Header Competition # 49 "Macro"

The header theme this week by Mac and is "Macro- close-up". You might know Mac would finally say MACro. Mac, Gail's Man,  Lanny, Dave and I have a little contest to show a new theme header each week. We now post anytime before 4 PM EDT and start the voting after that.

Darla, Martha and Tom W are on a break. Come back as soon as you are able my friends.

Macro is one of my favorite settings on my camera and this is a great time of the year with the Sedum in bloom. It attracts the butterflies and bees. Here are a few of my favorite shots this week. I'm told this is a Monarch.

This is a Great Spangled Fritillary.

Check out this bumblebee, the Sedum makes it wings look red.

This is a little Honeybee.

The header is my favorite because the black butterflies are so neat. This is a Red Admiral. Check out the antennae.

Visit all my friends to see what they show.

Wednesday Potpourri - Visiting the Bog

The winner of the drawing for a prize from What Is It XXV was Mary from Indiana. She has a neat site with a lot of birds, butterflies and dragonflies to help with identification. Congrats to all the others who got the answer correct.

I took a trip to the Kent Bog yesterday. There have been a Black Bear spotted in the area of the bog and I decided to take a walk. It was confirmed by the Kent Police Department when responding to a call. I did take some photos while at the bog. Here is a Ruby Meadow-hawk that sat along the walkway.
This is a female Common Whitetail on the walkway.
Red Spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly that was in the bog. They are so dark I thought it was black.

Here is a damselfly but I don't know the name.

This was the only truly black animal I saw. Yes, the famous Kent Black Squirrel has invaded the Kent Bog.

There were no Black Bear sightings. I saw and heard the black Crow and that is as close as I came to things which were black.

Today's Flowers

My friends Luiz, Denise and Pupo run the Today's Flowers Meme, check it out. Come and join with your flower photos. Sunday at 7 GMT is the post time.



I was visiting in the Austin, Texas area this week. I was able to capture these little purple flowers along the street in a flower box at Bastrop, Texas. There was a American Painted Lady Butterfly bonus so I was very happy.

I was visiting a blogging friend from Bastrop; Jo and Gene Castillo. Jo is an artist and does some really neat paintings, check out her site. I'm not sure what the little blooms were but they were beautiful. We got 12" more of snow while I was gone. I'm ready for Spring.
You can see a lot of great flowers by visiting the site above.

Today I Received Two Gifts

First I liked to talk about the new country artist I have playing. Her name is Crystal Shawanda and she is from Canada and a Native American Indian. She has burst upon the music scene in the last week and was on the Grand Ole Opry this week. I expect this song playing to really climb the charts.

The gift I received were two fold in a new butterfly on the neighbors Sedum. It is a Silver Spotted Skipper (Epargyrews Clarus). A beautiful butterfly in Brown, White and Yellow.

You can really see the body in this view. It was very skittish but I got a few pictures. It flew away but returned for a face on shot.
The second gift today was a Praying Mantis the first of the year. I was walking my dog Jake around the house and saw my Sage plant shaking. There was no wind so something was going on. There he was climbing the Sage. This was next to the Sedum that I got yesterdays butterfly. I ran for the camera and here are the results. This guy was a poser and gave me a lot of chances to get it right.
His brown body which will hide him shortly stood out against the green sage.
I was able to get close for a nice head shot.
I came out after lunch to see if I could find him again and found him on my siding watching the plant he had been patrolling. What does it have hold of to stay like that?
These were two gifts I was happy to share with you.

Butterflies and Bees

I had only seen a few butterflies this year and the Painted Lady was a great find so when I saw another butterfly on the sedum I ran and got my camera. I think this one is a Meadow Fritillary. It is a lot smaller then the Painted Lady but really looks good in its own colors.
Since I had the camera at ready I shot a few Bumble Bees.

This one was really covered in pollen all over doing its job.
Here is a Honey Bee working the sedum.
This is my forth butterfly I was able to get this year. I was kidding Klaus of Virtua Gallery today because he had a post of 21 beautiful butterflies today and I was happy with this one. Check out his slide show and display of butterflies.

Today's Flowers #5

My friend Luiz Santilli Jr. has started a Today's Flowers Meme, check it out. Come and join with your flower photos. You can get in on the start. Sunday night is the post time.

In order to have flowers you must first have a plant. My flower today is a perennial called Sedum. It comes up as soon as the snow depart from my home. It is a very hearty plant and soon the green leaves of Sedum start to pop.

The plant starts to produce the blooms in mid summer and you can see them growing here.
Those growths turn into tiny purple flowers on mine, so I think this is Sedum Hulteii.
They are an attractant to insect and bee life. Here is a bumblebee working the early flowers.
A honeybee also likes to visit the plant.

Here is a bug which I'm not sure the name. It is about the size of a Lightning Bug.
The final visitor was a first for me. It is an American Painted Lady.
It is beautiful on both sides of its wings.
I love the colors of this butterfly and was happy to share it along with the sedum. I have 20 plants and can break a piece off and start a new plant without any problem.

Small Pond Captures

The trip to Triangle Lake included a stop at a small pond in Kent on the way home. A Turkey Vulture circled a little way out. You can see the back underside of the wings are white. There was a lot of activity at the pond.
There was a Red dragonfly (Carolina Skimmer)

a White dragonfly. (Common White-tailed Skimmer)
and a Blue Dragonfly. (White Faced - the same as at Triangle Lake note the wings and the green eyes)
This was a perfect Olympics combination for the USA.

There was also a Brown dragonfly (Red Rock Skimmer?) but I don't know how he fit in, it was windy and he had a good hold.
His wings were a little funky.
There was also a Monarch Butterfly on some vegetation. The first this year. The Canadian Geese were there in full force.
They were at rest but I disturbed them as I searched the pond.
The guard goose kept a weary eye on me.
A nice catch from a small pond.

Triangle Lake Part 2 of 2

The remainder of the trip to Triangle Lake and a check for the fauna of the bog. This tree told me to look for woodpeckers. I was able to capture this woodpecker through an opening in the trees.
I think it may be a Flicker but not real sure.
This is a Red Bellied Woodpecker that I showed before.
I saw a huge dragonfly on the lake maybe 4" to 5" but it kept moving. I did capture this one dragonfly with the white body.
I zoomed in close to help with the identity. It is the White Faced Dragonfly. Look below those green eyes.
The bees were on the Button Plant.
This has to be the largest fly I ever saw. I'm not sure what it is but the wings are excellent. Abe told me it is a Progressive Bee Fly.
I captured this beautiful Comma Butterfly. This is my second one this year.
It was amazing the transformation when it closed it's wings.
It came down to the walkway and showed of its colors.
It looked like a dead leaf when folded up and I'm sure this is a great camouflage.
The final capture fauna capture was FG on the bench trying to get a picture. I was the only person at the bog on the 2 days I went there. The road in/out is only one lane paved so be sure no-one is coming toward you. Two trips to the lake and a great sighting of a big dragonfly but no photo. It is a fun place to visit.