Monday in Nature Weekly Photo March 17, 2014

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<p ><strong >Basic Guidelines</strong>: Nature based subject matter. Please, declare captive subjects. Keep your image at/under 700 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing and try to keep file size under 300kb. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc. Do you have a series of great shots to compliment your post? Please, tell us where they are so we can see them.</p>

<p ><em >In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include hand of man elements. Try to minimize man made features, keep the focus on nature, and let common sense be your guide. <strong >Let's make this a true Photo of the Week and only post 1 image per week.</strong></em></p>

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<p>Good Morning,<br>

This week is the Equinox. For many this year, March 20 will be a day when we say to our friends south of the Equator, " take winter, it's your turn". Let the axis tilt.</p>

<p>I'm starting with some late afternoon sun on Locust trees weary of winter. Maybe we'll see some green clover out there on this Monday in Nature.</p><div></div>

<p>More late afternoon sun, in a cwm visited by Charles Darwin (for the geology and post-glacial features).</p><div></div>

<p>With a predicted high temp of 38° F today, Spring still seems a long way off.<br>

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<p>Oh yes, Laura, please can we have some winter down here! Winter is the best time for photography - the light is softer and kinder, and you don't have to get up at a <em>ridiculous</em> hour to catch the sunrise. Gotta love winter here!</p>

<p>This is a pattern of lichen on a rock on the Cradle Mountain Plateau in Tasmania (where the devils come from!) I was shooting landscapes with a 10-22, so had to take this at a distance of about 10cm. Not for the first time, I wished I'd brought a macro along, too.</p><div></div>

<p>Geoff - No macro needed, beautiful patterns.<br>

Since spring hasn't sprung, I went back to the greenhouse for some color. A stack of 8 images.</p><div></div>

<p>I traveled this week from western US (California) to western Europe (Belgium) and both these parts of the northern hemisphere haven't had anything like their usual amounts of winter weather. Here's a harbinger of spring that was out in the sun yesterday.</p>

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<p>Out yesterday looking for more species of birds in our balmy 16 degrees here in upper Michigan:-)<br>

This little critter just kept staring at me until I finally gave in and took his portrait...</p><div></div>

<p>Reeds that emerged from a few moths of snow.</p><div></div>

<p>Female cardinal waving goodbye. Shot at Pedernales Falls State Park in central Texas. </p><div></div>

<p>A weekend inside with a rented Macro offered some beautiful results. This is the anther of a rosemary blossom. The focus is quite narrow to showcase the microsporangium, however, the image makes a beautiful study in form and color. The approximate magnification factor 5X. A larger image can be found<a href="/photo/17710552&size=lg"> HERE</a>.</p>

<p>-Dave</p><div></div>

<p>This is a reflection off a pool of melted snow this past 50 degree Saturday. Melted snow - I love it!</p><div></div>

<p>There are signs of spring all over.</p><div></div>

<p>A seed head of a Teazle (or should that be teasel?) plant.</p><div></div>

<p>Feels like spring will soon be over - it was 80F yesterday in Florida! Took lots of nice shots of this Black and White Warbler, but this was the only one with an insect in its beak.</p><div></div>

<p>Spring is gaining ascendancy in Charleston, SC</p><div></div>

<p>Nestlings last month at Venice Rookery.</p><div></div>

<p><strong>Big Ram in Snow</strong></p>

<p>This is a Barbary sheep ram, shot down in Fort Davis, Texas area:</p>

<p><a title="Big Ram in Snow by dcstep, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2812/13209301953_b48d483fd2_c.jpg" alt="Big Ram in Snow" width="800" height="534" /></a></p>

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<p>Maybe we'll see some green clover out there on this Monday in Nature.</p>

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<p>Well, funny you should say that, Laura. Last night I stepped out my door around 1:00am, it was about -17C, looked up and couldn't believe my eyes! So I says to my best buddy, 'jaysus and begorrah Elwood. Fetch Da his camera!'</p>

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<p>One of the first signs of spring in the Mid_Atlantic states is the appearance of these Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) flowers. I also saw Snowdrops this weekend and next will be Spring Beauties. </p><div></div>

<p>was 12F this morning when out shooting the Full Worm Moon setting along the Lake so spring is still at least a couple days away here</p>

<p>this shot of the Gull and Coot was from Saturday night in the bay by the Rock&Roll HOF....there were also a lot of dead Mergansers laying on the ice and in the open water.....might have been a mass suicide after they heard Kiss was being enshrined this year.......:)</p>

<p>on a side note, if you ever thought about taking a raft trip into the Grand Canyon check out Google's Street view of the Colorado River, it's pretty cool.....especially at the junction of the Little Colorado....they got caught in a brief thunderstorm there</p><div></div>

<p>Newfoundland, CA.</p>

<p>Crow against iceburg</p><div></div>

<p><img src="/photo/17707339" alt="" />This was taken in Laprairie Quebec close to the open and frozen St.Lawrence river with winds up to 60KPH and at least -21 degrees or lower. This is simply snow patterns late in the afternoon. It felt really cold and it was difficult to operate the camera controls with my winter gloves on.</p>

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<p>Tony, welcome to MiN. I've quietly admired your nature photography here on pnet. A couple of years ago one of your ice images inspired me to think quite differently about frozen subjects. I can't imagine getting out in the conditions you describe here, but the result is beautiful.</p>

<p>Spring in the desert and the trichocereus are in bloom.</p><div></div>

<p>On my balcony</p><div></div>