pete3d

An aptly named Common Whitetail Dragonfly perches on a fairly smooth rock in the low evening sun casting a fine shadow of itself, including the detailed patterns in the veined transparent portions of its wings. The image is another study in shades of brown, with a little white for contrast.

The Common Whitetail casts a sharp shadow.
#Dragonfly #insects #nature 🌿

Thanks Patryk,
My sister says it’s, “Punk”.

A small male (I’d say juvenile) Downy Woodpecker perches on a relatively large diagonal branch. The background is as photographers say “blown out” or overexposed to white, making an almost black and white image.

Just out of the shower.
#Downy #Woodpecker #birds #nature #wildlife 🪶

A Two-Spotted Bumblebee looks “directly” at us while gathering from a clover flower.

The Two-Spotted Bumblebee.
#Bee #insect #nature 🌿

We’re peering down at a tiny Red-Legged Grasshopper who is embracing two tall blades of grass. Its eyes, nose, and antenna are in focus but its body is blurred by our lens’s depth of field. For scale the blades of grass are about 6 mm across. This image is a fair study of shades of green, with a few browns for variety.

The little Red-Legged Grasshopper hugs a couple of blades of grass. #Grasshopper #nature 🌿

I had no idea…
Cheers.

Beautifully sharp!
Cheers.

Even with sharp eyes (the camera autofocus was somewhat befuddled) you might have difficulty spotting this Carolina Locust on the dry soil of the farm lane seen here. The wonder is just how well it blends in. There are five or six tiny shoots of green grass in the foreground, just for contrast.

Blending in.
#Grasshopper #Locust #camouflage #insects #nature 🌿

Grand.

Great colour. Nice light!
Cheers.

👍🏻👍🏻

A partly hidden Song Sparrow peers expectantly from a leafy perch in an very even light. The sparrow’s feet have such extraordinarily long “toenails” as to make certain humans envious.

“Could I please get a manicure.”
#Sparrow #birds #nature #wildlife 🪶

The Yellow Warbler perches in dying Ash tree. The light is filtered by wildfire smoke. I’m hoping it’s not too troubled by the thick hot air.

The Yellow Warbler getting ready to depart for another year in the South.
#Warbler #birds #nature #wildlife 🪶

A lovely blue-transparent Damselfly perches elegantly by the river on the tip of a new leaf in a glow of low warm light.

The Eastern Forktail.
#Damselfly #insects #nature 🌿

A skunk with very bright eyes and a lavish deportment poses amid a host of greenery - at a glance I can see at least 6 plant species. (It’s unusual for a skunk to appear so appealing - generally they have a rather menacing, mean aspect. I’m glad I wasn’t “taken in” by this come hither look!)

A coy pose.
#Skunk #nature #wildlife 🌿

A Chipping Sparrow stands at a worked field’s edge, behind new grass shoots, in a very mild light.

The Chipping Sparrow.
#Sparrow #birds #nature #wildlife 🪶

For this photo I was using the Canon RF 100-400 with a monopod as the light was low and I was shooting at 1/40 of a second.

Thank you Best. The spider was in the “centre” of his web.

Another lovely image Marga.
- indeed a respite from the affairs of mankind.
Cheers.

A Common Gray Tree Frog appears very snug and contented as he rests comfortably on a day lily leaf. Despite his name he is a very light, lime green, although his under parts are shades of salt and pepper grey. (To my eye what ever his gender he appears like a little boy, and seems to have Mona Lisa’s smile.)

“It’s so comfortable here that I think I’ll have a little nap.”
#frog #treefrog #nature 🌿

Thank you.

I do find this family of spiders attractive - they have lived in a nearby shed as long as I can recall.

It’s a lovely photo.
Cheers.

A Bridge-spider shows off its subtle multi-coloured nature and central web against a uniform gray-green gradient background.

The Bridge-spider (to accompany yesterday’s fly).
#Spider #arachnids #nature 🌿

A fascinating, skillful capture of one of the multitude of less apparent, beautiful wonders around us.

And I do admire the effort it takes to manage long exposures - but it’s awfully fun isn’t it!

Cheers.

A healthy, rather attractive Face Fly (which is unfortunately a pest to livestock and people) rests quietly in a little moss lined crevice, on the rough bark of a fallen tree. The low, warm sunlight helps the little creature cast a big shadow.

A handsome fly.
#Fly #insects #nature 🌿

Me too - and here I look for them to arrive in the spring and nest. I took this one’s photo yesterday evening.

An Eastern Phoebe perches on a handsomely verdigris coated electrical wire, in a mild light, with a blurred leafy background.

It’s “A Bird on a Wire”.
#Phoebe #birds #nature #wildlife 🪶

Thanks Marga.

When I was a boy they were plentiful around here, but there were some decades when I hardly saw a one - it’s good to see a few again, and as yet they’re not attacking the garden. 🙂

A Groundhog stands on its hind legs is a shady spot and ponders a fine stretch of clover and grass. It appears uncertain, confused, perhaps perplexed. I can’t see any reason for its demeanour, but I share it, and can think of much to account for my befuddlement.

This poor fellow doesn’t know what to make of the current state of affairs - a bit like me.
#Groundhog #Woodchuck #Marmot #nature #wildlife 🌿

An adolescent faun in a soybean field gazes at us without restraint or reservation, ears pricked up as tall as could be. (As a former teacher I would sometimes imagine a class of equally avid looking students as this, charmed and receptive, so ready to learn.)

The very definition of “ears pricked up”.
#Deer #Faun #nature #wildlife 🌿