Macro in the Meadow

This morning I drove down to "Summer Lake". It used to be a lake anyway. Then the department of fish and wildlife ruled it couldn't be filled anymore as it both warmed and blocked the water going downstream harming young Steelhead and Coho Salmon. Since that time the lake bed has gradually progressed into being a meadow. Next a stream restoration project took place and they planted native Redwood Trees. The Redwoods along with natural growing Alders are slowly transitioning it back into a forest. It's starting to look pretty good. My intent was to photograph some spider webs as this traditionally has been a really good spot in the past. I didn't find a one. My camera wasn't lacking for subjects. I found plenty of things to photograph. Thistles,beetles,bees,butterflies,spiders and some of the last blackberries. Naturally I sampled a few and they were sweet and delicious. Probably the last ones I will get until next summer. God's precious love to all, chris

So "B" It!

Yesterday I finally gave into the honey bees swarming around my hummingbird feeders and flowers. I grabbed a macro lens and some flashes. Then I set up some flowers and photographed the bees while I was barbequing shish kabobs.They were delicious! Not photographing from my photography blind out in the open was a bit more interesting though as I kept having bees land on me and buzz around my face etc. My biggest problems though was having too many bees on the flowers at one time. On one of the daisy images you can see that. The Honey Bees were such amazing creatures when you look at them close up. Oh and I stopped by my pond and threw in a dragonfly image for you to look at as well.

God's light and love to all,

chris

Birds and the Bees

I spent yesterday afternoon and part of today playing with the hummingbirds in my backyard. I have quite a few Anna's and a few Rufous hummingbirds. The honey bees were overwhelming though. There were literally hundreds of them mobbing the feeders for the sugar.When I would move a flower or a feeder I had to walk through bees to do it. It was a little bit unsettling as I'm not exactly the beekeeping type.Luckily all they care about is sugar and not about me! Here are a few images of the hummers. I had a great time and I think the hummers did too.

Enjoy and God bless,

chris

Birds and the Bees

I spent a good chunk of yesterday moving my photblind to a new location on the ranch. I was evicted from my spot in the garden because this year they are planting a garden there. Who da figured after three years of photographing there they would plant a garden! It's a great spot with rich soil and a lot of sun so it's a nice spot for a veggie garden. I moved uphill near the barn where there is still good morning light and a good dark background of trees and shadow. Before I moved I spent some time photographing some Acorn Woodpeckers and a really cool swarm of bees. A swarm of bees settled into a Madrone tree right next to the main road going by the ranch. It's a weird spot because it's not a a hollow or place you would expect bees to set up housekeeping.It's just in the branches. I 'm not sure how long they are going to stay there so I figured I had better photograph them while I can.They will probably move to a tree hollow or knothole once scout bees have found one. The swarm is about the size of a rugby ball. You can walk right up to it and the bees are pretty calm about it. Bees often times swarm in the springtime when the hive starts getting too crowded. The old queen will leave with roughly sixty percent of the worker bees. She will leave the old hive behind with one of the new queens that have hatched out to run. Swarms can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees. I haven't a clue as to how many bees are in the swarm out at the ranch. I would just say it is in the thousands. A very interesting day. God's light and love to all, chris