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G has a "swell" time kayaking

G has a "swell" time kayaking
G has a "swell" time on Lake Michigan in an inflatable canoe

Dawn on the Gulf of Mexico

Dawn on the Gulf of Mexico
Dawn on the Gulf of Mexico

Warren Dunes Sunset

Warren Dunes Sunset
Warren Dunes Sunset
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Butterflies


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It has been a stellar year for butterflies. I'm not sure why. The campground we are at has a lovely floral garden and that certainly has an impact, but I can't explain why they are so prolific. Friends elsewhere, such as Minnesota, have agreed on the proliferation this year.

G and I were discussing the "out of focus" backgrounds in some of my photos. I use a specific aperture setting to reduce depth of field, which yields a crisp foreground and fuzzy background. This makes the object of interest stand out. In this case it was the butterfly and the flower. I learned to do this in the old days when we shot in 35mm using something called "film". Back then I also spent many hours in the dark room developing the negatives and making prints. While the digital technology has replaced that technology, the principles of optics and the lessons I learned so long ago still apply today...












Original material:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 18, 2017

A Piney Squirrel Neighbor



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Our summer location has had a bumper crop of pine cones this year. With them came a piney squirrel. That little critter would sit high in the tree and cut loose green pine cones. At about 6am each morning we'd be greeted with a constant "thump, thump, thump" as the squirrel jumped from branch to branch cutting lose pine cones. There was also the occasional "thwack" as a cone hit the AC.

I'd go up on the roof and clear off the sticky cones, loaded with pine sap. The trees are finally barren of green cones and the sap is reduced.  The pace of cone dropping has moderated, but I've got quite a few piles on the ground.

I've added a few photos and a short video. That squirrel can strip a cone in 30 seconds or less. Thanks to his activities, we also have quite a few black capped chickadees and other birds hanging around, picking through the leftovers.

The "roof" is not that of the Roadtrek, thank heaven. It is a travel trailer on our summer "base camp" in Michigan. That base will shortly be shut down and we'll be Roadtrekking toward the southwest. Any plans for FL and the Florida Keys are now on hold pending the outcome of the recovery after this year's hurricane season.
















Thursday, July 6, 2017

Campground visitors


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Sharing the campsite with nature. Sometimes one has to watch where they put their feet. Guess we'll be eating lunch in today.