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Friday, April 30, 2010

Photohunters: Black

This is another photohunters theme where the possible choices are endless. First, a Canada goose with a long black neck.
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Reflections in the water which are black.
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It's hard to shoot the sunset from my house once the trees leaf out because I end up with dense black silhouettes of the foliage.
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I prefer the bare trees for shooting sunsets but in spite of all the black foliage, I liked these recent sunset shots.
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Photohunters post their links at the Home of the Hunt beginning Saturday mornings.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Nature Notes: Speculating


I titled this week's nature notes "Speculating" in part because I couldn't think of a title.
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I do speculate, particular during the beginning and end of each season about why the gulls arrive at Shelley Lake in the fall and leave at the end of winter.
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The sandy area which juts out in the shot above is covered in gulls during the winter but they all leave by spring.
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Since there is so much information on the internet, even local information, I tried googling to see what I could find.
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I couldn't find anything and the funny part is when I googled with Shelley Lake, Raleigh, NC and gulls, I ended up finding photos people posted of the gulls in the snow at the lake.
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I realize that some gulls spend the winter at places a lot colder than here, that get a lot more snow than we do, so it's not that I expect they would migrate away from here during the winter.
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What doesn't make sense to me is that it's actually warmer, for the most part, on the North Carolina coast during the winter than it is in Raleigh and I know there are year round gulls there. So I don't get why some choose this lake for the winter and leave during the breeding season.
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In case you're wondering about these photographs, they are recent ones at the lake of what is there.
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Actually, I'd need a sound track to get a better idea of what's there. The geese, ducks, and other water birds seem to have thinned out to only a few which isn't accurate.
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What they have actually done is found protected spots to breed and raise their families and if I try to investigate I hear quite a loud ruckus and retreat to leave them in privacy.
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This time of year I rarely see any of the great blue heron but I hear them screeching like crazy, if I get to close to their hide a way spots.
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By summer I can start looking for the great blue herons again and they won't be so shy.
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During nesting season there are so many less water birds to see on the lake but it's fun to spot a few in protected areas and hear even more where it's hard to get to.
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Thursday is the official posting date for Nature Notes, although I tend to post earlier in the week. You can visit the host, Rambling Woods, to find other participants.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Today's Flowers: Intoxicated on flowers


I sometimes feel intoxicated by the blooms in my garden. There is something new to see and smell daily.
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I was thrilled to spot my first red roses in bloom. There is a long ways to go before they form a red wall but I am seeing the first signs.
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There are about 5 red roses that opened over the past few days and a zillion of tiny red buds holding the promise of things to come.
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The very first red roses I spotted from a distance made me suspect there were cardinals in the rose briers.
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Then I walked into my garden and the closer I got, it became clear that I had some early blooms.
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I look forward to when they are a mass of blooms but I'm enjoying the early ones now.
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I am also spotting more iris each time I wander through my back garden.
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I love the mix of colors on the iris. They are so appealing to me.
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Most of the camellias have already started to drop but I have a few that are in full bloom still.
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I am also starting to get blooms in what I call my bathroom garden. I planted the area with a wild flower mix after the bathroom remodeling guys (about 8 years ago) killed an area by throwing old fixtures on it. They carted the fixtures off and then I planted seeds.
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I am enjoying the flowers on my deck wall. I like the way they form a wall of white with orange centers.
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I particularly like the pattern the orange forms inside the white. Nature is a great designer.
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My storage building roses are blooming like crazy with new blooms daily.
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I often say that I may not live in a rose covered cottage but I have a rose covered storage building to make up for it.
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For flowers around the world, visit the home of Today's Flowers.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Photohunters: Addiction

The photohunters word this week is addiction. I have a strong addiction to caffeine. That addiction is generally satisfied with copious amounts of coffee.
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The ground coffee beans in these photographs represent about one third of the amount of coffee I consume each day. I brew the coffee and drink it. I don't eat the coffee or mainline it.
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For other participants you can visit the home of the hunt beginning Saturday mornings.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Nature Notes: My clump of Earth

Thursday is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I thought I would write some kind of post about Earth Day for my nature notes this week but most of what I would say is depressing.
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Frankly, I don't want to depress myself so I'm not going to try and articulate the thoughts I have leading up to this earth day. On a cheerier note, my city (Raleigh, NC) is suspending bus fare for earth day.
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Anyone who wants to ride on any of the city buses on Earth Day in Raleigh, NC can do so for free.
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I think that's a great idea to encourage people to try out using the buses for transportation on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
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There are also a lot of programs in my area for Earth Day including a an all day event at the Museum of Natural Sciences.
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All of the photographs in this post were taken over the past seven days. The shot above was taken today and the shot below was taken about 5 days ago of the same bush.
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I thought this week it would be fun to do some comparison shots which show just how much change occurs in such a brief span.
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The shot below shows the current status of one of my big rose areas. All the green on the right hand side of the shot are rose branches that have tiny buds. I'll be curious how soon they will start blooming.
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The roses below (also shown in third shot) are the first ones to bloom this year which is unusual, particularly this early. Ordinarily the roses above bloom first but even they rarely bloom before late May. They are on schedule with their tiny buds.
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The azaleas shown below were photographed today and they are almost in full bloom.
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For a comparison, below is the same bush facing the same direction six days ago.
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That azalea hedge on one side bloomed bottom up. For almost a week the bottom blooms where far ahead of the buds on top when facing the hedge from the driveway looking towards my secret garden..
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The shot above and below are of the same hedge with the same amount of days apart but were taken from the other side of the hedge. From that side which was inside the garden facing towards the driveway, they seemed to bloom faster on the top.
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It is amazing to me how much change can occur within the space of a few days.
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I'm enjoying the flowers on deck wall which started blooming recently.
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I could watch the birds from my deck door all day. They are so many different ones that take advantage of my bird baths.
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I have a fancier bird bath in my front yard but on the deck I use what used to be large planter dishes.
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When they start wearing out or getting too hard to clean, I swap them out with other ones. After these need to be replaced, I'll have to get new ones as these are the last of the planter saucers I have on hand.
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For other participants of nature notes and signs of the season, you can visit the host at Rambling Woods. The official Nature Notes day is Thursday but I tend to post early.