First snaps of the hummingbird feeder with the Olympus. Playing with focus, aperture and shutter speed.
Category: Critters
Birdies abound.
Lots of action in the backyard this weekend.
I don’t usually care much for the mourning doves, as they aggressively hog the feeders. But I like the color around the eyes of this dove.
Red-winged blackbird:
Red-bellied woodpecker:
Bluejay:
Beautiful, red cardinal:
Howdy, neighbors!
We have many deer that roam our neighborhood, being located close to a number of greenbelts. We enjoy them. Like most of our neighbors, we restrict the tasty and ornamental flowers to our fenced backyard, and have learned to plant the more pungent deer-resistant greens in the front yard.
This week I noticed two deer have taken up residence in our neighbor’s large fenced backyard. It’s unlikely that they cannot get out of the yard, so I assume they are just very content to stay put. They are not overly concerned with us tramping around our back yard. I took this picture using my telephoto from about 150 feet away.
Got him!
This post isn’t really photoblog-worthy, except that it is a follow-up to a post from last week. Monte had built a trap to catch the armadillos who were turning our waybackyard into a lunar landscape. Well, we caught one! He’s a Nine-banded armadillo. They live to be 12-15 years old!
I was very excited to see, from a distance, that the trap had triggered. And after sneaking a peek, I was happy to find a dillo inside and not a skunk! We released him in a wooded area far enough away (I hope) to keep him from returning.
We’ve reset the trap out back, in case there are others in his crew.
Us 1. Them 0.
To catch a varmit.
Stay tuned…
Food fight.
There’s quite a bit of action at the bird feeders lately. A vibrant red male cardinal has been lurking about, but I have not been able to get a shot of him. This afternoon, I saw a flash of red out back, and grabbed my telephoto. I had to take some shots through my less-than-crystal-clear sliding glass door, since the birds scatter whenever anyone ventures outside.
After a bit, I tried to quietly open the door and take a few shots … not great detail, but a little clearer, and you can see how much more vibrant the red is.
Pet store stop.
From time to time, we like to stop in at the pet store where Keeto found us. They have birds of all sizes, bunnies, fish, and the new resident — a large tortoise. His name is Columbus, because he walks around the store, exploring, all day. He’s a big one, over 2 feet long.
I guess my iPhone camera skills are ruined now that I have my new camera 🙂 This was the best shot I took. 
Dogey in residence.
Julie has moved back to Austin! She’s staying with us, ’til she moves in with friends next month. Her dog, Blake, is part of the package. She’s such a pretty dog – my model for the day. 🙂
I spy…
…a juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker. He suprised me while I was trying to take a picture of something else. I had to use google to help me identify him. Pretty cool, though!
Walking around with a camera.
I was pleased with this one, taken while walking around a nearby pond. Was able to focus through the brush to get a shot of this Great Egret.
Then back at home caught a lady cardinal on a feeder.
Friday frames.
I’m trying really hard to focus on work. After next Friday, I’m off for the rest of the year (!) But, when I get a chance, I pick up the new camera to take a few shots. I’ll share a few.
Possumhaw holly out back has donned its Christmas red and green.
A little wren flitting in the vines along the fence – I think it’s a Carolina Wren, from its coloring. One of the first shots taken with my telephoto lens.
And a picture of the bouquet of flowers from Thanksgiving, still hanging in there – vivid pink lilies and white hydrangeas.
Garden guest.
I was walking back from the shop today when I saw a butterfly fluttering among the zinnias. She flitted around, while I stopped to watch, for a good 2 minutes, posing, in perfect light. Of course I didn’t have a camera with me. When I got back in the house I grabbed my phone and popped back out. She was still there, but wouldn’t let me get as close, and didn’t pose as perfectly this time — camera shy, i guess. I took some zoomed-in shots, not crisp, but pretty. I think this is an eastern black swallowtail. She does love the zinnies.
Life’s a beach.
It’s a beautiful morning on the Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf or bust.
I’m taking a vacation day today so that we can make a long weekend of it and take a road trip. We headed south to the coast.
We stopped in Lockhart for lunch, skipping the amazing barbeque on this trip and ate at a lovely cafe on the town square called T&C Cafe – delicious sandwiches – right across the street from the Caldwell County courthouse:
Down past Refugio we spied miles and miles of windmills.
We took the ferry from Aransas Pass to Port A and have been enjoying the waterfront ever since.
It’s kind of rare to find a place to watch the sun set over the water … in Texas. But our vantage spot from Port A looking west over the ship canal towards Corpus Christi afforded that kind of view.
Sheila365 