365 Alternates

This pine cone had a cluster of scales that I wanted to isolate, and I really loved this cone so I worked hard at getting the angle just right for proper focus. I was very happy to find that this image turned out nicely!

Backing off a bit from the previous picture, I was able to isolate these scales so that only they were in focus while everything else fell away into blur. This was tricky to get just right!! Nothing like a good challenge though, and here you go! :)

It takes several hours before these moth's wings flatten out and dry properly. Watching carefully, I could see this moth slowly pumping the wings, working blood into them to help inflate them. I coaxed this moth onto a milkweed pod so that I could take pictures. Thankfully it only needed to crawl a few steps, as I didn't want to disturb it. A few pictures later, I set it down on the pod and left it in peace. :)

I thought this position was just so funny looking when I saw it on my computer! Definitely one very cool moth, it reminds me of that stance I see rappers do sometimes with their arms crossed around themselves! :D So funny!

This moth has dried its wings and is clinging to the side of the habitat I have for them. Later I will release them outside on our white wooden railings. They will be safe from hungry birds with the perfect camouflage if they should stay for a day or two, but the ones that I've released so far have all flown away during the night!

(many text notes above) I took this picture so that you can see its eyes and antennae, clearly visible in the coccoon. A few hours later, this moth emerged and I showed Steve...and then I showed him the picture of it in the cocoon. He was amazed. So am I, so am I! :)

The theme this week is "Cold", so I went for something easy and fast, since I had a lot of moth pictures to finish up for my presentation. Although I got lots of nice choices to pick from, I only have time to share one this week! Next week I'll be more prepared!! :D

2 more pictures (clickable) above in notes! :) I am crazy about these mushrooms! They have such a wonderful texture and they're quite large--this one is about 5" tall and the one behind (featured as my Picture of the Day) is about 6" tall. They get HUGE--a good 7-8" tall and the 12-14" wide--total monsters! I have some pictures I took of these mushrooms last year which you can see as insets above! :) Tips for Photographing Fungus: SET YOUR STAGE! When you find a mushroom, take the time to "groom" the area before taking pictures. Grooming your stage is part of the routine and should be automatically expected so that you don't hurry and in so doing, destroy the very mushroom you're going to photograph (I've done it!) or get dirt and leaves on your mushroom (I've done it), which then takes more time to clean up. Yes, you can do some of this cleanup in post, but it's easier, better, and faster if you make the effort before you take your pictures. When I found these mushrooms, I could barely see them under all the grass and weeds. It took me about 10-15 minutes to carefully remove all of the dead weeds, grass, and leaves from the area, and more time to carefully pull growing grass and other plants in the area. It's extremely important to remove any plants or dead stuff from behind each mushroom. Stems and sticks will distract and ruin the clean background. You want to be able to see the outline of your mushroom and any twigs or grass sticking up will make a negative impact on your pictures. Pay close attention to anything at or near the base of your mushroom--you want to get rid of almost everything, unless it enhances your subject. Remove, trim, or flatten everything from the mushroom(s) back to your camera because anything sticking too high will get into your pictures and you may not notice until you're looking at the pictures on your computer. When you're satisfied, look carefully through the viewfinder to double-check for any bits of grass or twigs sticking up around your mushroom. If you're not sure, take a test picture and zoom in to look. I stress this because tiny blades of grass are really hard to see but wow are they in your face on the computer! For each of these pictures, I focused and for both mushrooms I found many things to remove even after I was sure I'd gotten everything! Now, get out there and take some awesome mushroom pictures!!! :D

As I was walking the dogs around the property today with my camera at the ready, I found a small White Oak tree with the most gorgeous fiery red-orange leaves. I looked at this tree for a while, wondering how I could possibly show the whole tree and share its blazing red beauty. But it sits near other trees and there was simply no way that I could find to make it stand out with a soft background. This is one of the reasons that I like to take pictures of individual leaves. I cannot isolate the whole tree and so the picture looks like nothing at all. Trees at the side of the road, or a tree in a field all by itself, well, that's different. Isolation is easy then. But not on our property. We have only a few isolated trees, and this particular Oak tree has leaves that turn quite red, while our other Oaks have leaves that turn yellow or with some red only. Frustrating! However, I think that this leaf will give you an idea of what I was looking at in wonder. Leaves on fire, burning in the afternoon sun. Gorgeous, incredible and amazing. Isn't autumn breathtaking?! :) Explored on October 20, 2013. Highest placement, page 6.

