Today a young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited the backyard early in the day while the girls put out a different patio table. It perched on top of a chair, mere feet away, and patiently waited for them to finish their task. After that it ate from the feeders throughout the day. When I returned home I heard the above story as soon as the hummingbird returned and perched on the same chair I was sitting on. I asked them a simple question, "Do you want to take its picture?" Below is what happened as it sat on a tomato plant.
Grab the tripod and pick an angle focused on its favored perch...
....and start shooting.
Move the tripod and take some more photos.
Lower the tripod and share the camera with Danielle.
Who had a slightly different angle....
...and flipped the camera vertically. Micheaela's vertical photo (right) is cropped.
Michaela even had a Monarch land while she was taking photos....why not take this one too!
Other names considered for this post included:
15 fall warbler species get upstaged by yard bird!
Gold family succumbs to peer pressure and shares yet another hummingbird photo on FB!
The girls still think dad's hobby is cool. I wonder how long that will last.
RTHU, be thankful this was written before you peed on the author.
This summer included a long trip up north but stories and photos from that trip will be added later. Instead this blog post is devoted to our Overland Park Arboretum visit on July 4th. We've been members of the arboretum since moving to OP three years back and have made many visits in search of birds in winter and summer, insects, have given the girls photo challenges in the past, and even had them write about their experiences there. During this visit the girls wanted cameras and chose their own direction; Christine and I were left to watch and enjoy their creative spirits.
Turtles caught their eyes first.
(Top L to R) False Map Turtle, Red-Eared Slider, and Ouachita Map Turtle (Bottom L to R) Red-Eared Slider and Spiny Softshell Turtle
The four different species of turtles were sunning and near the boardwalk, where the girls joined others in looking at turtles and fish in the water.
Danielle decided it was a good idea to get up close, while Michaela laid out to shoot an Eastern Amberwing.
Here are Danielle's videos below.
Butterflies were out as well!
We all took photos of butterflies, which were spread throughout the Arboretum.
(Top L to R) Silver-spotted Skipper and Sleepy Orange
(Bottom L to R) Horace's Duskywing, Clouded Sulfer, and Monarch
Fairy Houses are there also!!
Christine and the girls have created fairy houses the past couple of years as admission to the Renaissance Festival, we walked through the Enchanted Forest to get ideas. As fate would have it we started the girl's versions this weekend when the neighbors trimmed some trees.
Pictures to use as ideas and inspiration.
Photo ops!!!
It is fun to take pictures of the girls, but somehow their smiles show up so much easier when they are taking photos as well.
Last weekend Grandpa Mike and Grandma Cindy visited and helped us settle into the new rental unit and work on a few projects. We were quite successful with the projects; the girls love their new play table downstairs, the house is quite cooler, we love having correct wiring so the ceiling fan works properly, and we upgraded the TV as a result. Between projects we played games and attended the Festival of Butterflies, our first visit to Powell Gardens.
The Lego exhibits throughout the gardens were AWESOME!!
The gardens were wonderful and the special attraction was the butterflies. Informative and entertaining exhibits were throughout the gardens and the girls enjoyed taking photos of as many butterflies as they could.
Blue Morpho, Queen, Giant Swallowtail, Monarch and Pipevine Swallowtail (Left to Right, Top then Bottom rows)
The Monarch Watch tent allowed the girls to touch caterpillars and they watched a Monarch Butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. The girls also played with arts and crafts, finding the air conditioned inside a relief from the outside heat.
I love how these pictures seemingly reveal their "natural" smiles.
