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Friday, November 30, 2012

Photohunters: Stellar Advertising


At first I was stumped with how to combine stellar and advertising.
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Then I thought about this enormous globe outside the new Nature Research Center in downtown Raleigh, NC. I think it's stellar advertising in an earthy way.
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I also think the new downtown Restaurant in Raleigh has great advertising on the outside which might even qualify as being stellar in an earthy way.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Nature Notes: late November

I'm going to start with nature shots I took on Thursday and the photos will be moving from there through to the last ones which I took today.
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This will be a long post because I was hurriedly picking out the shots and didn't narrow it down very well.
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Most of the colorful leaves have dropped off over the past few days.
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 We've had some windy days where I could catch the grasses plumes waving.
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The trail around Shelley Lake has a lot of evergreens which are nice for variety as the fields and trees are turning brown and tan.
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I don't usually notice the evergreens until late fall and winter after the deciduous trees are dropping their leaves.
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I enjoy the contrast that is highlighted with change.
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I already used some of the shots I took of the great blue heron catching a fish on my other blog, but I took so many that there were ones left for this post.
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I hope the heron was as happy with its catch as I was with finally managing to get a photo of it with a fish in its mouth.
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I have been trying to get a photo of the herons with a catch for years.
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The pair of downy woodpeckers were fun to watch going up the tree and swapping sides. I didn't manage to get both of them in one shot but I used a shot of the other one on my other blog and saved this one for nature notes.
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The duck below looked snug in a protected area on the bank.
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I like the feathery look of trees that have recently dropped their leaves.
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I might not have noticed this mallard pair in the creek if the male hadn't been continually honking.
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There's something eerie to me about the next shot.
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I've had my first mornings of the season with ice in the bird baths which I had to dump out.
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The leaves almost look like the variations are a white color but the lighter part is frost.
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The male cardinal looked like he was turning his nose up at me.
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Then he showed off his profile.
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The bluejay primping in the tree was showing off its white feathers and I almost didn't realize it was a blue jay.
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I knew what it was once it showed off its tail feathers.
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It's easier and easier to spot birds in the trees now that most of the leaves have fallen.
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Even the oaks only have a few leaves left.
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The squirrel was continually moving its tail up and down.
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They always move their tails a lot but this one was in hyper drive.
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I took a ton of shots but it was hard to catch the movement.
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The tail went so fast I only got it in a few positions.
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The female cardinals are abundant as are the males.
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This female moved its head almost as much as the squirrel was moving its tail but not quite as fast.
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I think the next bird is a sparrow but it was partly hidden in the tree so harder to tell.
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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Today's Flowers: Late Bloomers

It was a little bit sad spotting all the flowers on this rose bush at the park, knowing they probably won't make it past tonight.
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Some roses can handle some frost and even light snow but they don't usually last after the temperatures drop into the 20s F (- 6.6s C).
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The low tonight is supposed to be in the 20s F so these rose will probably turn brown.
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Friday, November 23, 2012

Photohunters: Fall Colors

 Fall
It's hard to believe that the two photohunts didn't coordinate for one to pick fall and the other to pick colors as the theme words this week.
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All the shots in this post were taken after Thanksgiving dinner when we went on a walk and enjoyed the remaining fall colors.
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Many of the trees have dropped their colors of fall.
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Even so, there are still quite a few fall colors remaining.
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 For those of you in the U.S., I hope you are having a happy Thanksgiving weekend and for those of you other places I hope you are having a happy weekend too.
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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Nature Notes: Late Fall

Hard to believe that fall is almost over.
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It has continued to be wet which I don't mind too much.
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I like the raindrops dripping off the bittersweet berries above.
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It helps my sinuses when the fallen leaves are wet.
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It is nice to have a few days when the sun comes out.
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The Virginia Creeper has climbed up my house to decorate the birdhouses.
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The robins are spending more time in the trees as it gets colder.
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The male cardinals have each claimed a bird bath.
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It's nice to still have some color from the leaves to brighten grim days.
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The birds are getting increasingly active.
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They still take breaks from food gathering to catch a bath like the male cardinal above and the female cardinal below.
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The sparrow is waiting for its turn to bathe below.
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The male cardinal is perched on top of my deck swing in the next shot.
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The rufous-sided towhee below is in my front yard.
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The sparrow below is watching the towhee and waiting to catch a bath in my front yard.
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After the birds finish, I filled up the bath.
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Photographing the birds reminds me to put fresh water in the bird baths.
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