Found A Tiny Little Treasure
I found a tiny little treasure in my backyard. A ladybug settling in for the evening in my backyard.
Ladybug
It was all covered in pollen.
Waking Up
This was all I found to photograph in my garden tonight.
Having a Little Nibble
On my walk, I passed the corner house on my street, and there I saw this little squirrel sitting in the shade of the car having a little nibble. These poor neighbourhood squirrels, although they are getting fed by our leftovers, are not getting the right nutrition to keep them healthy.
Snack Time
Of course, the squirrels don’t seem to mind.
Walking down another street I found these gorgeous flowers, which are apparently called Garden Cosmos. They are the prettiest colour I’ve seen in awhile. I think I need to find some for next year’s garden.
Garden Cosmos
In the meadow, I walked past the path to an area taken over by goldenrod flowers. Here the bees and wasps were having a grand ‘ole time hunting for pollen.
Bee on Goldenrod
It’s good to see the bees and wasps are hard at work pollinating our flowers, especially now as the days get a little cooler and darker. I’m happy it’s fall and also sad to see summer go but there are still some remnants of summer to enjoy.
Meadow Life
When you look at a meadow do you see all the life that is there beyond just the plants? When I search a meadow for inspiration I look to see what might be walking, flying, or sleeping on the flowers and plants that are growing there.
Good Place to Nap
Like this ladybug that I found nestled in a Queen Anne’s Lace flower. He wasn’t overly impressed when I accidentally hit the flower (sorry ladybug). He felt he had to move but in no time he settled back in. I assume that he had found his sleeping arrangements for the night. He does look rather cozy. I’d say he found a good spot, don’t you?
Silverberry Tree berries
I noticed that the berries were finally growing on the Silverberry trees as I walked past. I was so excited to see them since I have only ever noticed the tree’s yellow flowers in the spring. Now that I see the fruit I’m wondering if this tree might be the Russian Olive. Man, plants are so hard to figure out.
Bee on Purple Loosestrife
I was taking photos of this purple loosestrife with the beautiful late day light behind it when a busy little bee came into frame. He was flying from flower-to-flower eagerly gathering nectar for his hive. Can you spot him?
Creepy Critters
The old high school track behind my house has become overgrown in some areas. This is great for me because it means I have more to photograph. Native plants have started to grow on the edges of the track, like these Red Clover and Butter & Eggs flowers.
Clover
Letting everything go wild definitely has its advantages. One being things look so much nicer with all the wildflowers and two, there are more insects like this blue damselfly around.
Blue Damselfly
This blue damselfly rested on the blade of grass for quite a long time. I was trying to figure out if he planned on claiming this blade to sleep on or just needed a break from catching all those pesky small insects.
As I was walking home I noticed a few webs along one side of the bridge that crosses over the creek. When I looked closer, I noticed these creepy faces staring out at me.
Hidey Hole
There were three of them poking out of their adopted holes, waiting patiently for something to land in their webs. I didn’t stick around to see if they were successful, but I’m sure they would be.
A Hopping Good Time
Do you find that some flowers look strange when they’re growing? Take for example this Queen’s Anne Lace below. It’s currently unwrapping itself in such a way that it looks like the letters T and I. Also, did you notice that each little flower petal looks like a bug?
Uncurling
It’s so very strange. Typically you see a little bud that grows big and eventually opens up into a flower. But not Queen Anne – nope, she has to be different. The good thing is I like different. Different is fun to photograph.
Purple Loosestrife
Moving away from Queen’s Anne Lace, over a bridge to the meadow on the other side, I spotted these purple loosestrife flowers. I love how they pop against the pale grasses behind them.
As I walked up to the high school track something jumped away from me into the bushes.
Carolina Grasshopper
When I took a closer look I saw this Carolina grasshopper sitting on a leaf. I was able to get a couple of photos before he got nervous and jumped further into the greenery. I was so happy to end my walk with this find.
Garden Finds
My first stop on my neighbourhood walk today was my own backyard. We have loads of stuff growing in the backyard and one of them is my favourite thing to eat – raspberries.
Raspberry
This raspberry bush is one that keeps on giving all summer long. And now that we have quite a few plants there should be plenty to eat in the coming months. Next to one of the raspberry bushes, I found this pretty black butterfly on the dill flowers.
Black Butterfly
I wanted to make this photo very soft looking so most of it is blurry except the butterfly’s eyes.
I only have one interesting photo from my walk today. I took a shot of this rough-looking daisy that caught my eye. You know what didn’t catch my eye – the beetle crawling up onto it. LOL
Beetle on Daisy
Sometimes I get a little too focused on getting the shot focused and exactly the way I want it that I don’t always notice things crawling onto my subjects. I did eventually notice it for my next shot but I liked this one a little better.