Lilies of the Garden

Now the Lilies are in bloom...the front yard is looking pretty good.

Lilies of the Garden #1

Lilies of the Garden #2

Lilies of the Garden #3

Lilies of the Garden #4

Lilies of the Garden #5

Sanity Sun At Patuxent Research Refugee

Today was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, not too hot, not too humid etc. To make things even better, it ended up being a target rich environment photographically...and worse yet, in one case I can't decide which photo I like best.

Eastern Bluebird

Insects On Thistle

5-lined Skink Sunning Itself

Broad-headed Skink Sunning Itself

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle

Ai Weiwei in the Wild

So a while back, I went to the Hirshhorn Museum and saw the Ai Weiwei "According to What" exhibit. I've since noticed some evidence of his art escaping into the wild.....I now present to you "Weiwei in the Wild" :)

Ai Weiwei's Log

Nature's Log

Weiwei's Rebar

Boston's Rebar Notice the classic green

For those interested, the "According to What" exhibit has moved on and is now at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through 23 July 2013. I actually enjoyed the exhibit very much. You can read a bit more about Ai Weiwei on wikipedia HERE.

The Osprey Returns

Took my sanity sun again today at Patuxent Research Refuge to check on the Ospreys' which I figured had a nest in the area. It seems I am correct. There was an Osprey tending a nest on one of the platforms out over the lake. I saw another Osprey in the distant trees that I'm assuming was the male, and I did snap a not so great picture of him. When I first arrived, the Osprey on the nest ran a short recon flight, probably to check me out. I desperately tried to follow her in flight and focus as I shot. Between the focusing and the panning, I was unimpressed with the results. Learning from that, and my previous experience during The Battle of Cash Lake, the second time the Osprey went out on a recon flight, I pre-focused on the nest and awaited her return. I grabbed these shots as she landed.

Osprey Approaches Nest

Touch Down

Settling In

And The Winner is....

The National Arboretum, which wins the prize as the subject of my 500th post to this blog. The thought that it was probably my last chance this year to catch the dogwoods in bloom led the Arboretum to edge out the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, so my sanity sun today included some time at the National Arboretum where I made my way over to the dogwoods. Only a few trees were in full bloom, most were well past peak bloom, and many were entirely stripped of flowers after yesterday's hard storms. The neighboring Asian Collections werw looking really nice too (and a fair number of people seemed to agree), so a wandered through them a bit. Here are some of the photos.

Dogwood in Bloom

Japanese Maple - Asian Collection

Interesting Bark - Asian Collection

Fallen Flower - Asian Collection

Peonies - Asian Collection

Visiting the National Cathedral

We had a nice private tour of the Washington National Cathedral yesterday. Both Elesa and I were quite impressed. I took a lot of pictures, and could have taken a whole lot more. The details of the cathedral are incredible, and having someone point out even more details and explain them ...all lead me to think I need to go back and spend more time there :) Below are a few of my photos, a full slideshow (21 photos) can be seen HERE.

Columns and Stained Glass

Good Shepherd Chapel

One of the Newest Additions - Mother Theresa

Battle of Cash Lake

I was back at Patuxent Research Refuge today for a little walk with my camera getting my "sanity sun". I was set up with a 70-200 2.8L on a 2x extender, with a polarizing filter and the ISO set at 800 when the "Battle of Cash Lake" broke out right in front of me. Apparently a Great Blue Heron had crossed into an Osprey's airspace and all hell broke loose. According to the time stamps on my photos, the entire battle lasted about 60 seconds. Not being the best war photographer, I didn't get the world's best shots. Between the panning and focusing, they could certainly be a bit sharper...but the photos are interesting to me.

Osprey Approaches Great Heron From Top Right

Osprey Overshoots as Heron Dodges and Weaves

Osprey Turns to Return to Perch

Osprey Landing

Osprey Back on Watch