Macro Monday: Borage of a different color

This weekend I noticed that our Borage plants had pink and lavender (sort of the pink and blue mixed together to make it) flowers along with blue ones on the same plant. I have never seen anything but blue petals before. A quick Internet search showed that this does happen, but very infrequently. I kind of like it!

For more up close images, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Turtle

In the decade of living here, we have never before seen a turtle on the property. Living near the river it is not an unlikely inhabitant, but unexpected all the same. (Maybe it came over from our neighbor's pond, as all their ducks seem to have taken up residence in my front yard.) Cody--who made the discovery yesterday afternoon--was very wary of this unusual being. I'm not sure why the turtle was against the fence, but obviously that was not a good decision.

I will have to look it up for identification, as I'm not familiar with native turtle species. It could very well be someone's released exotic pet, too. The chickens were certainly keeping a wide berth!

Enlarged, I could see myself reflected in the turtle's very blue eye!

After a few photos, I relocated it farther away from the backyard, down in the creek. It would be nice to have a resident turtle.

For more macro images, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Paved with gold

When I returned home from my quilting adventure, the short grass prairie was awash in the yellow of Englemann's Bladderpod, Lesquerella engelmannii. After two drought-stricken years it was nice to see the wildflowers making a recovery. Intending to take a macro, I captured the sunrise first.
 

Each year one species outshines the others in sheer quantity. This seems to be the Year of the Bladderpod (so far). There are still about seventy species yet to come! Better hurry up and order my bees!

Even the mowed paths around the wildflower meadow and through the Juniper and Oak savanna seem to be paved with gold where this flower has taken up residence. That's part of the magic of this place.

For more up close shots visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Dinosaur Kale

There's a light rain this morning forming little ponds in the centers of the dinosaur kale. They are two years old and about to bloom; new ones are being propagated as replacements.

Farmer Rick and I finally planted the grape vine this weekend we've held captive in a pot for four years. We've had a difficult time deciding where to plant it as it will require building an arbor, and those tend to be focal points in any garden. It continues to amaze us with new shoots each year, waiting for us to get it together. So we chose a sunny spot in the short grass prairie, overlooking our sky chairs and pond.

As soon as we got it planted, we came in the house and found out our son and his wife are expecting their first child! So it was a momentous weekend! Happy March everyone!

For more close up images visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Water...at last!

While the rest of the U.S. has been enduring an unusual winter, we've actually been back to what we consider normal--a couple of days of gentle rains in the 40's followed by a sunny day in the 60's but freezing at night, then the cycle repeats.

Yesterday it felt like the first day of spring! Farmer Rick and I spent the day gardening in t-shirts! The asparagus also thinks it is spring. They are predicting 2 inches of snow tomorrow. That's just how weird our weather can be.

But the most amazing news I want to share is our well is now topping off at 5'9" of WATER which means: I am now able to once again run the washing machine and dishwasher! I have not been able to do this in NINE MONTHS. If you are new to my blog, we have just endured the driest, hottest year on record and our well was entirely without water for four months, and has been limping along ever since. I will never take turning on the faucet and water coming out for granted. If you want to see what it looked like empty check out this post

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Here's some highly aerated water down at the river, and a couple of riffles.

 

 

Suddenly it comes back to me why I live here!

Just listen to the river sing:

For more up close images, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Earrings for a friend

I'm almost ready (finally!) to launch my Etsy.com shop. Life certainly has had a way of interfering. I'm off to the big city for a few days to get some dental work done from a 'chewing accident' and taking these earrings I made as a gift to a friend who wanted something in turquoise.

For more macro imagery, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Garden Memento

This weekend I cut the asparagus patch back to the ground, and fondly came across some bits of Phoebe's wool stuck to the seed pod of this Thornapple, Datura metel.

I love this one because you can see the garden gate, which is in my header. We are still having 'fall color' with the blackberry canes on the bottom left.

I need to cut this plant back, too. Perhaps I will bring the dried stems in with the wool and place them with Avo's feathers.

For more up-close and personal photography, visit Macro Monday.

