Wednesday, July 30, 2008

More Miscellaneous


I'm kind of getting into this "miscellaneous" theme and since I've recently purchased more memory for photos, I'm going to take advantage of it! Here are some more "miscellaneous" sights from my backyard......I'm amazed at what I've started noticing when there's a camera around my neck!


Juvenile Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (out on its own already)

Hedge-Nettle (Stachys tenuifolia)

Wild Monarch Butterfly (male)

Twelve-Spotted Skimmers (male)

Cedar Waxwing in Mulberry Tree

Cooper's Hawk feather

Sophie on the loose





17 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

HA! I love those bubble thoughts!
Dragonflies NEVER sit still for me.
Sophie looks like she's on the hunt!
That feild of coneflowers is GORGEOUS!!!

Debbie said...

Oh, Ruthie, I love all the photos. They are great. You sure have a nice selection of wildlife visiting your yard.

Is the little "Where'd that dog go?" creature a squirrel. He looks quite different than what we have here on the east coast. He is lovely.

We had to put up a very formatible fence around our garden to keep out the wild bunnies. They have become almost tame, paying us little heed unless we get too close.

LauraHinNJ said...

Oh! I remember those cute spotted squirrel things from NoDak! What are they called?

Jayne said...

These are all wonderful Ruthie, esp. the last one... lol!

Anonymous said...

What wonderful pictures! I especially like the frog sequence in the previous post.

Anonymous said...

Love the field of cone flowers, so beautiful. The rest of the pics are amazing bunnies, dragonflies, birds, squirrels, flowers, etc. I know you take time to smell the flowers too, there is so much to enjoy in your yard.
MOM

Julie said...

Ruthie, I mean this in a nice way, but you're not good for me! Gus and I took a walk yesterday and captured some butterfly pictures. It was kind of hard with Gus trying to catch them and just enough wind to blow the flowers they were on, but I got a few good pictures. I'll try posting them soon- HA! What book/site do you use to help identify them? Whats the difference between a moth and a butterfly? I may go out again and try for some more pictures, but darn its so hot and there are biting bugs out there! I brought the anti itch cream with me to work today just incase I missed a spot!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Lynne,
That dragonfly sat still so long I thought it must be dead! After I took the picture I poked it with a weed stem and it flew away!
Those bubble thoughts are available in the Photoshop Elements disk I sent you (if you've had a chance to load it yet...) It's lots of fun!

Hi Debbie & Laura,
The little gopher is a 13-Lined Ground Squirrel (in Minnesota we call them Streaked Gophers) and I have them EVERYWHERE in my backyard.

Hi Jayne,
That last picture was my fave too--I thought it was so cute the way that bunny was sitting up and the squirrel just ignored him!

Hi Kathy,
Welcome to my blog and thanks for commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed all the pictures.

Hi Mom,
I've been such a slug lately since it's been hot, and decided it was time to get out for a little walk. Sophie ran A LOT and sacked out on the couch for the rest of the night (but I think she had fun).

Hi Julie,
I think Gus is probably a little more observant than Sophie--she's never been much interested in butterflies. I end up taking bunches of pictures and usually only have 1 or 2 good ones to save. Once I have time to look at the pictures, I have several field guides I use to help with ID: for dragonflies I use the Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies. For butterflies I have the Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, Butterflies of the North Woods, and the Stokes Butterfly Book. For bugs I have the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, and one more Field Guide to Butterfly Caterpillars of North America. Here's a good website for butterfly and moth information also: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
I've been lucky and not had many insect bites, but I'm kind of a sour old thing and maybe the bugs realize that ;-)

Meggie said...

Your field of coneflowers is quite impressive. Do you weed it much or just let it grow wild?

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I love your photos Ruthie. I had a good chuckle at your cartoon captions.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if animals have a sense of humor. Post idea for my blog. Thanks.

Mary C said...

Great shots and captions, Ruthie! It's amazing how much one can find in their own yard, isn't it? Especially your yard! How are your veggie gardens doing?

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Ruthie, your coneflowers are wonderful!!!
Did you plant them there, or is this an area that has so many on its own?

I am envious--my little nibbled blossom is one of only seven. :-(

Mary said...

Your bubble thoughts make me laugh out loud. Sophie on the loose is precious. You have SO MUCH going on there, girl. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Thanks for my wide smile tonight :o)

RuthieJ said...

Hi Meggie,
I used to weed it a little bit years ago when it was first starting, but not anymore--the coneflowers and other flowers have gotten too tall!

Thanks Lisa! I'm not as clever as "I can has cheezburger" but it's still fun to try!

Hi ScienceGuy,
Sometimes when I see the bunnies playing their "leap & chase" games I think they must have a sense of humor (or at least some kind of enjoyment of life)

Thanks Mary C. The gardens are doing good--finally have a couple of red tomatoes and have been eating zucchini and Swiss chard. I also finally had to spray some Liquid Fence to keep the deer from munching my climbing beans and cukes!

Hi Nina,
I planted these coneflowers years ago and they have just continually re-seeded themselves. I would be more than happy to send you some seeds later this fall.

Thanks Mary! There's so much to see in this backyard I just wish I had more time and energy to enjoy it.

Marsha said...

Cute shots, I especially love the first one! We have lots of dragonflies here to this year. Your misc posts are fun!

Julie said...

LOL! You're neither sour or old! Thanks for the book suggestions. I'll hit the stores soon and decide which one I want. Thanks!