Jacksonville Flora & Fauna

Steve and I went to the historical town of Jacksonville, Oregon last week to see if there were any interesting pictures to take of the buildings there. Well...as it turned out, we weren't inspired by the buildings, but I certainly went crazy with my macro lens and had a grand time! After weeding out all the bad shots, I got 85 keepers! Whee!!! :D This was a maple tree I noticed as we walked up one street and I simply had to stop and take pictures of the sun shining through some leaves! Work is keeping me buried, but I'll have about 20 minutes tonight to bounce around to some of your lovely photo streams! It will be a very nice adventure for me and I can't wait to see what you all have for me to see! :)

I took another picture of the Japanese maple tree I saw in Jacksonville last week and I liked the way the sun flare looked! :) Internet service in southern Oregon was down all day long! I've been too busy to worry about it, but it's interesting how dependent we become on having this luxury! Thanks for all of your visits, I had hoped to visit some photostreams this morning but it will have to wait until tomorrow I'm afraid, since we just got our internet back just when it's time to go to bed!! *tantrum* I did have time to visit some pages last night and had a very nice time, but didn't get to everyone's by the time I needed to log off. *sigh*....work is very nice but I miss all of your lovely photos!

We finally finished our current project!!!! I'm so happy to be done with 10-hour work days, yay!!! That also means I'll finally be able to post pictures normally and get back to visiting everyone's wonderful photostreams! I hope you've all been doing well, I've really missed visiting and leaving comments. (It will be a couple of days before I can really dive in and say hello...I put off everything else to get my work done and now I have a million chores to do!) These are some grapes I found in Jacksonville when we visited a couple of weeks ago. They were growing on the walls and roof of one of the businesses there and were so pretty! Southern Oregon has a number of wineries and I would love to visit one at some point for all of the wonderful picture opportunities like this one! :) Tomorrow is my birthday, and Steve and I will be getting up early and driving three hours out to the coast, to the little town of Brookings, Oregon! I can't wait!!! We've lived in Oregon for about 7 years now but this will be our first visit to the coast! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!! :D By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

Here's another picture I took at Jacksonville the other day...there were so many incredible flowers there that Steve had to drag me away by the ear! :D By the way, except for cropping and a couple of blemish removals, this image is straight out of the camera! What a rarity for me! I usually fool around with my pictures to some degree. This one is nicest without being touched! :) Work update: The end of this project is in sight! I estimate I'll be back to frolicking on Flickr like a crazy kitten on catnip in about 3 days! YAY!! Thanks to all of you for your amazing comments and all the favorites...you make me feel on top of the world and I appreciate it so much! :) I am dearly looking forward to visiting in a proper fashion when I finally have a day off! :)

Steve and I went to the historic town of Jacksonville, Oregon a few weeks ago, and as we were walking around, I saw this butterfly flitting about. I followed it slowly all over a row of flowers until it finally stopped on a leaf to rest and I was able to creep in and get some pictures! This lovely butterfly is found over most of the world, where it causes damage to cabbage and mustard family crops. If you would like to know more about this pretty but damaging butterfly, Wiki has a very good page here: Wiki: Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) Thanks so much for your visits, comments and favorites! I won't be able to comment much for the next week while I'm busy with my current project, but I am trying to visit a few pages when I can during breaks! Thanks for your patience! :) Explored on October 12, 2012, highest position #214.

Here's another picture taken at Jacsksonville a few weeks back. This one sat in a flower box under a shop window! I think this is a French Marigold. There are literally hundreds of species of these beautiful flowers and they can vary drastically in appearance. Marigolds are wonderful for attracting butterflies to your garden. They are also used in companion planting with a variety of vegetables. Perfumes are made with its scent and there are medicinal uses as well! If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: French Marigold Thank you for your comments, favorites, friendship and PATIENCE while I'm so busy with my work! I can't comment very much at this time but I should have more time in a bit less than a week! Explored on October 13, 2012, highest position #240.

The flowers in Jacksonville had insects buzzing and flitting all over them, including flies, bees and butterflies. Here is a black & white bee on a purple flower...I think it's a Cosmos but I'm not positive! :)

It really is true what professionals say when discussing the art of taking pictures: we are capturing light as it interacts with subjects. I am always amazed at the beauty of light passing through flora, and I found this when Steve and I were in Jacksonville the other week. :) By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) Explored on October 19, 2012. Highest placement: #60.

There were many beautiful flowers were in bloom during our visit to Jacksonville a few weeks ago that Steve had to drag me away kicking and screaming! Here are a pair of images showing a species of Mallow, though if I'm incorrect, I'd love the right name! :)