Nature's Metallica - Green Longhorn Beetle

One of the good things about having kids is that when your eyes start wearing out, 

your kids can spot things you never would have noticed. 

Like this Green Longhorn Beetle.

It was zipping all over a little tree near our front door on Father's Day weekend, 

but I never would have known it if it weren't for my kids.

Even after they pointed it out to me

...again and again and again...

it took a long time for my eyes to find it.

I was determined to take its picture, but... yeesh! 

It was twisting and scurrying so fast along the limbs that it's a wonder I captured any images that were remotely in focus.

And then, uh-oh...it spotted me.

Or maybe it had just had enough of me and my camera. 

I recognized that look.

 Very similar to the one my kids often give me when I point a camera at them.

Just one more, I promise! Hold still!

Great! Thanks! All done. 

(I haven't seen him since. But then, that doesn't mean he's not there!)

May Day, May Day

On a whim, 

coming home from work on May Day, 

I pulled over

and photographed the wildflowers 

waving to me from the roadside.

The next day, 

the roadside had been freshly mown. 

I'm so grateful I listen to whims.

Walking along a dirt road in April

Just about every morning, rain or shine, I take a walk down my dirt road with my puppies. 

Unless it's raining, I have my camera and my eyes are constantly searching for something to shoot...a new flower, an interesting weed, or merely the play of light on a leaf.

When I find it - whatever "it" is - Belle and Max wait patiently while I examine the something from every angle through my lens. 

They are so good.

You can imagine how many photos I have, then, if every morning I take between two and twenty. 

During busy times, I might not even glance twice at the photos, much less edit them or post them on my blog. 

There just aren't enough minutes in the day for that.

But there are (almost) always enough minutes to take a walk on a dirt road before the day gets swept away. 

(By the way, I apologize for being AWOL from your blogs. My son's wedding is fast approaching and I've been focusing on those last to-do's for it. Thanks for popping by to see me anyway - I miss you all!)

(One more thing...my photos are a mess. How do you organize yours?)

Linking (for the last time!) with
Lissa's Walk and Click

Beginning to Bloom

Just in the nick of time, too!

I'm not the only one who's happy about it, either!

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created spring. 

~ Bern Williams

A Mallard Morning

There's nothing like walking through the woods with your puppies on a crisp morning just as the sun creeps into your hollow, 

the woods around you alive with birdsong announcing Spring's imminent arrival, 

giving thanks for the glorious morning just as it is 

and then

 having it get even better...

I was fiddling with my glove when this Mallard couple first flew over.

They took me by surprise and it was a few seconds before I remembered I had my camera, worked my glove back on and snapped the shot above.

I was sighing, sure the photo would be a blur but grateful for the mere sight of them.

(It turned out much better than I expected!)

Then, guess what?

They came back, making a couple of wide circles before finally disappearing.

Alas, all I had with me was my 50mm lens, not my 70-300, 

so I've cropped these quite a lot and the resolution is pretty bad. 

This is how far they really were away from me.

I hope they were scoping out the neighborhood and found a place they like!

Linking with 

and

Skywatch Friday

The Greening of the Hollow

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time -

- a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic." 

~ unknown 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Butterflies and Sycamore Trees ... a Walk by the River

 On a recent weekend visit, 

our friends took us to one of their favorite spots, 

a path along a river that runs a short distance from their home near Houston. 

They were disappointed because the river was up from recent rains, 

preventing us from following their normal route.

I wasn't disappointed at all. 

Take my hand and I'll show you what my drought-weary butterfly-and-wildflower-starved eyes beheld...

Uh-oh! 

Watch out for poison ivy!

This butterfly kept posing... I kept snapping.

Sigh.

It came in November, but I finally got my Spring!