I loved the color of this beautiful leaf, so dramatic! Do you know why leaves change color? Wiki has some very nice information about it: Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of red, yellow, purple, and brown. The phenomenon is commonly called autumn colours or autumn foliage in British English and fall colors, fall foliage, or simply foliage in American English. In some areas of Canada and the United States, "leaf peeping" tourism is a major contribution to economic activity. This tourist activity occurs between the beginning of color changes and the onset of leaf fall. There is a detailed explanation of why the leaves change color. Very interesting and worth reading!

This tree's leaves were just turning yellow, and I found some that had very pretty colors to share! Oh dear, I just don't have the energy for an interesting write up...it's time for bed...:D

Aren't Ground Squirrels adorable?! I have always loved squirrels, but it wasn't until I moved to southern Oregon that I found out how destructive some of them can be. Ground Squirrels in particular, are problems because they can and will dig under your house's foundation, which can lead to expensive problems. However, we capture them and drop them off many miles away, and while they are here, Steve and I love to see them running around and being adorable! This one hears the dogs out front and is looking to see if they will come around the side of the house! (Thanks to Jerry Jones for his awesome textures!! I used Painted Canvas 1 of 8 and Old Photo 5 for this, as well as some Photoshop filters. I needed to do a lot of work on this image to pop the squirrel out of that busy background and the extreme contrast changes of fore and background.) From Wiki: The California ground squirrel is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada. As is typical for ground squirrels, California ground squirrels live in burrows which they excavate themselves. Some burrows are occupied communally but each individual squirrel has its own entrance. Although they readily become tame in areas used by humans, and quickly learn to take food left or offered by picnickers, they spend most of their time within 25 m (82 ft) of their burrow, and rarely go further than 50 m (160 ft) from it. In the colder parts of their range, California ground squirrels hibernate for several months, but in areas where winters have no snow, most squirrels are active year round. In those parts where the summers are hot they may also estivate (spend a hot or dry period in a prolonged state of torpor or dormancy) for periods of a few days. California ground squirrels are often regarded as a pest in gardens and parks, since they will feed off ornamental plants and trees, and will burrow under foundations.

I think everyone would have laughed if you'd seen the crazy double-take I did when I saw this pine cone. I was walking along when I noticed something lumpy above the ground, and realized it was a pine cone. I suddenly jerked my head around to see because the last time I checked, pine cones don't form two feet off the ground! "HOLY COW!!" I yelled, "How the heck did THAT happen?!!" I was staring at a Ponderosa pine cone that had falled from the tree and speared itself on a pair of poison oak stems! I tell you, there are the most amazing things to be seen out in nature. I would have made a bet with anyone that no WAY would this happen. And yet, here it is! (By the way, this picture is "stacked": I took the pine cone and poison oak from an image with an aperture of 8.0 and put them into the version that is 4.0! This method certainly gives me nice results!! :)

Would you jus LOOK at this leaf?!! WOW!!! I got images of seven gorgeous leaves today, though I'm only going to share this one tonight. I really hope that you don't get too tired of these "fall flowers" because I cannot get enough of them! The colors, the textures, it's just incredible how pretty these leaves are. We have two kinds of Oak trees here, the White and the Black, and their leaves are easy to tell apart: Black Oaks have leaves with ragged edges, and White Oaks have leaves with smooth edges. Both are exceptionally beautiful when Fall comes around! Every day I spend time just appreciating individual leaves on the trees and plants that I pass. Nature certainly has good taste! :) Explored on October 24, 2013. Highest placement, page 8.

In September it rained enough that our seasonal pond began to get a bit of water in it, but sadly it's been dry for most of this past month and the water dried up, leaving some moss and algae at the bottom. I went over to take a look and found this exceptionally beautiful leaf laying on the algae and could not resist capturing it for everyone to see! :) (Thanks to Jerry Jones for his texture, "Paper Box 1")

I discovered this rusting old pail a couple of years ago on the other side of our lower forest, far from the destroyed tree and tree platform. I have no idea how old it is, and though I could move it to a pile of trash, I like it sitting there. Makes me wonder how many people have lived here before us, and where the local Native Americans lived and if they spent any time on our property. Fun to think about. I especially like the shadows on the pail from the weeds nearby and filtering through the trees above!

1 more picture and a text note above! :) This is another view of the previous group of nails and a creepy face in the background bokeh!! (roll your mouse over the inset picture above to see the other version)

1 more picture above in a note! :) Here are some of the nails that were pounded into the side of this magnificent old tree, long dead now. I have another version in the next picture, but you can see it here as an inset above! :)