I have to say, is this a cool shot or what?! Tues., I stopped by a few trees to take a photo of a fledgling Western kingbird on the fence. Next thing I knew, Mr. or Mrs. Kingbird was bouncing from branch to branch in the nearby tree, chattering at me, no doubt trying to distract me from his/her prince/princess. I somehow managed to get this shot just after lift-off; looks like a dive bomb!
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I found this pretty patch of asters along the road, near a farm house. It isn't a Black Hills wildflower; I don't know what it is. Birds are good at freeing garden flowers from their cultivated life. :o) Well, ok, could've been the prairie wind, too. Or maybe Mrs. Farmer planted them there on purpose, but gave up on weeding. If you know what this is or might be, please do tell!
Update: Thanks Marnie! The flower is a tickseed, or coreopsis. There are dozens of varieties and after going through over 30 Goggle pages, I still couldn't find the exact same flower. The closest is the red-eyed tickseed.
Finally, a froggie poser! I've scared up quite a few of the skittish jumpsters while stomping around at a pond or puddle, and they always disappear into the water or tall grass. But this spotted fellow posed nicely in the open for a bit.
Great bird photo! Your flower looks like one of the coreopsis (tickseed) varieties. There are dozens both natural and cultivated. The leaves and the height/habit would give more clues. In Illinois we have the Coreopsis grandiflora which is very similar with the ragged petals but has a yellow center.
ReplyDeleteMy yard is suddenly full of baby toads hopping everywhere. It's a mine field to walk without stepping on one;) Wish I could get a photo but they don't stay still and are smaller than a cricket.
Marnie
Nice frog pic..when you are out and about taking your pics,do you ever get eat up by chiggers? or do you use a bug spray?or do you even have chiggers there?they are horrible..just curious..
ReplyDeleteHappy 100th!!! I love the bales of hay and the Western Kingbird...But I cannot stress to you my fear of frogs...Weird because I used to catch them when I was a little girl...
ReplyDeleteP.S. I know I have told you this before but, your music is incredibly...haunting.
Jann...thank you for your visit and congratulations on your 100th...Your Kingbird photo is unique, you captured it's gracefullness! I need to catch up on all your previous posts.
ReplyDeleteYou where so lucky to get that little bird before he took to the sky! I would have guessed that he was a finch, but he is probably larger than a finch.
ReplyDeleteThe wild flower is simply stunning. Why do I love these colors so much?
Keep on clickin'!!!!
Deb, the W. kingbird looks smallish in the photo due to the arch of its body I guess. It is definitely larger than a finch. I took more photos of it as it moved around the outskirts of the tree, trying to shoo me away.
ReplyDeleteYellow wildflowers are so bright and sunny, it would be hard not to be drawn to them!