Macro Monday: Best Shots of 2009

Since we just did our favorite Sunday Stills shots, I thought I'd pick my two best 2009 macro shots from Macro Monday.

This Mottled Tortise Beetle, Deloyala guttata, shot back in September is something I'd never seen before. It's always cool when nature can surprise you in your own backyard. I am still amazed by the 'windshields' of its wings and the metallic designs. I love the textures and details of these.

There are more than 800,000 species of insects on Earth--more than all the other plants and animals combined. Of this great number of insects, nearly half are beetles. When naturalist and entymologist E.O Wilson was once asked what he knew about God, he answered the only thing he knew was that God was inordinately fond of beetles.

My second favorite was this Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, photographed in November. There is nothing in our landscape so stunning as the blue of this butterfly.

Probably the best thing about these shots were being in the right place at the right moment and having the camera with me!

Visit Macro Monday for more up-close images!

Macro Monday: Historic Math and Geometry

On Sunday one of our neighbors kindly gave us a tour of the pioneer ruins at his place, once owned by Theophilus Watkins, the man who founded our little town in 1867. The Watkins house was very interesting, and I'll post about that later this week.

What really intrigued me though was a crumbling outlying structure that pre-dates the house and town. I think macro photographers notice details other people tend to miss. Our friend had never noticed the date, math or geometry I instantly saw.

1851 carved into the west side mortar was hidden in the shadow of a more recent Hackberry tree growing very close to the building.

There was also a Natal Star, or Star of Bethlehem carved into this wall.

This was found on the north wall. Who was LAR + FT? These are not the initials of the Watkins'. Were these the initials of the first pioneers who constructed this building? Could it have been the blacksmith Mr. Roberts that had a blacksmith shop on our property?

Inside, someone was very preoccupied with math.

What was being counted, each number so close in value to the next?

And what was being tallied?

Here you can see the remains of a metal stove pipe sticking out, which tells me this was inhabited and not originally built as a barn. The second floor was sided in cypress shingles, and the walls made of dry stacked limestone covered with mortar. Some of the holes look like they were made by bullets.

The central part of this wall is gone, exposing some vertical beams. I'm thinking it was a 'dog run' style building as is often found in early Texas settlements, later the middle part enclosed for other use.

Just as predicted in a dog run cabin, there were rooms to the left and right with their own thick entrance portals.

The roof rafters were hand-hewn and you can still see the juniper bark attached.

 

If only these old walls could speak! For more up-close and personal photography, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Bird Button #3

Thanks for all the kind (and funny!) comments last week regarding the baking of my camera. It certainly was one of those 'gotta laugh to keep from crying' incidences, of which there seem to be many around here. After a cozy night by the fire I am happy to report that Camera is back to normal. Let's just hope none of you will ever need the recipe!

I am not sure what draws me to birds, but there has always been an undeniable connection of the heart. I love bird imagery almost as much, and buttons are easy to collect. The subtle, tinted patina on this one is sublime!

When I was a child my Ruthenian grandmother sent me a pet canary. As I grew up it was followed by a long line of parakeets I hand tamed and dearly loved. As a younger woman I briefly owned a sun conure which terrorized visitors and my other pets, and sadly has been the only animal I've ever had to give away. I did not realize parrots bonded with you like a mate and were extremely jealous of all other beings.

For nearly a decade I organized a national nature festival with a very large birding component. As a botanist I don't own fancy binoculars or keep a life list (too competitive) although I am aware of what birds I've seen and haven't yet seen. I don't travel to exotic places just to add their numbers. Instead I keenly observe those around me and learn their songs, feed them and watch them build their nests in my trees. I would probably photograph them if I had the right lenses.

Still, they figure predominantly in all my artistic endeavors: hand painted scarves, paintings, jewelry, even the advertisements I design for my clients. And, of course, there is my love of chickens!

For more up close and personal views from around the world visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Recipe: How to Bake a Camera

To my absolute horror--the nightmare on Ranch Road--this morning I discovered I'd left the camera outside overnight, and--in this land of so little rain--it had rained! (Guess the bets are off on which part of my body will conk out first!) I brought it in, toweled it dry, changed the batteries and took this picture. Let's call this one BO (Before Oven). Looks like a macro of a cloud.

