Posts from the ‘Nature’ category

One day in July

Yesterday started cold, damp and dreary.

That required a fire…in the woodstove…in July!!

I believe the cozy fire went a long way towards Bob forgiving the indigities he suffered while I was trying to get a 4th of July photo (see yesterday’s post…)

It was a lazy day all around as short squalls alternated with brilliant sunshine and blue sky. You can see a bit of a shadow behind the big chair…

Some of the squalls were accompanied by thunder…

But then…..!!! – A rainbow. One day in July.

Baby deer!..edited

Five minutes ago (about 9:20 a.m.), in a moment of sunshine through the woods… This photo does not capture how small the fawn was and for that matter, how young and small the doe was! You can see her listening ears, tuned towards the house. The windows were open, I moved for the camera and to check on Karl and those small sounds from inside the house caused them both to stop and check. Karl was napping in the shade, behind the house, just outside the sunroom door as I was at my computer – and he stayed there…oblivious :)!

**Edit… if you saw this post before it said …edited, yes the first photo is slightly different. I had more time late this afternoon to look at everything I took and thought this photo was sharper. So I changed the photo and also cropped the fawn for the following:

Sweet, young thing. This fawn is probably 1/3 the size of Karl to give you perspective. This crop is not the best example of the technique as described below as it is not super sharp…but you can get the idea.

For my fellow photography buffs…I read an article this past week that gave me an idea for something different. The gist of the article by a professional photographer was that he shot almost exclusively with a 35 mm lens, albeit a VERY GOOD 35 mm lens. And then, he cropped what he wanted as subject – this vs a longer zoom. Benefits – a 35mm is a smallish lens compared to a long zoom lens…less obtrusive, easier to carry around. It got me thinking as I’m currently dithering ad naseum about a lens…sold my 70-300 AND my 17-85 and have been using a rental 18-200. While I had the 70-300 and 17-85 combo, I typically used the 17-85 except for macro stuff and for capturing Bob or Karl at a distance. I was thinking about buying the 18-200 but it has some issues at both ends of the range so am now looking at a 15-85…smaller range so typically better through the entire range …with the idea that I can crop a subject if I want the “up close-fill the frame” thing. The trick to this is that the subject must be sharp at full resolution. That said, that is what I do with the moon photos I post – I crop just the moon so it looks “fill the screen” large. So, stay tuned – we’ll see how this works :)!

A change from lupins

I’m not sure what these are. I’ve been saying Bluebells to myself, but I couldn’t find them in my book this morning by that name and after a quick look at the blue and purple section,I did not find a match. Help from the audience, please.

**EDIT – 7/1…the consensus (see comments) is Penstemon. And add’l info from my mother:
“Penstemon is also known as beardstongue. According to my books it is very hard to decide which one you are dealing with since there are about 15 different ones. The purple/blue one is common in the West in June and July We have a lot of them and after the lupines they are a welcome sight of blue.” **

Whatever, they are pretty – they are blooming now and they are a change from lupins.


Photos taken 6/19/2010 in Wayfarer’s Park by Flathead Lake, Bigfork, MT

This morning’s walk and more lupins!

This morning began with heavy air…humid and overcast. Karl did not come out of his closet when I went outside. I believe that he feels the humidity and equates that with weather he’d rather avoid.

I decided that we’d change up the routine and putter about the woods this morning. I had to coax him outside but when I finally did, the air had cleared and dried and the sky was blue.

The lupins at the park by Flathead Lake are going to seed and looking bedraggled. But our lupins have a little more time.

The mountains, the sunlight in the woods on the grass, trees and lichen…the bumper crop of lupins – they all seem especially gorgeous this year.

And sometimes a beardog walks through the lupins…

…and meets up with his cat, which apparently is funny – at least funny enough to make a beardog smile!

But then there is a stick…

…and then we all walk home…through the lupins.

You know it is hot when…

…Bob is in the shade.

…and he’s snoring…

Karl and I were out early.

We walked near Flathead Lake at Wayfarer’s Park just before 8:00 a.m. – It was not quite 60 but after climbing to the overlook (Flathead Lake, Wayfarer’s Park) – we were warm enough.

As I write this (3:30 p.m.), it is 86! And tomorrow, we really get our comeuppance as a cool front is due to overrun this heat and that usually makes for thunderstorms….

Sunday peace

A prayer. Hebrews 13: 20

May the God of peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
equip you with everything good for doing His will
and may He work in us
what is pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ,
to whom be the glory,
forever and ever.

Photos taken this day (6/27/2010) at sunrise in my woods.