Monday in Nature June 6, 2016

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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. Feel free to link your image to a larger version. <strong><em>In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include hand of man elements. Please refrain from images with obvious buildings or large man made structures like roads, fences, walls. Minimize man made features and keep the focus on nature. </em></strong><br>

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<strong><em>Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week. For more details on guidelines<a href="/nature-photography-forum/00cgtY"> please read this</a> helpful information. </em></strong><br>

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<p>Good Morning,<br>

While sipping the coffee I see that today is 6-6-2016. Nature doesn't keep a calendar. The morels don't know that people are waiting for them to appear, checking the date stamps from last years photos. Snow geese don't wait for the lead bird to announce that it's Feb 16th and time to get goin'. A Bristlecone Pine doesn't know that it's 5,000 years old. Has Old Faithful ever slept in, hit the snooze on the alarm clock and erupted late to a waiting crowd? Nope. Imagine the conversation between a pair of Bluebirds picking a nest site. They'd want to make sure they sign the lease on the box in that yard because on May 15 the swallows will arrive, wanting the same box. Bears don't look at the calendar and think, "wow, fishing season starts today!". No, they just lumber down to the river, take up a position and start singing "I'm gonna eat you little fishy." (ok, let's see how many of you get that one)</p>

<p>Nature is unconcerned with the monuments humans have built over time to mark the passing of time and the arrival of the solstice. Nature isn't concerned with us at all. It's the other way around. We care about the date in a lunar cycle if we want to photograph a Grunion run or see Horseshoe Crabs come onshore. We need to be in the right place at the right time to photograph anything, and we need to know what that time is. Since we care about nature, and love to photograph it, we learn what that place and time is. We mark the calendar, or check the tide table, and get out there.</p>

<p>This tiny landscape of mature <em>Lycogala epidendrum</em> has erupted pink spores all over the place. They won't give me the time of day, but I always feel lucky, and right on time to find them looking like this. Nobody get numerology goofy with all the sixes in the date...ooooo....oooo. Hey, it only means that it's Monday in Nature.</p><div></div>

<p>Didn't get out much this week, so here is one from this January.</p><div></div>

<p>Hummingbird feeding on Big Red Sage at Lady Bird Wildflower Center in Austin. </p><div></div>

<p>Yellow flag</p><div></div>

<p>Wood abstraction found on a log. For some reason it reminded me of a shark. Strange how the mind works sometimes.</p><div></div>

<p>White pelican (<I>Pelecanus erythrorhynchos</I>)</p><div></div>

<p>A Cat Bird I believe at the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Oh.</p><div></div>

<p>A red trillium ( Trillium erectum ) along the trail. Back-lit and overexposed against a grey overcast sky.</p><div></div>

<p>Lupine meadow</p><div></div>

<p>It's an understatement to say that the colors out at the wetlands are unusual. The colors in the photo are true, even the amazing magenta. I checked the colors while I was there, knowing I would question them when I saw the pictures on the computer.</p>

<p>Formerly water-floating scum, the bands of color remained after the tide receded very gently. The bands cover a five-foot area, more or less.<br>

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<p>With the arrival of Spring there's bugs.</p>

<center><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18242706-md.jpg" alt="_MG_0253" width="680" height="510" border="0" /></center><center>Canon 6D, Sigma 105mm</center>

<p>A pleasure, as always, to find my way into this forum on a Monday morning. Rick, your image has an Indian/Inuit feel about it to me -</p><div></div>

<p>Laura, nice thoughts. Yes, nature does not need to keep a calendar and it is lovely! The beautiful twinkling stars were visible on a clear sky last week when I came home and my neighbors' lights were delightfully off. The Big Dipper appeared to be smack in the middle above my lawn. My husband always told me that the North Star is right across the "opening" of the Big Dipper's "question mark". So I thought this would be a good opportunity to point my camera toward it to see the trails of the stars that revolve around it.</p><div></div>

<p>Sea Lion, Monterey Bay</p><div></div>

<p>Nice observations, Laura. Do you find yourself using your photos as a journal to chronicle when various things appear? <br>

This is a developing cobweb thistle.</p><div></div>

<p>Laura, those looked like blueberries covered with dust. I guess my mind is on bfast.</p><div></div>

<p>Bill, that is one cool hummingbird picture!</p>

<p>Thank you, Christoph. </p>

<p>Bing,<br>

very cool thistle. Yes, I do enjoy the date/time stamp ability of digital cameras for the reason you mention. For the most part, I'm very aware of when this or that plant/mushroom is going to be in the woods. In El Nino years, the woods here are full of winter surprises. I don't carry my basket and field notebook in the winter, so the date/time stamp on the photo is very useful. I transcribe all the data in the winter, so if there is a question, I can reference the date stamp on the photo. It also helps settle arguments, or refresh the aging memory.</p>

<p>Leszek,<br>

I can see how blueberries might come to mind, though I never thought of it. I just happened to have a bowl of them, with fresh strawberries this morning. YUM.</p>

<p>Jon,<br>

I was "down log" so to speak when Rick took that photo. When I looked at the patterns, they struck me as amber stained glass designs. It was incredibly vibrant.</p>

<p>Sally, very cool!</p>

<p>Purple gallinule amongst blue Pickerelweed and sedge.</p><div></div>

<p><img src="/photo/18241887" alt="" />The images are usually very good but this week they are superb.<br>

Two Loons early in the morning!</p><div></div>

<p>The bumblebees are having a ball on the rhododendrons, and I managed to hit a couple, but I kind of liked this miss better, so here is a rhododendron with a bee on the side. I hope the "hand of man" restriction doesn't include the fact that rhododendrons are not exactly native to Vermont....</p><div></div>

<p>Jon - I can go with that :)</p>

<p>Pink peony.</p><div></div>

<p><strong>Gliding Into The Nest</strong></p>

<p><a title="Gliding Into Nest" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7375/27425760326_97388d7a08_c.jpg" alt="Gliding Into Nest" width="800" height="400" /></a></p>