Camera Critters # 90 - Carolina Wren

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

I had tried so hard this year to get a Carolina Wren and had no luck. They would move so fast and never stop for a photo. I added a suet feeder and have been justly rewarded. They now come in and stay for more then just one bite.

I think they are a beautiful bird and love the white eye stripe.

I was even lucky enough to get two for my header contest.

When It Rains It Pours

Did you ever look at a dirty stream and say that is interesting. I was walking next to Fishcreek Stream when I saw this overhanging bush. I thought it made a good photo but wasn't sure latter. I tried for some bird photos but they would not co-operate, but guess what did. A Damsel Fly was sitting on a blade and a fly was right in front. If you click the photo I think you will see the fly.

There was a thistle which was in flower beside the stream with a bee getting nectar. The thistle are certainly spiky.
Here is a Japanese Beetle on a leaf showing its destructive power. Note the holes it has made.
I liked the color in this weed. It really stood out on the bank.
I got home and went to work in the garden and this dragonfly begged to be photographed. I obliged it and got several shots on my fish cleaning bench. It has interesting wings and with the white body. So, similar bugs but the shots are so different.

A Cicada Encounter

My middle grandson and I were golfing in a family outing and our cart came with a rider. This little grasshopper said take a picture. I obliged and shot this close-up. He was facing toward the ground as shown.
We continued to play golf when we heard the thrumming noise of a Cicada in a pine tree. I drove the cart toward the pine tree and wasn't surprised when the Cicada stopped rubbing its wing and making that racket they make. My grandson said he saw the Cicada and I got my camera on the ready for some close work. The Cicada eventually got tired of moving around the branch and hit the air. It hit the lens of my camera as it left. No damage to the camera I'm happy to say. It went around the branch and I shot it head on.
It gave me a lot of chances to shoot at different angles.
I was able to get pretty close.
I was really happy to capture a live Cicada.

Tim McGraw Concert on Wednesday

The concert started out with Halfway to Hazard. The are a young duet that is very loud. I liked a couple of their songs but the wife said she didn't understand them. Jason Aldean was the next act and did a fairly good job. He has some good songs and put on a good show.
The crowd was anxious for the headliners act. I estimate the crowd at 20,000 on a Wednesday night. It was much darker then what you see here.
Tim McGraw came on with a bang, darkness set in as he started his set.

The stage was lit so much better in the dark.
He opened up his big speakers and put two big screens up.
Tim has a way with the crowd.

He got them directly into the act.
It was a fun evening. I had a couple girls behind me and they watched me take the photos. They were amazed how well my camera was capturing the action. The camera with the attached lens is all you are allowed at the concert, so my Cannon probably did as well as you could get from my distance from the stage.

Camera Critters #13

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

The fishing started out slow today but a Cormorant was posing on a buoy. He turned and jump off in to water and paddled away.
A hawk flew by overhead.
At the main aerator for Lake Hodgson were another Cormorant and a Great Blue Heron.
I was able to inch up pretty close and he did a couple of poses before getting nervous.
He was definitely aware of me as I zoomed in with the camera.
I use a Samsung Digimax D53 camera with a 3X zoom when on the boat so don't get some of the close-ups I can get with the normal camera. The Cannon SX100 IS that I use normally has a 10X zoom and with digital can go to 40X. I do use digital zoom and with my image stabilization can get fairly good photos.

I only caught 2 Crappie and one nice 17" Largemouth Bass today. I thought it was a big Crappie but was happy for the fight. They were all returned to the lake.

Around The House

I caught this sparrow at work, only got one shot as it frittered around. I think Abe Lincoln can identify what it is. He had names for many sparrows on his Bird Blog. He has just done some renovation but what's there is really good. Abe identified this as a House Sparrow. He has much knowledge of the area birds. Stacey had an Elk shed last week, here is my collection of bird sheds from my boat. Do you know what they are. The bottom two are the same.
Here is a Robin in the garden on a pile of cut grass that I have not spread.
The nuts on the Ohio Buckeye Tree are starting to grow. Twenty flowers and only two nuts on this stem.

What is it? My daughter calls it a Prairie Plant but that doesn't seem right. The plant can be broken off and stuck into the ground and it will grow. Troy of Rambling Around Texas helped identify this plant as Sedum. There are so many varieties of this succulent plant it's hard to narrow down but it may be Sedum Hultenii.
A Tea Rose my wife got as a gift, the flower is 1/2" across.
It's so easy in a walk to shoot so many things.

It's good to have smart blogging friends.

A Potpourri of Photos

My grass got a little long because of the vacation time. The rabbit in the backyard thought it was nice and did a little trimming. It likes the clover in the yard. The Giant Blue Hostas is in bloom. It definitely puts out the best blooms of the Hostas family.

The Calla Lilies are in full bloom.
I have two types the pink,
and the yellow. This one had a visitor which I shot.
Here is another with a teeny Grasshopper.

My Double Red Begonias also had a visitor,
it was a lightning Bug.
Here he is face on crawling on the flower.
I certainly had a nice trip around the house.

Memorial Day 5.26.08

This being our Memorial Day I pay tribute to all the men and women who fought for our freedom. The British were the ones who populated our country in the beginning but we turned on them and they invaded us but the USA prevailed. Thankfully, we are now allies in the fight against those who would take our freedoms.

The British invaded Kent this weekend. They picked a beautiful day to make the invasion. The cars made a backdrop for the remembering of our flag of freedom.

The RED, the WHITE
and the Blue.
It was held at the grounds of the Masonic Center. I did a post on this building before.
There were about a hundred cars. The building was decorated with the colors and the American Flag was flying.

The most interesting car to me was this 1959 Morris Minor.
This bright green Spider 1500 made quite the show.
When I think of British cars of the 50's and 60's this green sports car such as this Austin Healey comes to mind.