A beautiful foggy morning and my favorite steer!

I have had a lot of folks ask me if I enjoy living in the country.  They are usually ones that can't imagine themselves doing so.  Sure, it takes extra gas going to and from town and you can hardly have a clean car driving on the gravel roads, but those are a few disadvantages that I know of and don't outweigh the benefits. One is of the beautiful scenery that we are blessed to enjoy, and this morning was one of those occasions.  Since I was using the long camera lens, I was able to capture a bird in each of the three scenes below taken from our driveway facing west and north.  During my photo excursion, my favorite steer showed up wanting my attention. We currently have six angus steers and all of them are all black and brown except for this white-faced one.  Isn't he cute?

Two birdies pose for their portrait!

This birdhouse is just outside our kitchen window.  I was trying to capture these two birds interacting but instead they stopped for a moment and realized they were being photographed.  It sure looks like they are posing for their portrait! :)  Since it was overcast with a dull-looking sky, I preferred the image in sepia.  Enjoy!

A meadowlark's visit, butterflies, and wildflowers

I had been watching the milkweed that grew along the roadside front of our property and wanted to capture them at their prime.  It was a rainy morning and when the rain let up I got in my car and headed down the road bordering our property.  All of these images were taken with my Canon 100-400mm lens as I either sat in the drivers seat or moved over to the passenger side.  The first three images below are Common Milkweed.  Since milkweed attracts Monarch butterflies, I was hoping to get the Monarch in action.  I didn't see a Monarch butterfly but did see a Monarch caterpillar and could have kicked myself for not getting an image!  I didn't realize till I came back home and studied them that that's what it was!  See below for the remaining flower descriptions and I solicit your help in identifying the bird shown below.

I don't think this is a Monarch as it doesn't have the patterns on it like a Monarch butterfly.

This Goatsbeard flower is similar to a dandelion and when it is fruited it is much bigger than a fruited dandelion.

I forced myself to keep calm and try to capture this Western Meadow Lark who was so close to me.  I got so excited that he was so close!  

Catclaw Sensitive-Briar are so pretty against a green background and the pink colors look rich when the sun is not out!

These Daisy Fleabane grow plentiful out here.  The reason for their name is the settlers felt that this, and related plants, would keep fleas away.

I often see these prairie wild roses along the roadside and was pleased to capture this in my morning excursion!

This is a Wavy-leaf Thistle before it blooms with their lavender, thread-like, tubular flowers crowded into a single head.  Though it looks like a weed, I thought the pattern was interesting!

The reason for our light pole....

This ugly creature is now costing us $12 a month!  When we built our home here in the country over six years ago, we decided not to install a light pole to save $12 a month.  Instead we installed yellow lights on our home.  Little did we know that those lights would attract bugs, those bugs would attract frogs, and those frogs would attract snakes!  Because of the abundant rain this season, there were plenty of frogs to be seen like this one shown below which is crouched on our pool slab.  I noticed him from my living room as he was sitting up high.  When I grabbed the camera and laid on the cement to take his photo, he went into hiding mode!

Did you know that frogs don't need to drink the way we do: they absorb water through their permeable skin!  And did you know the world's tiniest frogs are smaller than a dime, and the largest frog can grow to be larger than a food and weigh more than 7 pounds!  Those would be some hefty frog legs!

Now when you come to visit our home studio at dark and see our shining light pole, think about this creature that was the driving force behind our light pole!

By the way, in case you were wondering, we haven't seen any snakes on our property!

The season's first wildflowers...

It is so relaxing to photograph nature!  I took the time to venture outside to capture the first wildflowers that have sprouted at The Smith Ranch.  The first image was taken on my first day outside of a blue wild-indigo wildflower.  On another day, I captured some more blue wild-indigo, Missouri evening primrose, a goatsbeard wildflower, prairie groundsel, and finally beardtongue.  I have also listed the flower names above the images below.  Enjoy!

This is the Missouri evening primrose.  It was sprouted on the side of our driveway.

This is a goatsbeard.  It is similar to a dandelion but when it sprouts it is much bigger than a dandelion.

Prairie groundsel is below and these look like tiny daisies.

Finally some beardtongue.  When you look close at the petals before they bloom they look like a lips!

Unfolding The Rose

Our recently planted rosebush that was a gift from a dear friend bloomed this spring.  I put on my plastic boots and got out in my yard after a recent  rain to capture this tiny rosebud.  It reminds me of one of my favorite poems that I have listed below.  Enjoy!

It is only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God’s design.
But I cannot unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine.

And the secret of unfolding flowers is not known to such as I.
God opens this flower so sweetly, when in my hands it dies.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud, this flower of God’s design,
Then how can I have the wisdom to unfold this life of mine?

So I’ll trust in Him for leading each moment of my day.
I will look to Him for His guidance each step of the pilgrim way.

The pathway that lies before me, only my Heavenly Father knows.
I’ll trust Him to unfold the moments, just as He unfolds the rose.

  – written by Darryl L. Brown

Fields of Colorful Tulips

While in Topeka, Kansas, taking portraits during photo sessions, I slipped in some personal shots of the beautiful tulips in bloom at the Ted Ensley Garden and the Doran Rock Garden in Gage Park.  I've included my favorite images of the colorful tulips for you to enjoy!