Humming birds/moths/Infrared tour

The Clearwing Hummingbird Moths have finally showed up to feast on the Bee Balm. Of course they generally show up on the hottest days of July, but if you wish to see them, you have to sit patiently and watch for them.

I was fairly far from the flowers... on the back step to the house which was in the shade. 

 Remember the crooked and ancient looking outhouse in March? It looked SO pitiful! 

Well, it looks like an aged old beauty right now. Maybe that is why I've kept from demolishing it.

I enjoy trying to 'catch' the hummingbirds doing their thing with the Bee Balm also.

This is 3 shots combined into one. 

Thankfully, the camera has an exceptional image stabilizer and ON1 allows for layers to be aligned when loaded!

I like to do these kinds of shots, they just seem so fun to look at. I think I'm going to do a bird calendar next year for all of my favorite birds shots from this year.

I can't wait to capture some action with some butterflies. I would hope to see some Swallowtails and Monarchs just because they are so incredibly beautiful.

Sunday morning I had to run an errand in town to pick up some milk and other 'stuff' you know, the stuff you forget the last time you shopped.

Since I went very early [hubby's early morning nap time], I took a little more time driving to town and back. I took my Infrared Camera with me. The fog here was dense and it had been such a l-o-n-g time since I'd been able to get out and admire the morning light and take some shots.

Along a ridge road --> a not shortcut road to town. The fog was so dense there was no sky but I thought the telephone/power poles made a neat shot with the road curving off into the distance.

The fog started to lift as I came through this ridge towards the county road that leads to the highway....that leads to town!

I just love the undulation of the different strips of crops and lines that the eyes wouldn't see in regular color.

Here the morning sun comes out on another cut across gravel road I took. 

A bit further down the road the sun came out peeked between clouds. I was following buggy tracks. The buildings on the left side of the road belong to a few Amish families. 

More photos taken on the way home from town on another gravel road between the highway and the county road. One of my favorite ways to go home.

This shot was taken on our road as I headed home with a cooler of ice cream and all sorts of good veggies to make cold meals of fruits and veggies. 

I had hoped to get some nice steaks. I looked at some steaks that I've purchased a month ago for $25 to $30 bucks. That would feed us 2 suppers and one lunch.

The sticker shock of $45.00 stopped me in my tracks. I won't be able to afford to eat beef! I picked up pork chops and chicken. 
Hubby is going to have to forgo eating steaks [which is what he is so into right now].

It makes me sad to think I let my little beefers go a few years ago. I am also thankful that our friend Steve has supplied us with some amazing fish and venison.

The sky and ridge as I turned onto one of our gravel roads.

And then....

down this lane and into the woods to our place....

All these shots were done with a camera that was modified to take Infrared photos with different 
filters of different wave lengths. I use the 665nm filter for all shots. 
I normally take this camera out a lot when driving to and from places when

there is an interesting sky. 

Today is supposed to be blistering hot so I did all the chores before 7am and even did my last bit of mowing with my little mower. Boy that mower hated the wet tall grass, but I got it done, cleaned the mower, and put it away.

Birdy Birdy! And Rainy Day

Happy May Day.. a day short!

This Oriole has a super dark chest and was only around for a little bit yesterday. A female Oriole chased him off the feeder and he eventually disappeared.

This brightly colored one has been staying around. Was the one above an Orchard Oriole? That may be the first time I've seen one of those here!

This one below is an Baltimore Oriole? 
Anyway, they are brilliant in color and provide a lot of entertainment.

May 1st was also the first day we saw a Hummingbird.

I like rainy days. Not downpour windy gusty lightening blowing driving rainy days. But days with light rain are fine. They are especially great for going out in the forest to find cool things.

The all day rain and the humidity can create mystical scenes in the macro world. I intended to just go out and browse plants but once I saw the droplets, I knew I had to get down and dirty in the mud and dirt to enjoy what surprises the forest had for me.

When I saw water clinging to plants and moss. I just had to go macro.

Mayapples or we called them Maypoles or Mayflowers.

Moss Sporophytes with rain drops.

Wild Strawberry plants.

I found some emerging Maidenhair ferns and laid on the steep bank to put my Mini me and Mini Charlie next to them.

In the corner of my vision, I saw something quite strange. It looked like slime mold. But it hadn't been warm enough to form in the forest yet .. I thought.

It looked like delicate webs topped with blobs and water. I've never seen anything like it.

Take pictures. Explore it. Admire its strange beauty. And then try to figure out what it was I was seeing!

I was able to find info on this delicate beauty on a New Zealand website called The Hidden Forest. The author says it is the reproduction system of Liverworts. I thought it was moss, but I can find that spot again I will look under the moss to see if I can find different leaves.

From the website:

In leafy liverworts the antheridia produce mobile antherozoids (sperm), which require a film of water in which to move to the archegonia, where fertilisation takes place. After fertilisation, a new plant develops, which remains attached to the parent plant. This is the sporophyte.

I had a penny in my pocket so I stuck it behind the structure to measure for size....

Isn't that the most amazing thing you've ever seen? Okay, maybe not. But I love the little things found in mosses and along the forest floor.

Here is a couple more moss shots...

and I think this is or was a fungi of some sort.

It was on a stick so you can imagine how small it was.
I had to get down in the dirt and wet mud for these shots but it was so intriguing to see.

I do love rainy days.