Spring and Summer Arrive Earlier and Earlier

I've been taking photos of flowers, bugs etc consistently since I retired and moved here permanently 7 years ago. At least for south western Ohio, the Ohio River valley outside of Cincinnati, spring and summer seem to be arriving earlier and earlier. Here are photos I've taken in the past few days. Hellebores have been blooming since at least Feb 1 and are still going strong. Many daffodils are still blooming whie the grape hyacinth are at their peak. The tulips and woodland poppies are blooming a week earlier than they've ever bloomed before. Today I noticed some iris about to bloom (a good freeze will kill them). I know 7 years is an inadequate sample in the scheme of things, but it's still a sample that gets one thinking.


Grape Hyacinth

Daffodils

Hellebores (aka Lenten Rose)

Tulips

More Tulips

Honeyberry

Woodland Poppy

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

One of the stops we made on our trip to Arizona was Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas. It was a weekday and early February, so we were among the very few people there. We drove down into the canyon, the colors were stunning, made more so by the moving clouds and bursts of sunlight. Here are a few photos from that morning driving through the canyon.


Our Greeter and Tour Guide

Palo Duro Canyon

The Road Into the Canyon

A Burst of Sunlight

A Few Seconds Later

Sunlight Highlights the Ridgeline

More Sunlight

Layers of Color

Spring is Here (At least for now)

Still way behind on the photo work. We went on a long 2+ week "iconic American road trip" to Phoenix and back. (via Omaha;) ) .
It's taking me a lot of time to do the selecting from the resulting 1200+ images, not to mention then processing them.
But there were clearly signs of spring upon our return. Helleborus went from a few blooms when we left, to dozens and dozens. All the while, crocus and daffodils were following shortly thereafter.


Tiny Daffodils, My Favorite

A Mostly White Helleborus Bloom (Lenten Rose)

Helleborus (Lenten Rose)

Helleborus (Lenten Rose)

Purple Crocus

Purple Crocus

Off to a Slow Start

Not hitting the ground running this year (although I do have a 2nd camera body coming any day now).
In the meantime, since today is the day.


History Revisited (and ReWritten)

Ice and Frost, Winter is Coming

I haven't been as active with my camera the past month or so. Usually a good frost gets me out in the morning to get at least a few photos of plants and other subjects with interesting frost and crystal patterns. This year, I just finally got my butt out a couple days ago. I spent just 10 minutes or so photographing the ice and frost on a glass table on our deck. It was reminiscent of my "Sand Project" during the summer, but much more limited in scope. Here are a half-dozen of the images.


Ice and Frost I

Ice and Frost II

Ice and Frost III

Ice and Frost IV

Ice and Frost V

Ice in His Veins

Revisit

Every so often, I go back and look at photos I took, 5, 15 & 15 years ago. I recently was compiling & moving an album I created a couple years ago from my time in Sarajevo. A question someone asked about a photo prompted me to go back and have a look at all the photos I took at the time (fall of 2006, not too long after I switched to digital). Here are three that I don't believe I ever did anything with, that may be worth a second look, or in the case of the first photo, an example of why I passed it by.


Window and the Flower
Passed over, I didn't leave enough space around the flower in the lower right

Face in the Wall

Juxtaposition

On the Corner of...

The "Best" Camera - "Sad" & "Old and Tired Sad"

During my wanderings in October, a couple times I found myself just walking around the town while my friend got some work done. I didn't carry my "real" camera w/backpack and lenses on those walks, but I did see things I'd like to photograph. In those situations, I pulled out my "best" camera, the one I had with me, my old iPhone, Here is one such photo as color and then black & white.


"Sad"- Frostburg, MD

"Old and Tired, Sad"- Frostburg, MD

This Year's Version of Fall

I got around a bit these past couple weeks. No matter where I went, the trees were glorious, especially the maples. Here is a sampling:


Hoye-Crest, MD

Mt. Davis, PA

Earl H. Barnhart "Buzzard's Roost" Nature Preserve, OH

Out The Front Door, OH

Reflection Out the Backdoor, OH

Looking Forward to the Colors of Fall

Some of the trees in the neighborhood are getting "toasted" on top. Leaves are falling. Going to head out on a couple hikes in the coming week and I'm hoping to see some nice colors. Here's a couple shots, the first from last year and the second from 15 years ago (time flies).


Middle Falls, Letchworth State Park, NY

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Fall Arrives

And you can tell by all the spider webs around. Here's a spider and its web that I planted my face into. I went back the next day for the last two photos, after the busy big thing had repaired the mess my face made the day before.


A Mess of a Web

Hiding From the Prey Which Could Squash It Like a Bug

All is Repaired, Waiting for Suitable Prey

The Hunter Waits

Shelter From The Rain - Natural Umbrella Edition

I'm not good about getting up and going any further than my coffee pot in the morning, so I end up missing a lot of nice foggy mornings (such as today). However, on occassion I do make it out into the yard and garden after a rain. This orange cosmos has grown much larger than I expected and it's a favorite of bumble bees. Here a flower is being used as an umbrella.


Bumble Bee Takes Shelter from the Rain

To The Airport!

The oldest of my grandsons loves aircraft. This past weekend he was monitoring air traffic and noticed that a couple helicopters were taking off from Lunken Airport, flying a circuit and then landing back at the airport.

This reminded me that the "Warbirds" were there, so I had him accompany on and "errand" and I drove him down to see the planes. He especially seemed to enjoy the flyby.

Here are a few of the photos I took


"Doc's" B29 Flying Fortress Tail Gunner

One Fighter Lands, Another Takes Off

Taking a Look Through "Doc"

"Doc" is Quite Shiny!

The "Cincinnati Kid"

Fly By, B-25 in the Lead

A Fly-by of Two