My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
… well actually two more dewdrops. I found these two hanging on after a night of rain. Just after I took this image the dewdrop in the background fell to the ground. If you look closely in the front dewdrop you can see yours truly, kneeling on the ground with wet and muddy pants. 🙂 There was no way for me to get a sharper image than this as the wind was making the blade of grass sway constantly.
Yesterday morning I arrived at Blendon Woods Metro Park just as they opened the gates so I pretty much had the park to myself, everyone else was in bed or the shower. The morning dew had done it’s work of art so it was my pleasure to find a few images to add to my library.
I hadn’t planned on going to Blendon Woods Metro Park but that’s where I ended up. It was one of those times when I just needed to get out of the apartment, get in some fresh air and sunshine. I spend way too much time in long silver tube so why would I want to hang around my apartment when I’m off work. Anyway, the only lens I had with me was 35mm prime, not the best lens to use for close-ups. This is about a 50% crop so we do lose some sharpness. Not sure what sort of bug it is but it has a place on my blog today. A bug.
A great photograph is a distillation, a reduction of the chaos of our wider experience to a visually satisfying essence where what is excluded is as important as what is included. – David Ward – From the book: “Landscape Within”
I headed to Blendon Woods Metro Park in search of a sunset image. I must also admit it had a lot to do about clearing out the cobwebs between my ears. Gets kind of messy inside the mind every once in a while and I find time in nature and listening to it will clear those cobwebs. Most of the day was without clouds so the sunset was not what I hoped for. On my way to the car I found this small flower posing me. Hope everyone enjoys this upcoming weekend.
Yesterday I mentioned I’d found an interesting dark red mushroom but did not know what it was, so I stopped at the visitor center at Blendon Woods Metro Park to ask someone if they could identify it. I got my answer, plus some wonderful facts about monarch butterflies I didn’t know about (or I’d forgotten).
On the counter in the visitor’s center were two stands with monarch butterflies in different stages of their life cycle. I had never seen anything like it so I became the fascinated child and started asking questions. The two women were excited to share as much information as they could with me. One of the women would go in search for the eggs, finding them under milkweed leaves. She would then bring these tiny eggs back to the visitor center in hopes children could learn and watch them.
The eggs are creamy white and later turn pale yellow. They are elongate and subconical, with approximately 23 longitudinal ridges and many fine traverse lines. The caterpillar is banded with yellow, black, and white stripes. The head is also striped with yellow and black. There are two pairs of black filaments, one pair on each end of the body. The chrysalis is blue-green with a band of black and gold on the end of the abdomen. There are other gold spots on the thorax, the wing bases, and the eyes. This monarch has just emerged from it’s chrysalis and is drying its wings. In the background you can see on of the green chrysalis.
Okay, I could be wrong but I think this is called a Russula Mushroom. I came across four of them grouped along the path in Blendon Woods Park and was immediately drawn to the red color. So, with tripod in hand and a macro lens mounted on my camera I got down on my knees for several macro images. My pants were dirty and wet and I did a bit of grunting as I stood back up. (This aging body does not function the way it did 20-30 years ago, it creaks and cracks at times. 🙂) Rain earlier in the morning left everything with a bright shine and wonderful contrast to work with. It almost looks like a bite has been taken out of this one. Thinking I may have to buy a longer focal length macro.
I think most of my missed opportunities, and this includes all areas of my life, are because I fail to be there, to take the necessary steps to be there. If I had not picked up my camera and tripod then headed to Blendon Woods Metro Park, I would not have had the opportunity to meet this milkweed bug face-to-face. Nor, would he/she have had the opportunity to meet me. 🙂 If you look close enough I thin there is a smile on their face. I did not plan our encounter but was actually searching for raindrops on leaves or flowers after a hard rain we’d just had. And, once I’d experienced this moment I needed to know something about them, so I googled milkweed bugs. I discovered an interesting little character. Yep, I need to place myself in more places so I do not miss any more opportunities.
And, in case you need to know a milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, is a very large–sized hemipteran of the family Lygaeidae. And, believe it or not, they feed on milkweed plant juices, seeds and occasionally on other plant juices.