I was crushed! How would I ever explain to Farmer Rick--now that I have gutted our main bathroom and uncovered unsightly, secret, chaotically wired chambers--I would rather have another camera instead and just finish the bathroom project in, say, 2011? That would only be a tiny inconvenience, right? Right? No, that would never do. Not when I'm the one always harping about follow through, like I had it tattooed across my...well you get the picture, no pun intended.

So, I googled 'what to do if your camera got left out in the rain', and I came across someone who said they actually baked their Canon Rebel (I can hear many of you cringing right now) and it was raised like Lazarus from the dead and it has continued working. I decided to give it a try. Even though my oven couldn't go as low as 120 degrees, I set it at my lowest of 170 degrees and baked it (without batteries or memory card) for 20 minutes with the door slightly ajar.

This way, I could at least peek in and see if it was melting. I would hate to have to explain to Farmer Rick how we suddenly needed BOTH a new camera and new oven! I'd really feel like Lucille Ball then. It got hot, way too hot to handle but held its shape. So I let it cool to room temperature. After replacing the batteries and card, here's the first picture.

For AF (After Oven) isn't this amazing? There's still a bunch of moisture under the digital screen of the viewfinder, but I'm hoping I can remove that with a little time in a plastic ziplock baggie and some silica gel. Or maybe it will need to bake longer.

Anyway, here's another vintage bird button and a maple leaf to go along with the recipe!

For more up close and personal images, visit Macro Monday!

Postscript: After a cozy evening spent by the fire with my camera (wish I could have captured this happy photo), and a night sealed in a plastic baggie with all the silica gel packages I could find from shoe boxes, and some Rainsorb thrown in, the last bit of moisture I was seeing in the display screen has completely disappeared! Whew!

Macro Monday: Bird Button

My latest whimsy is collecting antique bird, insect, and flower buttons. I'm hoping to incorporate them into my jewelry making, or at least use them for inspiration. I am in the early phase of appreciating them without knowing much about their history.

For more up close photos visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Wandering, Correctly

 

We had our first frost last night. Here it is glistening in the morning's light on Tradescantia pallida. This is a species of Spiderwort native to the Gulf coast of Mexico and is commonly called 'Wandering Jew'. Although its provenance is indeterminate, many consider this a derogatory name yet I know it by no other. It is a splendidly beautiful trailing evergreen perennial with purple leaves and flowers that brightens up the garden so I'm not sure how this is an offense. We could just as easily call it Wandering Crazy Chicken Lady and I'd be honored!

Some interesting facts: most Spiderworts have a beautiful fragrance if you take the time to sniff them, and studies have shown as houseplants they are very good at removing toxic VOC's from the air.

Visit the up close world of others at Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Pipevine Swallowtail

 

 

Here's the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly from this previously featured caterpillar. It is the most striking metallic blue. This one looks brand new, all its scales in place, and sunning itself to strengthen its wings in my garden this afternoon.

For more close-ups visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Have You Hugged Your Flower Today?

Still about flowers, only a little lighter this Monday!

I figure if Ed can use Spidey in his macros I would pull out my Flower finger puppet! She was rediscovered when cleaning out the bathroom closet this weekend, along with a a $100 bill I'd forgotten about! See, there is incentive in cleaning my house!

It's a chilly 52 degrees here today and we've received 2 inches of gentle rain all morning. This should help our well which has slowly been recharging over the past couple of weeks. I'm ecstatic over the promise of having running water in the house again.

Flower goes out to check on Finley. Just look at those smiles!

I've heard of stuffed animals before, but I've never seen a stuffed flower... 

um, you got any alfalfa cookies with you?

For a close range view from other photographers, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Campfire, Flowers, Thoughts

Yesterday I went to the funeral of my friend's father.

He was the kind of person that lived life to its fullest.

My own milestone around the corner, I have begun contemplating...

 

...is this my authentic self?

Or, is there something still pulling at my soul?

Am I ready to awaken into my true creative life?

 

I am in a funk. For more detailed and perhaps less pensive images visit Macro Monday.