The Beauty of Wildflowers - Macro Monday

It has been a while since I have posted to the photography memes and I just was dying to share this classic flower photo with hovering bee....  such a cool shot!  I was waiting in the light rain for my husband who was off to get tools to fix the broken down motorcycle, so I busied myself with photographing the wild flowers.

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Macro Friday: Snake

I found this gardener snake at the end of my run yesterday on the trail in our woods..... got me thinking of this old song.....   I really don't like snakes, they freak me out just a little.  Honestly I was looking for butterflies, but this guy was just so bright and smack in the middle of my trail --- I had to jump over him!  Look at those beady little eyes...  he slithered pretty quickly under a rock and really wasn't impressed with my camera..... 

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Spiders & Snakes
I don't like spiders or snakes
But that ain't what it takes to love me
You fool, You fool
I don't like spiders and snakes
And that ain't what it takes to love me...
Like I wanna be loved by you....

Macro Monday: Dragonfly on the Connecticut River

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly

Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.

~Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Silent Noon

I chased this little dragonfly all over the boat on Saturday.  Coaches Matt and Dom(from England) and Marian (from Brazil) were wondering if dragonflies bite and all I could think of is that I really wanted to get a photo --- they are such beautiful small creatures.  :)

From Wikipedia:

The dragonfly (suborder Anisoptera) is an insect of the order Odonata, with large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of long transparent wings, and a long body. Dragonflies have very good eye sight due to their unique eye structure. Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, midges and other small insects like flies, bees, and butterflies. They are usually found around ponds, small streams, and swamps. Another name for them is mosquito hawks. Dragonflies do not bite or sting humans.[1] The life cycle of the dragonfly, from egg to death of adult, is from six months to as much as six or seven years. Sometimes female dragonflies lay eggs in the small cleft between mud or moss. Most of their life time is spent in the larval (nymph) form, beneath the water surface, using their gills to breathe, catching other invertebrates, such as tadpoles, or even tiny fish. In the adult (flying) stage larger species of dragonfly can live as long as four months. Dragonflies have about 30,000 facets to their eyes, giving them nearly a 360° field of vision. In the past some much larger dragonfly species existed. The largest found was an extinct Protodonata from the Permian period with a wingspan of 70-75cm (27.5-29.5"). This compares to 19cm (7.5") for the largest modern species of odonate, the Central American giant damselfly Megaloprepus coerulatus. The smallest modern species recorded is the libellulid dragonfly Nannophya pygmaea from east Asia with a wing span of only 20mm, or about 3/4 of an inch.

Taxonmony

Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Hexapoda Order: Odonata

SO here he/she is!  In all the glory of the wings and the patterns on its little bitty body.

I love this shot!

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Forest Beauty & Trail Running: Macro

I love to run the trails --- mountain running too.  It is my new addiction in the race circuit and all my adventures in the trails get me ready for the next race.  At the same time I get to run amongst the trees, the rocks, the mud and swamps....  the beauty of the forest... when you hike you take it all in -- when I run it is SUPER charged!  My best pace in the run of late has been in the low 9 minute per mile mark -- which is pretty fast when you consider you are dodging all the rocks, sticks, stumps, mud and blackberry bushes!  :)  And it is always HILLY on the trails I run - so I am pretty proud of my progress out there!


Pros & Cons of Trail & Mountain Running
As you see - I decided to put the cons first and end on a high note!  Please comment and let me know what you like about walking or running or enjoying hiking in the trails.  I love them!  Everyone of these cons is view as a Challenge to me!



Cons (Challenges):
1. It is always a slower pace in the trails, because of the obstacles and the number of twists & turns and therefore "shows" a slower run when you are in it and the trees are FLYING by it feels so fast!
2. Mud - means needing to hose off Oakley and me and my shoes when we are in "wet" season - which is all but August, September & October around here! :)
3. Sticks - in the trail can trip you and twist you and scratch you and take you DOWN!  I have gotten into quite some crazy falls because of tripping on a stick!
4. Rocks - I have fallen on rocks, twisted ankles on rocks and have shown ROCK rash on my arms, knees & legs.  I love rocks and how they look in my back yard, not on my body! :)  But I love to run on rocks, so what are you going to do?  :)
5. Falls - I hate to fall, but have hit the dirt so many times bruising my palms.  It really hasn't been that often but I run the trails every day so ... yes... I crash --
6. Brush & trees in the trail -- there is a HUGE need to trail blaze in our trails, there is tree limbs sticking out in the trail and I spend so much time batting them from my eyes (which yes I have been poked several times and scratched my face too).  There are blackberry bushes that I actually duck under in one spot, but they are nasty!  Need to get out there and clean it up as it will make a nicer run.  :)

Pros (Why I LOVE it!): 

1. Running with Oakley (my dog) - off leash!  

2. The scenery  --- it goes by so fast, but it is just so cool out there

3. The hills - after many times in the trails I have trained to love hills. The hills make it so challenging

4. The challenge!  I love to run various trails and challenge myself to know them better

5. The build up of strength and agility.  It is like skiing in the trees and the bumps, looking for the obstacles everywhere and being ON top of it all! It really trains your focus like nothing else.

