Each year in May the Apple Tree outside our bedroom window blossoms with beautiful white and pink blossoms. They smell so good. The tree itself is huge and hasn't been pruned in the almost fourteen years we have lived here. A few branches have broken and died in storms. Each year I try to photograph the blossoms and and the busy bees that work hard to ensure apples grow. Sadly the blossoms rarely last very long because May is also quite windy with a few good thunderstorms. Sometimes the blossoms may only last a day, but this year they lasted five days! At first there were not very many bees working the blossoms but slowly more did come! There were a few giant Bumble Bees but there did seem to be fewer Honey Bees than last year. I broke out the macro lens one evening to try to catch the last rays of the setting sun through the blossoms. I was a bit late but still managed to get a few photos with interesting light. I photographed one or two of the Honey Bees working the lower part of the tree. Then the breeze picked up so I retired for the evening. I set out one afternoon a day or two later with the Macro and tried hard to capture the bees on the blossoms before the wind knocked them all down. Here are the shots I managed below. Don't forget to check out what is available in the Prints and Gifts Section too! Have a great day! After four or five days sadly the Ruby Crested Warblers disappeared. All was not lost though as I wandered down to work on a special project I was greeted by joyous birdsong and new colors flashing about the trees and shrubbery. Tiny bits of bluish gray and yellow moving all about the bushes! Say hello to the Yellow Rumped Warbler. It was a beautiful sunny morning by a stream we've come to love.. My son played in the water while I watched birds. After it a while it seemed too quiet but I noticed more movement further downstream. I did not have appropriate footwear for the water so we followed a deer path through the rushes to get the stream bank further down. Yes we make sure to look for ticks every time we venture to the creek. My son and I chatted quietly as the show began. Five or six Yellow Rumped Warblers came out to feed around some dead trees and brush. They would flit from branch to branch pausing for a quarter of a second here and there. Talk about an autofocus workout! The morning light was perfect capturing these tiny colorful darts! I even manage a photo of one pruning itself! They moved on once they ate what they could in that spot. My favorite shot of the Yellow Rumped Warbler was taken as it stood in front of a well worn trunk full of holes and bore lines. We followed the stream just a bit further before returning to our "spot." I saw some movement in the brush upon our return. It was not the Yellow Rumped Warbler but a type I had never seen before. It was a small yellow warbler with two chestnut stripes on it's head. It was very pretty. I made sure to take lots of photos of it and later looked it up in the my field guide. Turns out it was a Palm Warbler. The warblers hung about for a few days, bringing us much joy with their delightful songs and colors. Then they disappeared over night. I was hoping they would stay but it turns out our "spot" was just a pit stop along their long migration. Well, hope you enjoy the photos as much I did in creating them!
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Julie MetottNature Photographer, wife, mother, lover of outdoor adventure! Archives
November 2022
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