Nature close up, What did you see out there? Options

[swizz]

GB brought his pet bird (some kind of Parrot) over the other night and had it perched in front of my Geological map... which I thought would make an interesting background. I normally don't like to shoot with a 'busy' background but I couldn't resist with the rich colors.
The bird's name is Tuco and has quite the personality. Very cool bird... spends a lot of time on GB's shoulder.





Jeez.... get a room

[Denise]

Great pics Swizz, and Tuco is a very beautiful bird! Love his colors!!

[Denise]

Here is one taken early morning right before the sun came up. Fresh layer of snow on the ground as the fog socked us in.
Love how the lack of light in the pic gives an almost icy blue feel of winter.






This pic was taken of the ground with a little more light..... Yes, I will point my camera at just about anything I find interesting.

[jim]

LOL makes me shiver just looking at them.

[Denise]

If that makes you cold....Just think how this poor cactus feels.
It was able to avoid the snow but not Jack frost.



Dan says "it looks like a sea erchant".

[swizz]

Great picture of hoar frost Denise! There is usually a short period of time during sunrise when it's possible to catch it backlit with sun for super-natural effects.... before it has a chance to melt. I try but don't always catch it right or end up over-exposing the shot. I've always found that type of frost interesting. I startled a sleeping Deer along the Colorado early one morning (near sunrise) and the poor thing was covered in it. Made for good camo since it was winter but... brrrr.

I was going through some of my fish pics this morning since my taxidermy class was canceled and thought I'd share this image as it's one of my favorites. It's not so much the Salmon, but the content 'flow' of this image that makes it work for me. I built the pictured rod with a custom hand-fitted cork handle. Coincidentally, the shape of the handle is really similar to the fish's shape. I didn't notice until days later viewing onscreen but it creates a nice composition along with the softly curved fly line. Sometimes ya just get lucky.. I may have to print this one up. Cheers!

[jim]

Man that's a beauty...fish ain't bad either.

[Denise]

Thanks Swizz! I let the dog out when I went to take the pictures, and about a half an hour later when I went to go back inside, the dog was laying there with it all over her as well. I laughed and was about to get a pic of her, but she jumped up and shook it off before I could. I was amazed at how quick it formed on her!

You did a great job on the rod. Looks like it works well to! Sweet Salmon pic for sure! Ive never seen a salmon like that while out fishing. Thanks for sharing it with us.

BTW......Sweet avatar pic! Warms me just looking at it.

[swizz]

Here's a quick pic from ice fishing yesterday....
my little girl got a little frosty

[Denise]

Shes sooo sweet! Fantastic picture of her Swizz!!

At least she was willing to get her pic taken like that....hehe......Great partner to have out with you. Just need a snow sled for her to pull around instead of you. Thanks for sharing that pic with us, it definately brought a smile to my face!

[Denise]

Here is a little different kind of encounter. This little guy usually only comes out at night, but I found one hidding just after sunrise. Gads! The thing has toes....hehe



We have been doing a little more research on this one since Timmy keeps having encounters with them. Poor guy! First he had one in his pants when he went to put them on. He felt it move, so he grabbed it pulling it away from him. Sad to say, this caused its body to oooze down his leg. He said it felt like sand running down his leg. When I first saw what was left of it, I thought spider but it only had 6 legs. That led us to crickets, and there it was, the Jerusalem cricket. These things are good sized! Facinating things to learn about! (see Wikipedia link below). A few nights later when he was trying to go to sleep, he told us he heard a strange tapping noice. We looked all over but couldnt find anything.

As we were researching the Jerusalem cricket
We clicked the sound file it has for the "drumming" sound it makes.



Timmy was close doing his school work and came running over saying "Whats that sound? Thats the sound I heard the other night."

Bingo!

Looks like they're awake and ready for the season again. I think its cool how they wrap sticks around the hole. Guess you can make a tiny circle with sticks.

[Woody]

I am always amazed at the cool stuff I see and find every time I view a new thread and this one was no exception. I did not know that these little buggers built a circle around their entrance. Hummmmm..... It’s got to be for keeping something out. I wonder what?

[Woody]

Sorry, this feller was a little camera shy. It will be hard for you to guess what it is if you are not familiar with them. I will give you a hint, "They are very problematic in the south".

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[Denise]

That would be a mole cricket, scientific name Orthoptera Gryllotalpidae. They could be a problem in ones garden.

Looks like they have little toes also.

[Woody]

Really, it was that easy for you hu? I thought it would tax your thinking cap at least a little. OK, I'm working on a new pic as we speak. I just got to get the camera just right..... BRB