Sparkles and Droplets

I can safely say that you are going to see quite a few hummingbird shots from me over the next few weeks.  By the end of the month, they will be gone and I won't see one again until the first shows up in late April next year.  Every year when they start leaving, the garden feels a little quieter, a little less alive.  I picked this shot because it gives you a feel for how truly tiny the hummingbird is relative to the droplet of water on the flower.  The water droplet is actually larger than the little red feather on this young male's neck.  I shot at a fairly slow shutter speed to blur the wings.  It's not an effect that all photographers embrace, but I happen to like it.  And because the skies were still heavily overcast, the light was poor and I needed to get more light into the sensor.

My second choice today would have been the American Goldfinch busily eating the seeds from the echinacea - see Extra.  This is why I leave a lot of my garden plants standing until spring.  I may look messy (okay, it does look messy) but it provides food for birds and shelter for a myriad of insects who overwinter in hollow stems and leaf litter.  Our goldfishes are also very small birds, although not early as small as the hummers.  

I found a splendid big katydid in the garden last night but it was nowhere to be seen today.  Of course, it could have been perched right in front of me and I might not have seen it - they are perfectly colored to look like leaves.  And some of the rather adorable little Large Milkweed Bug nymphs have molted, leaving behind their empty suits.  I should take a macro lens out and try to get some images of that, now that I think about it.

One monarch released today.  It was a late arrival to the nursery and I was not sure it would be viable.  The chrysalis took longer to change than usual and had some funky markings on it, but a big, beautiful male butterfly emerged and is now off on his epic journey.  

Hubs is feeling a little better today, and has even done some pottering around the house.  I am not sure if this signals an improvement in whatever is causing the pain or if it is simply the benefit of a taper of steroids that he is just finishing today.  But whatever the case, I am glad he is in less pain.

xo
Debbi