6. The zen.  The mindset of a trail runner and the thoughts that go through your mind at the same time concentrating on what is up ahead

7. The adventure!  Feeling like a mountain woman!  Hear me roar!  : )

8. Specific to Mountain running there is a HUGE sense of achievement that can't be matched when you reach the top!

Here is my selection for Macro Monday --- a beauty from the woods, If I see them I dodge them so not to bother the growth of this beautiful forest plant.  Hope you like it as much as I do!  Please comment below!  I love to hear all the feedback!

Happy Monday! 

For more great macro photos or to join in on the fun and share your photos go to this link below!

Macro Monday: Golf balls

I shared earlier our golf practice outing.... we really need to get out more and Steve loves that I like to play golf too.  Or at least I like to smash the ball.... we haven't made it to a course yet.  That part frustrates me, when you hit it in the trees, or miss the ball and are keeping score.  I am just too competative and want to do well, so when I mess up and it shows on the little scoring sheet, it just gets to me and I get really mad.  I know others of you play golf and can relate.  SO for now I have been sticking to the driving range and putt and practice chip shoots to a flag.  I am good enough to play, but the psycho part of it.... well.  OK - when we finally get out there I will let you know!  Here is a link to my shots from the Phoenician - an amazing beautiful course that we played at -- one of my 3 actual golf games in the past 3 years.  :)

Here is my Macro Monday selection.  Various views of the golf balls.  I posted one of these earlier, but I thought it was cool for a macro shot too.  Love the greenery in the background.

Macro Monday is easy to play, snap a macro (or any close-up) photo, post it on your blog and link up at the link below!  

 

Macro Friday: Bumblebee

On my "photo walk" with Sasha this week I found myself chasing "critters" to see if I could get some goodies...  It takes luck and patience and a good eye, that is all I can say!  I was chasing this cardinal, the red was so beautiful, but then I downloaded, and NO luck.  :(  I chased a chipmunk too ---- I have one of those to share in the Scavenger Hunt on Friday that came out pretty good.  It was cute because Sasha would clue me into these critters and help me track them around the Episcopal Church in Northampton.  Fun!  :)

So here is my Macro Friday entry.  I love these photos!  I think I caught this bumblebee busy at work and the yellow flower was just beautiful making a great shot!  Hope you agree!

Please leave a note if you stop by -- I love that people are checking out my photos and love to link around and look at what others are doing too.  I have seen such fantastic photography and got some great ideas to try as I hone in on my photo taking skills!  This has been such great fun for me -- re-energizing me in life and in this special hobby of mine.  :)

Thanks for your "visit" --- if you haven't joined in on the fun - link below and check out my Photography Fun page for more challenges that I enjoy participating in!

For more macro shots, go to:

And just to share my blog with others and link into the virtual world here is another link to connect with others! 

Fresh Salads for Summer! Macro Friday!

It's summertime!  Time for Farmer's Markets and all of our favorite farm stand visits!  We love fresh sweet corn from Hadley - there is this great stand right off 116 that has the best corn in the WORLD!  Serious!  Then there is this roadside home that puts out little 3 lb boxes of tomatoes that are just the best!  We always go to the corner Organic Farm stand in Granby for our tomatoes and Saprowsky's down the street has everything if we don't get it at all the other stops along the way.  We live in a Mecca for organic gardening.... it is all around us, stands on every corner... and it seems every town here in Western Mass has a farmer's market weekly.

We all need to support these local heroes and it is so great that there is so much to see and choose from.  It is a real adventure and experience at each market.  The people are all so healthy and happy, quite the people fest....  I think a photo junket to take pics is in store soon!  We love it!

Here is a link to all our local farmers markets.  They are real easy to find in your area too!   :)

We love salad.  Capresse is my favorite, but this below is what we make most every day with our dinner in the summertime.  Add the protein of your choice, but the beauty and art of a salad is truly something to share and so very healthy for you on so many levels.  

Sweet Salad

Fresh greens

Tomatoes

Carrots

Red peppers

Red onions

Salt & Pepper

Croutons

Almond slices

"Good" balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin Olive Oil

Here is my macro photo of the week.
 I thought the individual colors in the salad was just beautiful.  Hope you think so too!





Love our Simon Pearce dishes too -- always great for photos and presentation - such a beautiful meal. 

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