Last Viewed Photography Blogs (166)

Smoke from a forest fire 6 miles away is so thick you can almost bite the air and chew it, if you could inhale enough air not to choke on the smell. Yesterday, I braved the murky skies to take a bike ride, constantly checking where the sun would be rising.

As I took my normal route around the town, although there were a couple of birds chirping near by, everything seemed muffled and muted due to the smoke. Wildlife was noticeably absent, as were even the local cows, hiding amongst the trees.

Riding by the cow and weeks old calf sleeping in the far corner of their paddock, I headed back towards the river, past a hay field with irrigation sprinklers working to keep it green and growing. Bordering the hayfield, 10 ft high corn stalks hide everything else within visibility, other than a faint outline of Mt. Cheam behind the screen of smoke.

Taking my left hand off the handle bar, I reached up to scratch my right shoulder blade under my bra closure. As I scratched, a finger of my bike glove got caught on one of the hooks of my bra, and I couldn't seem to move my hand to unhook myself.

Panicking a little, with my hand stuck up my back, a hill loomed before me - I needed both hands to be able to shift gears and ride uphill, or to even stop without going over the handle bars. The right hand brake stops the front wheel, and the left, the back. So if I hit the brake with my right hand, I'd go a over t over the handle bars.

Slowing down and peddling steadily, I kept trying to work at getting my hand free. No luck. Finally, I twisted and turned my hand to free it from the glove, and fortunately, it's worn enough to be loose.

After much manipulation, I finally pulled my hand free, my glove still attached to the hook on my bra. Finally being able to stop without falling, I reached back and managed to free my glove and put it back on.

Thank goodness I ride at such an hour that I don't see anyone, as I'm sure that must have been a funny sight, riding my bike with my hand stuck up my back trying to free it. It didn't feel too funny at the time, and road rash definitely would not have tickled my funny bone.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, the sun finally making an appearance as I returned home (who would have thunk I'd be too early!). I took a couple of shots of the sun creeping over the mountain, bright red behind the smokey veil.

I think I'll travel west today for a bike ride closer to the ocean, and hopefully, less smokey skies. And if I get an itch on my shoulder blade, I don't think I'll be scratching it with my glove on.

The last one of thee was a lot of fun with several good captions.
So, here's another nature photo. This one of a polar bear.
Again, if you like add your own suggestion(s) for the caption.
Or simply enjoy the creative offerings by others.

My first caption is; "Hey you. Give me a kiss and you get a special.....bear hug."

Here's the photo (not mine);

Lets face it. You are one lucky person. We all are.
All those sperm & only 1 egg, and somehow, one beat the odds and combined to make you and then you made it out alive. Way to go !

Another reason you are lucky, is because today, of all days, you get to see
7 of my recent nature photos. OK perhaps not quite like winning the lottery of life,
but perhaps a lot less pain in seeing the photos, than what you might encounter in some other aspects of life.
Plus, not everyone can see....at all. Lucky you !

First here's some background music for lucky people to enjoy, while looking at the photos;



All photos were taken by me with my Canon T6i camera with a Sigma 50-500 mm lens.

First photo up is of a female Goldfinch. Goldfinches are the state bird of New Jersey.
Their diet is almost entirely seeds.
Like cuckoos, there is another bird, that lays eggs in the goldfinch nest.
However, after they hatch, they only survive about 3 days, because, unlike the goldfinches,
they can't survive on an exclusive seed diet.




Next up is the male goldfinch. None his black wings and black patch adjacent to his beak;

Each couple has their own unique call, which
helps them distinguish their partner from others.
Within the couple, the calls are almost identical between the pair.




The following photo is an adult frog in the water between some lilypads




Let it bee... A close-up of a Bumblebee on some flowers




The next photo is of a little baby frog, only about an inch in length




This is a small Sulfur Butterfly on some flowers;




And last is usually a slow running stream, except this was the day after Hurricane Ida;



Not everyone was so lucky as to survive the storm.

You make the photo caption (4) !.......

Accidental, or purposeful ? You decide.

Indeed, add your own photo caption, if you like,
or simply chuckle at what others came up with.

My first caption is....."This ought to cool you off from getting hot about my sister ?"

Here's the photo;
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You're up !

Yesterday when I added the 41 photos to my webpage,



I neglected to add 8 others.

I'll blame it on doing it from the library here in FL, rather from the comfort of my own home.

Nonetheless, I just got done adding them now.

Seven of them are of deer. So, if you don't like deer, there's no need to go to the website to see these new 8 photos. :no:

6 of those deer photos are of one group of 3 deer; a big buck, a small doe and a little doe, that was most likely a fawn earlier this year.

Indeed, I am posting 2 of the deer photos (large doe alone and the 3 other deer together) below and also one of a European Starling perched in a tree.

I hope you enjoy them.

Lets hear YOUR caption(s) for the following photo

(no references to any CS members !







My first offering is; 'Our neighbor unsuccessfully hunts for the definition of a shotgun wedding'.


Have a nice night.