Amelia
I had a surprise visit at my office today from a friend. This is Amelia and she was nice enough to let me take a few pictures of her. Happy birthday, dear one.
Spring Purple
It was cool again today but mostly sunny and beautiful. The last few days, with the alternating warm and rain, has brought out the smaller daffodils and crocuses. There are occasional cherry trees already in bloom although we’re not really close to them all being out yet. There are likely to be lots of daffodil pictures in the coming weeks so I decided to stick to posting crocuses today, mostly just pictures of purple.
I was out in the yard, lying on a tarp because the ground is still very wet. I rolled over and was watching the clouds go by when I saw a nuthatch bopping around on the tree overhead. This picture of it (the third one here) was taken through small branches which accounts for much of the fuzziness. Cute little thing, though.
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- Purple Crocus
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- Purple Crocus
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- Nuthatch
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
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WCA Auction
Sterling and Connie
We went to the WCA Auction and had a good time visiting with friends as well as buying a few things to help support the school. I took a bunch of pictures, as you might expect, but I think I like this one the most. This is Sterling and Connie and a nicer couple of people you will be hard pressed to find.
Categories: People
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Sycamore Seeds
Sycamore Seeds
It was another beautiful, clear day today, at least in the morning. I went out to see what I could find to photograph and didn’t come back with much. There are a some weeds with tiny white flowers but the pictures aren’t all that good. I also got some more pictures of daffodils but we’ll be seeing a lot of those shortly. Finally, there are these sycamore seeds. I can’t say I’ve looked at them all that closely before although I’ve pulled apart the seed balls from time to time. I’m glad I went out when I did because in the afternoon the temperature dropped and it started raining, sometimes quite hard.
Categories: Miscellaneous
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Signs of Spring
After yesterday’s rain and this morning’s fog, it was a perfectly beautiful day today, sunny and quite warm. I took a break to go outside and take some pictures at lunch time and got some more pictures of maple flowers as well as some feral daffodils blooming in the woods next to my building, being enjoyed by a bee, as well.
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- Maple Flowers
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- Maple Flowers
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- Maple Flowers
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- Bee and Daffodils
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
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Fog
Fog
After yesterday’s rain, we woke this morning to clear skies but the area was blanketed with a layer of fog. It turned our otherwise banal suburban street into something out of a fairy tale, with trees disappearing into the mist.
Categories: Sunrise/Sunset/Sky
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Rainy Leap Day
Traffic In The Rain
We had a very rainy day today, with it coming down quite hard for a good while. We haven’t actually had a lot of rain lately and nothing as strong as this so it was kind of nice, in a dreary, cold, gray sort of way. I love days like today, actually, but I’m pretty busy at work and didn’t get a chance to go out in it. On the way home, stopped at a traffic light, I did take a few pictures of the colored lights reflecting off the wet pavement.
Categories: Miscellaneous
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Wide Open Spaces
Sunset
More precisely, the lack of wide open spaces. There are fewer places to get a good picture of a sunset than you might think. As I came home today I tried to find one but this was the best I could do. I got a couple that don’t have the power lines or tower but they aren’t as good of the clouds. So, the open, westward facing photo spot still eludes detection. But I’ll keep looking.
Categories: Sunrise/Sunset/Sky
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Great Blue Heron
<em>Ardea herodias</em> (Great Blue Heron)
As I pulled into the parking lot at work today I saw this heron down by the water. I parked, slowly opened the door and squeezed off three shots before he got spooked and flew away. The lighting was a bit rough and this long lens of mine is really not very sharp. Gotta save up for something better. Then again, I want something new on the wide end, as well. So many lenses, so little money.
Categories: Creatures
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Backyard Blooms
More winter/early spring flowers today, taken in our back yard.
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Vinca minor
(Periwinkle)
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Vinca minor
(Periwinkle)
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Helleborus orientalis
(Lenten Rose)
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Vinca major
(Periwinkle)
Categories: Flowers and Plants
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Brookside Gardens
Dorothy had her second session in the recording studio this afternoon so Cathy and I took the opportunity to visit Brookside Gardens. The flowers in the greenhouse where lovely (much prettier than these poor photos show, I’m afraid). We also walked outside a little but the wind was pretty chilly. Still, there were some nice winter flowering plants in bloom that were worth seeing.
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- Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise)
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- Cymbidium Chili Pepper ‘Hot Stuff’
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- Pericallis Senetti® Mini True Blue (Cineraria)
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- Callistemon citrinus (Crimson Bottlebrush)
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- Clerodendrum quadriloculare ‘Brandonii’(Firecracker Flower)
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- Prunus mume ‘Kobai’ (Japanese Flowering Apricot)
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- Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Harlow Carr’ (Witchhazel)
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- Lenten Rose
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- Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple)
Categories: Flowers and Plants
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Sunset Out Back
Sunset Out Back
I didn’t get out to take any pictures this morning and it was raining all afternoon. Fortunately it stopped raining and began to clear as the sun went down so I was able to take this picture out of our back door.
Categories: Sunrise/Sunset/Sky
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Acer rubrum (Red Maple) Flowers
After seeing the butterfly yesterday and with today being even warmer, I decided to go out specifically looking for signs of spring. I hadn’t realized that the red maples were starting to bloom but as you can see, they are. It’s not too late for a surprise snow storm but spring it definitely approaching.
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- Acer Rubrum (Red Maple)
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- Acer Rubrum (Red Maple)
Categories: Flowers and Plants
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Colias philodice (Clouded Sulphur)
<em>Colias philodice</em> (Clouded Sulphur)
Cathy and I took a walk at lunch time today and I saw a few sulphur butterflies. February seems like the wrong time of year for them, but for all I know they are active throughout the year. Anyway, it’s been a fairly mild winter, so it isn’t too surprising, anyway. This isn’t a particularly good picture but we were on a walk together rather than me being out specifically to chase butterflies. Also, no tripod.
Categories: Creatures
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Gerber Daisies
Gerber Daisies
These are in a vase in our dining room and though they are wilting a bit, they are still quite cheery and bright.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
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Winter Blooms
We think of winter as being without flowers but at least in our zone 7 climate that’s not really true. There are not nearly so many, of course, but there are blooms to be found. We have snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) blooming at various places around the yard. We only have one Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) but we should get more. The one we have is a lovely claret color that’s quite cheery on a cold winter’s day (or even a warm winter’s day like we had today).
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Galanthus nivalis
Snow Drops
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Helleborus orientalis
Lenten Rose
Categories: Flowers and Plants
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Bald Eagle
When we first went to Alaska we’d be out and about and were constantly looking for bald eagles. We’d see a big bird and get excited only to get closer only to find it was a raven or sometimes not even a bird at all. It’s one thing to know you’re looking for a big bird but another thing once you’ve seen how very big they actually are.
I was out at Brighton Dam today, taking a few pictures and enjoying a fine, warm winter’s day when I looked up and saw this bird overhead. I really wish I had a better long lens—this is pretty fuzzy—still, it’s a bald eagle, which isn’t something you see every day around here.
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- Bald Eagle
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- Bald Eagle
Old and New Giant
I went to the grocery store while Dorothy was at her art lesson this afternoon and when I came out I noticed the two signs and how different they are.
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- Old Giant
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- New Giant
Categories: Miscellaneous
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