Not sure what kind of bird, some kind of macaw perhaps. City Museum St. Louis. 10.13.13

City museum III

Finally the weekend. One more day and I can relax. We did not have as many hummingbirds this year as in the past. One thing, I didn't have as many flowers, but they are quite picky.

Have a great weekend all and be safe. 10.12.13

I have never clouds like these before. This is a strange crop but I wanted to include the building and the darkness at the top. They lasted for about two minutes and then were gone. 10.11.13

A good book and cup of coffee. Perfect combination.

I took this shot about 8:15 in the evening. Processed with Topaz Adjust. 10,,10.13

I know this image is soft. I really like it that way.Marigolds have a distinctive fragrance. Some people don't like it, but I do. I plant a lot of them in the springtime and as long as they get a little water now and then they do great. A gardener's dream. 10.9.13

i remember as a kid hearing the expression 'when in Rome do as the Romans do.' Well, I have seen a lot more beautiful buildings in Dallas than birds so... Here you have it. 10.8.13

Running late today. Have a jillion things to do still and it's afternoon already. 10.07.13

P is for pink. This was taken at the Jewel Box in Forrest Park, STL MO. The Busch family must have loved nature a lot. Thanks to them there are a lot of very beautiful gardens and land scattered around St. Louis. 10.6.13

Once again, thanks to all for your kind comments.

This is Suzie, my son's English bulldog. She is so ugly she is cute and so sweet. When she is very excited she jumps straight up in the air with all four feet. It is hilarious. 10.5.13

All the white specks you see in this photo are white egrets or snowy egrets. I could not believe how many I saw that day. The Mississippi had gone out of its banks and this is water left when it receded full of fish. I don't know how they communicate but every one for 100 miles must have been there that day. 10.04.13

Still busy getting settled in here in Dallas. This was one of my favorites in my garden in Illinois.

Thanks for your kind comments. 10.3.13

At one time this summer I could go out in the backyard and see anywhere from three to half dozen of these clear-wing hummingbird moths feeding on the lavender butterfly bush. They did not like the yellow butterfly bush for some reason, just this one. The are very quick and I only got a handful of decent photos out of over a hundred but I still went out in the heat and humidity (stop you whining Barbara) and shot away. Then, one day I went out in September and they were gone. 10.02.13

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Taken in Weslaco, TX. I think this is a juvenile roseate spoonbill, may be wrong. I find it amusing that a bird that spends a lot of its time searching for food in water is shaking off a little bit he(or she) got on him (or her). Back to work today thankfully. Hope to see something interesting this week in Dallas. I am running out of ideas here. Have a good day. 10.1.13

Isn't this a magnificent tree. I tried taking multiple images and stitching them together but that didn't look right. I kind of like this image the way it is though. The top had many broken off limbs from previous storms. It must be 100 to 150 years old. It is at Columbia Bottoms in Missouri. I have eyeballed it many times and we commented on its before. This day was a dude as far as birds went so I stopped and shot a few frames of it. This is the best of the bunch.

Going to walk trails this morning and see if I can see any wildlife. Have a nice day! 9.30.13

Sunday morning. I missed my turn on the way home from Arbor Hills Nature Preserve and turned around in a school parking lot. What luck, two doves sitting on a quite interesting light. Snap. So here you have it. 9.29.13

These buildings caught my eye as I was driving by on Marsh Lane in Dallas. They seem so out of place, like a little girl's doll house. 9.28.13

Have a nice weekend and thanks for commenting on my photos. It really means a lot.

Day #5 in Dallas. Yesterday I went looking for a nearby nature preserve and ended up in Parker, TX. Now I know where South Fork Ranch is, but haven't seen any birds except for an occasional grackle. I did see these magnificent cactus plants. 9.27.13

Day #3 in Dallas. Went looking for birds and got nada, but on the way home I snagged a few good shots of some graffitti on railroad cars. I know it is considered a crime or is a crime I should say, but I really admire the talent it takes to create it. So here you have it, 9.25.13.

I have seen some fantastic photos on SmugMug of these little skipper butterflies. My shot here isn't one of them, unfortunately, but it's the best I've gotten so far.

Tomorrow I head for Texas where I will be staying for the next three months with my son. I am excited and a little nervous at the same time, but one thing I know for sure is that there will be lots for me to photograph there. Have a great weekend. 9.21.13

Taken at the World Museum in St. Louis.

Viewing this in XL mode will enable you to see the details in this magnificent building. The vision and creativity of the architect here amazes me. 9.19.13

I love water reflections. At first glance, you might think this is a shark fin, but it is a stringray. The zoo in St. Louis had a stingray pool for a couple years and you could actually reach into the water and touch them which I didn't do because I was too busy taking pictures of them. Ha. 9.18.13

Technically, this isn't the best photo, but I wanted to share it because of the interaction between the two hummingbirds. They are fiercely territorial and right now in the Midwest they are hammering the feeders getting ready to head south for the winter. It was shot against a cloudy sky, hence the white background. Hope you enjoy it. 9.17.13

This old cabin is at Pierre Marquet State Park in Illinois. Taken last year in late October.9.1.6.13

This was one of the first of many rose bushes that I planted where we live now. It always had a profuse amount of blooms on it all summer long. Soon we will have only pictures of roses to remind us of summer. 9.15.13

How would you like to crawl into a sleeping bag with this? It's BIG and hairy.

