Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Daily Pics #194.
Good morning everyone! It’s so nice to see you all again this morning. The sky is such a deep, beautiful blue this morning and the sun is shining brightly and beginning to add some warmth to the chilly morning air. A nice morning to be on the deck with my cup of coffee, listening to the loons flying overhead. And not just once, but several times which is so nice indeed. There was a loon down at the river yesterday, but he was too far for good pictures. There was nine boats in that one small area where I like to sit and each had from 2 to 6 people on board fishing. Only one group was catching anything though.
Pocket was first out here this morning happily picking up his peanuts. Then Skamper showed up. Then Runner came on Skamper’s third trip. He had just filled up with 3 peanuts and Runner came charging. Poor Skamper, he ran so fast and jumped off the deck, legs off to the sides, tail straight back and he landed on his tummy with a “flump”. Runner jumped after him, but didn’t do things right and he landed on his back with a “whump”. He sat up, looked around for a bit but couldn’t find Skamper so he slowly climbed back up onto the deck. Skamper, who wasn’t even a foot away, then ran off home. It’s amazing that Runner didn’t see him. Anyway, he took his peanut and off he goes. Pocket then came and grabbed the 3 remaining peanuts.
Time for today’s flower pictures, the featured image at the top is a close up of a single light blue and white delphinium flower. My landlord’s delphiniums are in full bloom now and there are several different color variations.
In the photo above is another close up of a delphinium in blue and lavender. Well, I hope you all have a great Sunday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
Daily Pics #193.
Good morning and Happy Weekend to everyone! It is simply a fabulous morning, though just a bit on the cool side at 57F (14C), due to that strong north wind yesterday. But it is going to reach 81F (27C) today with beautiful sunshine, so that is still a very nice day. I hope it won’t be quite so windy today though. It’s easier to get better pics when there is less wind. And when it’s a strong wind even insects like butterflies and dragonflies tend to look for more sheltered places. Speaking of insects, I have been trying to get some really nice pics of different kinds of insects, and lately, bees and wasps. There are lots around now with all the flowers blooming, but it’s still not that easy sometimes to get the right pictures. There is a certain flower blooming right now, no idea what it is but the bees love them, so I have been sitting in a patch of them trying to get some different pics up close.
But right now, since accidentally dropping my camera on a rock, focusing up close is a real challenge, so it’s taking me longer than expected for my pics. A few wasps and other bee like insects show up also. And two days ago a hornet showed up. I have never seen a hornet that big before, it was huge, and right beside me, about 2 inches (5cm) away. Too close for me so I retreated as quickly as possible without scaring this big critter. That ended my bee photography for the day. Well, today with our flower pictures we are back to the birds once more.
The top featured image is a female goldeneye duck with her brood of little ducklings. That is actually the first time I have seen goldeneye ducklings so that was a nice treat. That photo is actually from a couple weeks back, and that was the only day I saw them. So I’m glad I was able to get a picture of them.
In the photo above is a broad-winged hawk who was getting a bit nervous having me around. The reason was simple, it had a nest in the pine tree where I was standing. So I managed to get some nice pics of this bird nice and close. They are about the size of a crow and can actually get quite vicious in defending their nest. I discovered that one time a few years ago. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 