Good Day, Sunshine!

It's hard to believe that on November 2nd I was sweating while photographing winged things at the arboretum, since most of us are experiencing record-setting cold temperatures this week. As I age, it gets harder and harder for my body to retain heat. Thyroid disease doesn't help matters. It took much effort to get off the couch where I was so comfy with my blankets and heating pad to prepare this post. I'm not complaining, mind you. I much prefer the cold to the sweltering heat. But that's just me.

Before we really get into winter and holiday mode, I thought I should share these images.

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary

Checkered Skipper

Unknown bee

Unknown insect

If all goes as planned, Bridget and I are set to photograph horses at a ranch not far from town this morning. I'm so glad the frigid temps are starting to abate. I hope it is for you also. Take care and have a great weekend!

Winged Things and a Rant

Had an interesting encounter last weekend at the arboretum. I watched from a distance as a young (and very pretty) pregnant girl picked a small bouquet of flowers. Carefully she made her selections; however, one flower was rejected and placed on a brick post to wither and die.

When she made her way over to the rose section, closer to me, I saw no choice but to confront her. As gently as possible I informed her that she wasn't allowed to pick the flowers, that they were for everyone to enjoy, especially the butterflies and other insects who depend on them. I'll spare you the entire exchange, complete with eye rolls and sass. However, I remained calm yet firm.

As I was packing up my car to leave, she walked by, glaring at me, sans flowers. My jaw dropped open. I said "Where are the flowers?" She said, "Does it really matter? I mean, after you bitched at me, I no longer wanted them." "Well," I said, "that's just great. Now they're wasted. You really should have known better anyway."

Doesn't everyone know you cannot pick flowers from a local arboretum as though it was your own personal garden?!

Okay, rant over. Here are some critters I was able to shoot in between blood pressure spikes.

Guess who? Face blurred on purpose.

It's been a long time since I felt angry enough to confront a complete stranger, so it's still bothering me. Not one of my finer moments to say the least. My biking partner said she would have nicely informed her that twice a year the arboretum has plants for sale, but I didn't know that. Would you have handled the scenario differently?

Never Tear Us Apart

These lyrics by INSX immediately came to mind while I was photographing this mating pair of Gulf Fritillaries. Every so often a rival Fritillary came along to try to harass them.

I....I was standing

You were there

Two worlds collided

And they could never tear us apart

Here comes trouble!

Whew! That was close.

He's back!
What can they be discussing? Hurry up and finish?
Get a room? It's my turn already?

Buzz off!

And don't come back!

He's back. Grrrrr

 I told you

That we could fly

'Cause we all have wings

But some of us don't know why

The act was finally over. I missed them coming apart because I got distracted with a Clouded Sulphur.

This short clip shows how windy it was that day.

Saturday, B and I will be manning our arts and crafts booth at St. Luke's church. Part of me is nervous that I won't sell a thing, and the other part is worried about not having enough stock, or enough cash to give change. Pick a worry and it's on my list. At least we're doing it together which will be the fun part. Oh, I'm selling note cards of various sizes and slate tiles with my photos.

Edit: An enormous 'thank you' to Hilary, of The Smitten Image, for choosing this post as a Post of the Week in the Phine Photography category. Please visit Hilary to view her amazing posts and photos.

More Digital Cleaning

Pushing to clean up my hard drive so I can move the original Lightroom files to my external device at year end. Raw files are awesome, but they are awesomely HUGE. My Mac is about to burst!

Clouded sulphur from my back yard, 8/15/13

Unknown plant at local arboretum, 9/5/13

Pesky love bug on lantana, 9/5/13

Canoe at my aunt's camp, 9/7/13

Meet Cowgirl, next door neighbor of my aunt and uncle, 9/7/13
I have never seen a chihuahua with this color coat and blue eyes.
I seriously considered dognapping that day.

Zinnias at arboretum, 10/8/13

Gulf fritillary, 10/8/13

Linking with Saturday's Critters. Come join!

Where flowers bloom

Where flowers bloom so does hope. ~Lady Bird Johnson

You'd think it's springtime around these parts. I keep envying the fall foliage I'm seeing posted everywhere, but then I realized after uploading these pics I had taken recently that we have color, too. Maybe not the way I prefer, but color nonetheless. As the song goes, you may not get what you want, but you get what you need.

Our satsumas are finally starting to ripen. Tiny green fruit resembling small limes began showing up in May. I counted almost 20 satsumas hanging from the branches. Finally, after months of waiting, they are ready to eat, and they are delicious!

I am deeply grateful for all the emails and prayers for my son and me. He has been MIA for 2 weeks, so I have filed a missing person's report with the LAPD. That's the very abbreviated version. I will give an update whenever I know more. Blogging, visiting other blogs, and commenting, along with praying, is keeping me sane for the time being.

Sharing with

Gulf Fritillary

My week without Double D hasn't gone exactly as planned. It rained for two days when it was supposed to be pleasant and sunshine-y AND I got burgundy highlights in my hair that went awry. We'll see what Double D's reaction is on his return. :/ Yesterday I managed to wiggle my way into a two-hour window of sunshine and got these bright orange fritillaries before another big deluge came. Although the weather has returned to higher temps than I'd like, I'm thankful that the rain has ended. Next week we're supposed to have more fall-like weather. Experimenting with Shadowhouse's shadow box frame.

Just thought I'd throw this grass photo in.

Sharing with Nancy @ Rural Thursday

AND

Kate @ Thankful Thursday