Just Singing a Song!

Caught this shot of a male Red Winged Blackbird perched on the flower stalk of a American Nelumbo plant. He was singing the prettest tune and flexing his wings and tail feathers in what appeared to be trying to attract a member of the female persuasion. Funny how the guys always flex their muscles(or feathers) when the ladies are around. Isn't love just grand. Ha Ha! 

"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear."
      Oscar Wilde (1854-1900): Irish Playwright, Poet, Author

The Beauty and The Beast!

Well after several weeks of no rain, we finally got close to 1 inch today and it was sure welcome. The flowers in our yard really appreciated the drink and they just seemed to burst out with life. I had to grab the ole shutter box and go take a few frames to add to my trillion or so pics. This Althea was just begging me to take it's picture so I had to oblige.

Just as I was getting into the soft light breaking out of the clouds and trying to get the best shot possible, I noticed a little visitor. Well it was a most unusual looking beast so I turned my attention to it. I am sorry but I don't know the name of this member of God's creation but I thought it was harmless enough and worthy of a closeup.

The sun came out strong and the soft light departed so I retreated inside my house to soak up the coolness provided by the good ole AC unit. Later in the evening just before the sun dropped behind the trees, I looked out my window and saw the most beautiful soft light hitting the Althea flowers again. So I went out to get one more shot to add to the hard drive and low and behold, my ole buddy the beetle had been enjoying an afternoon snack, courtesy of the Althea flower I was planning on shooting again.

 

Needless to say, this presented me with a problem. Who wants to see a flower full of bug holes??? But just as God intended, His creation proves once again His genius in designing all things on this earth. Each has a purpose and is here for a reason and these shots show the beauty and the beast as He intended them to be.

"Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

          Holy Bible-New King James Version        Genesis 1:24-25

The Honeymooners!

Does anybody out there remember a show on T.V. called the Honeymooners staring Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden with his wife Alice back in the 50's or 60's? Well when I shot the following series of pictures it reminded me of that show I watched as a kid. Ralph and Alice were always at it with each other and Ralph ruled the house(so he thought). He was always coming up with something off the wall or his big mouth would always get him in trouble. When ever Alice would give him a hard time, he always threatened to "give her one right in the ole kisser."  As I watched the two Mocking Birds in the bird bath, I couldn't help but think of what would Ralph say to Alice if he came home from work and found her in the pool.  I think it would go something like this:

Alice-      Oh it's a nice day for a swim!

Alice-    Oh the water is just lovely!

Alice-     La De Da! La De Da! This is fun!

Alice-    Oh! Nothing like a little afternoon dip in the pool!

Ralph-   Hi honey, I'm home!

Ralph-  Alice, what are you doing swimming in the pool?

 Ralph-  Have you lost you marbles, Alice, where is supper?

Ralph-    I mean it Alice, where is supper? I've worked hard today and I'm hungry!

 Ralph-   Are you just gonna ingore me, Alice? Come on lets eat!

Ralph-   Alice, one of these days, I'm gonna, pow! right in the kisser, and it's off to the moon Alice!!!!!

 Ralph-   Now come on and lets go!!!! I'm straving!

 Ralph-    Well I got that straight, show her whose boss around here. Who ever heard of swimming this time of the day and no supper ready when I get home from a hard days work!!!!! I believe I'll soak my feet a minute or two!

Ralph-   Hey this ain't half bad, the water actually feels pretty good!

Ralph-   You know, ole Alice might have been on to something here.

 Ralph-   I believe I'll try this swimming thing out for myself!

 Ralph-   Awe, this feels good!

 Ralph-   Awe, this feels real gooooood!

Oh man, I can't believe I haven't been doing this before!

Ralph-   Boy, I better not let Alice catch me doing this after I ran her to the kitchen!

Ralph-   Awe yes the coast is clear! Man I just about broke my neck on that one!

 Ralph-   I believe I'll try snorkeling. This head under water ain't too hard!

 Alice-     Ralphhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Is that you in the pool???? One of these days, Ralph, POW! I'm gonna give you one right in the ole kisser and it's off to the moon for you Ralph!!!!!!!!

Ha Ha Ha! LOL!  I took 74 shots of these two over a matter of several minutes and I just had to show you these 21 shots so you could get a good idea of the antics these two played out. These shots are as they were taken, I just left out a bunch all through the sequence. It has been really hot here lately with the temps in the mid to upper 90's and even the birds have enjoyed an afternoon frolic in the bird bath. Isn't nature just dandy and all of God's creation a blessing to behold.

"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without."

James Dobson(1936-       ): American Christian author and founder of Focus on the Family

A Patient Hunter !

Well I am not a reptile expert but I believe this is a Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) and I think it is a female due to the line that runs down the back. I happened to walk across a wooden bridge over a spillway on a small pond and this one was on the hunt, patiently waiting and looking for any available insect to invite to a lunch for one. They can range in color from green to brown and shades in between.

"Patience is bitter, but it's fruit is sweet."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): French Philosopher and Writer



Tenderness!

After a swim in the lake, this brood of ducks hit the bank and immediately decided it was siesta time. The mother mallard duck stood over her brood until they were all sound asleep and then she decided to lay down also. But when she sat right down on one of her babies, she immediately tried to nudge the little one out from under her body. It didn't seem to mind as it continued to sleep through the whole ordeal.

                                                     Nikon D90 75mm at 1/500s    f5.3   ISO 400      (Click for a larger view)                                   

"A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them."

Victor Hugo(1802-1885):  A French Poet, Playwright, Novelist, Essayist, Statesman      

Beauty Created!

No matter what your passions may be, you can't look at this baby mallard duckling and not see a thing of beauty. Don't you just want to pick up this little fuzz ball and just cuddle it for a while?

                                        Nikon D90   300mm at 1/500s   f5.6      ISO 1400     (Click for a larger view) 

"Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art."

         Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882): American lecturer, essayist and poet.

In the Blink of a Shutter!

It came from the past(behind me) into the present(beside me) and on into the future(beyond me). Time was stopped for an instant in the blink of a shutter. 



Nikon D-90  300mm at 1/500s   f/9.0    ISO 200  (Click for a bigger Picture)

This mature Great Blue Heron was cruising for lunch below the Wheeler Dam on the Tennessee River in North Alabama. There are bait fish galore in the water coming through the turbines and the birds know how to find them. They just cruise up and down a stretch of river directly below the dam until they spot a fish and then will lite in the water and pick it up. It is amazing to watch them go back and forth all day long.

"Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires."            Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832): English Cleric, Writer and Collector

Thistle Flower

 

While they may not be a real desirable plant to have around, their flowers sure make for a beautiful photo!

"Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."      Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865): 16th President of the United States 

Bachelor Party!

Earlier this spring, I caught this group of all male wild turkeys or gobblers in a field after a rain preaning and showing off their stuff. They better beware come Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!

"A Turkey never voted for an early Christmas."

         An Irish Proverb

Radiant Energy!

Like sunsets and sunrise, I never tire of taking and looking at pictures of clouds. They are in constant change and often provide the most amazing contrast from the brightest whites to the darkest grays.

"The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations - each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony."
      Ruth Bernhard (1905-2006) : American Photographer