I really need to face my fears. So many things I have wanted to do in my life that I didn't because I was afraid of this or that, such as snakes. Bugs don't bother me that much, but snakes do. So much so that I invested $150 for a pair of snake proof boots to wear in the brush in Texas. Jackie Bibby might not mind being a "one-legged snake hunter," but I don't want to be a one-legged photographer. Ha. 9.14.13

Good Friday the 13th to all. Be safe.

Today is the last day of training and I am hoping to be able to see the sunset tonight so there is some hope for tomorrow's daily.

This is a shot at St. Louis Mills Mall. They have some very interesting art there. 9.13.13

Columbia Bottom conservation area earlier this year. You never know what you will see there. It is right at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. This red-tailed hawk was having a rough time holding onto this small branch. 9.12.13

An eastern king bird I believe. He was so kind to sit there looking so gorgeous and let me shoot away. I was quite a distance from him so I have a lot of background and a little bird, but I like it without doing a lot of cropping. Really has no PP except for removing some noise, Rick. Thanks for your comments and welcome any constructive criticisms. 9.11.13

Another noisy photo that I played around with this morning (and afternoon). You have to view in large size to see the sparkles. That's the part I like best.

Anyway, the night I took this shot there must have been 10 hummers in the backyard, all trying to run off the others. 9.10.13

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I had some dead space in this shot and didn't want to crop it and reduce size so I went looking in my bag of goodies that I rarely use. POTD for Sunday, 9.8.13 Have a blessed day!!

Obviously, this is a composite. The term "artistic license" comes to mind here. I was trying to fill an unattractive background and one thing lead to another. I am not really crazy about the way Aaron is leaning over Becky, Randy's daughter, but I thought it was a pretty decent photo of the two of them. I'm in a hurry this morning and have to work later so here you have it. 9.7.13 PS View in large size and check out the sunglasses.

The front door of the Jewel Box in Forrest Park, STL, MO. It was built by the Busch family, of course. I am not really sure what it's purpose was at that time., but the building and grounds are quite worthy of photographing.

Have a great weekend. 9.6.13

I've been looking at this photo for two days now and not quite sure what to do with it, so in an effort to clear out the photos in PS this morning I just started playing around, added a frame from OnOne and still thinking it needed something. I finally took a look at my actions and tried this one by PanosFX. Looks complete now, so here you have it.

Warming up for the weekend here. 9.5.13

Taken at the Jewel Box in Forrest Park, St. Louis, MO Beer sure built a lot of beautiful buildings and gardens in and around St. Louis. 9.4.13

I was excited when I saw this butterfly in the garden, but the photo itself was so dark I didn't quit know what to do with it. I just started playing around and this is what I came up with thanks to an action I got on the web free from Panos FX. It's kind of "in your face," but certainly not dull. 9.3.13

I watched part of Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp Friday night and this photo kind of fits in with that.
9.2.13

Happy Labor Day!!

For some reason the bees prefer the yellow butterfly bush and the butterflies and moths prefer the lavender one. Maybe they are a deal figured out on sharing. Who knows. Maybe a biologist. Anyway I am going to have to get out in the heat today and cut off the dead blooms. That's my big plan for Saturday and then work later. Whoohoo. 8.31.13

Old car at the Mascoutah car show August 2013. The body is rested but it runs. 8.29.13

This is one of those lucky shots you get driving along and see a hawk perched in a tree. This red-tailed hawk was most cooperative and allowed me to get fairly close before he flew off. I was lucky too that there were no branches going across his face here. 8.28.13

Once again, I appreciate all your comments.

Another shot from March snow storm. This house is in a neighborhood where all the houses are at least 100 years old.

I finished this off by adding a texture by Kim Klassen. 8.27.13

Hot weather has arrived in STL. Two weeks of high humidity and temps over 90. Ugh. Have to be thankful for the wonderful summer we have had here so far and now is the time to pay our dues. If you view in larger size, you can see the snow blowing against the dark background of the trees and barn.

Going through some the archives I ran across this shot I took during the snow storm we had in late March of this year. Definitely looks "cool" temperature wise that is. 8.26.13

This is a weed but I think it is pretty in a rugged kind of way. It has spikes all over and I'm sure it wouldn't feel to good to get wapped by it. 8.24.13

Randy and I had been out in the country target shooting and the sun was setting as we were heading back to town. This is just outside Mascoutah, Illinois at the Farmall dealer (I think). I yelled stop and he pulled into their parking lot to take this shot.

It must be frustrating hanging out with a photographer if you're not a photographer yourself. He spends a lot of time just waiting patiently for me to take pictures while on the road.

Thanks for all your kind comments on my photos. 8.23.13

Taken at car show in Mascoutah, Illinois the first of August. Every car/truck had its hood up. That kind of sucks if you're a photographer. The creamy white seemed to go well with the full curves of this baby. 8.22.12

I am way out of my comfort zone with this photograph. I shot it back in March of this year when we had a big snow. Something was missing by itself so I started playing around with textures after I had tweaked it a little in Topaz which was probably useless because I piled the textures on top of it. A total of 3 textures, one from Kim Klassen and the others from various contributors on the web. Please feel free to critique away. 8.21.13