#150 of 365 for May 30, 2012

I passed by and saw this little bud just a few hours later and just had to shoot it again :)

#149 of 365 for May 29, 2012

I am still playing with peony buds.  This one is just about to pop open so I named it....
Bursting Forth In Bloom

#148 of 365 for May 28, 2012

#147 of 365 for May 27, 2012

I live close to the Pine River and love to either take a walk or a bike ride and watch the sunset.

#146 of 365 for May 26

#145 of 365 for May 25, 2012

Summer Fun 

I enjoyed watching this little guy learn to skip rocks.  He arrived at the park on the back of his brother's bike, standing on  pegs on the back wheel... not sure what they are called :)  He was so excited as he would watch his brother explain how to skip a rock then he would attempt, squealing with delight after each stone he threw, and calling out "brother, look" after each attempt.  I thought he made a great opportunity for a sunset silhouette shot.  You can see the stone in his hand.  He hasn't quiet grasped the technique of skipping stones yet, but he was so full of joy and excitement as he and his brother and sister enjoyed time at the park just being kids.  I was amazed at the patience and carefulness of the older brother to watch over the younger two, and he seemed to be having just as much fun as the little ones.

I thought I would add that the water is shallow at this little docking area in the picture... less than 2 feet. I noticed looking at the picture it looked like it was deep water.

#144 of 365 for May 24, 2012

I wasn't satisfied with my little yellow flower shot last night so I decided to try again today and see if I could do any better.  This morning it has opened up more so I it looks totally different.  The petals aren't wet but they sure look like it.  I wonder if that is something on the little petals to attract the bees?

#143 of 365 for May 23, 2012

These tiny little yellow blooms are smaller than a dime.

#142 of 365 for May 22, 2012

141 of 365 for May 21, 2012

Sunset Over The River

140 of 365 for May 20, 2012

Let's have a closer look.

139 of 365 for May 19, 2012

Pretty little yellow violets!

#138 of 365 for May 18, 2012

I liked the morning light so well, I decided to go back at sunset and shoot the geese again :)  It proved to be quiet a challenge to get the geese into the spots I needed them in.  They got so accustomed to me they only wanted to walk around with their heads down picking grass.  If I stood up and moved they would watch me until I became still again preparing to shoot them...... then go back to picking grass.  There are a few more on my regular blog too.   http://www.joannthrasher.blogspot.com/

#137 of 365 for May 17, 2012

#136 of 365

#135 of 365 for May, 15, 2012

#134 of 365 for May 14, 2012

This young fellow was plowing with a team of 6 horses!

#133 of 365 for May 13, 2012

I have so much fun just driving around and seeing what I can find to shoot :)  I was so pleased when this old mill popped into view.

#132 of 365 for May 12, 2012

#131 of 365 for May 11, 2012

We came upon this beautiful old church, while driving around looking for something to take pictures of.

#130 of 365 for May 10, 2012

#129 of 365 for May 9, 2012

Often when driving around the older farms in Michigan, I see these big old stumps from years ago.  They were placed in the fence rows to serve as fences.

#128 for May 8, 2012

#127 for May 7, 2012

A fruit tray I made..... it was yummy!

#126 of 365 for May 6, 2012

I finally moved on to something besides red wing blackbirds...  at least temporarily :)

Answers To Questions

Reds,  Angela 2932 and Nicki.... Thank You! and  I am shooting with a Canon 70-300 lens.   I think I probably would need something as long as 500mm to be serious about wild life shooting.  I didn't even go look at BIG lenses for fear I would want one :)

This is camera crop for the last image I posted.... #125...you can see I had to crop quiet a bit.  Some of the time the birds are even farther away than this.  They came much closer to me last time I was shooting them.

 I am a patient person but these birds were displaying extraordinary behavior.  I knew where they would nest, so when I would approach the area they would begin to chatter and hop about from cat tail to cat tail and watch me.  I assumed they were trying to lead me away from their nests.  I could see a few nests that appeared to be empty but couldn't see any nests that had anything in them...... at first.   When I got back to my computer and opened the pictures I could see they were catching bugs as they hopped about and chirpped.... sometimes having several bugs in their mouth at the same time.  I never saw them eat the bugs or do anything with them but I noticed at different times in my series of pictures they would go from having a mouth full of bugs to no bugs so I thought they were at some point just deciding to eat what they were holding :) They would at times go out of my sight down low in the cat tails growing thick along the edge of the river.   However on my 3rd time to observe and shoot them I discovered they were actually catching bugs to feed their babies!!  This nest is out in the water about 15-20 feet so I couldn't get a clear shot but you can see a baby.  Actually I think there are about 3 babies in this nest.  I can see them move if I watch through my 70-300 lens.

#125 of 365 For May 5, 2012

Oh if I don't get off this bird shooting kick soon....... I am going to be wanting a BIG lens!

O

#124 of 365 for May 4, 2012

I have been to shoot these birds 3 times now..... haven't even edited the last batch.  I am so excited they have posed so well for me.

#123 of 365 for May 3, 2012

I had to go back again to shoot the red wing blackbirds :)

#122 of 365 for May 2, 2012

Getting Supper.

# 121 of 365 for May 1, 2012

Just a goose :)