. I deleted more than my average amount from the shots. So many were misses, blurry, overexposed, or grainy. I picked the daily I think because I like the proboscis and the hard to get head-on view. I also like the wing detail in the shot below.
This five-lined skink was on the back step as I went into the house. Usually I don't have a chance to catch these quick guys. I was glad this one posed for me!
Obviously not the best hummingbird shot ever, but I wanted to share anyway. I sat on Ms. Jeanne's steps yesterday for about 30 minutes holding up the SX40 HS with a focal lock breathing as slow and steady as a could all aimed up on the feeder waiting for the hummers to come and go. I think I had 4 chances to take pics for a few fleeting seconds, and the daily shot of the male and the other shot of him and the female below are the best that I came away with. Thankfully I was in the shade, but that camera is heavy for me, and I was ready to take a rest at that point.
I took the butterfly pictures in today's daily photo inside the NC butterfly greenhouse off the side of the Magic Wings butterfly house at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. I believe this to be a Pipevine Swallowtail. I wasn't happy with the original sharpness or color of the shot, so I played around with it in ColorEfex Pro.
Here's a collage showing what I thought were the best butterfly shots of hte day. I loved that green butterfly and smile on that little girl's face. Had to share her even though I don't know who she is. Johnny is in the blue shirt behind her hopefully waiting for his turn to hold a butterfly.
The Museum of Life and Science in Durham held their annual Bubble Blitz event yesterday, and the boys and I attended and had a great time. So, you ask, what is Bubble Blitz? Well, it's an event about the science of bubbles of course. The kids get to blow bubbles, some of them huge. They create artwork with bubbles, they make fizzy drinks, and they get to explode Mentos candies in Diet Coke. You get the gist. A photographers bubbledise of sorts:-)
Pictured is staff member Ro delighting the kids, and me, by using a very large want to make big bubbles. When the wind was just right, the bubbles would come lose from the ring and float away as the kids reached up to pop them. I had the camera in continuous shooting mode, and I took a lot of pics. Seriously, I'm lucky I've made it through looking at all of them (over 1,100) overnight let alone pp any of them:-) I kept around 425.
Donnie's wife. Mom to Joey 14 and Johnny 13. Trying to do all sorts of cool stuff with life. Taking 1000's of pictures a month to preserve the memories.
