Fun Friday: Pollinator at Work

By Jim | Published July 21, 2017




With our extremely hot temperatures, I have not been out much for photography lately. But I do manage to make an occasional walk-through of my butterfly garden, right outside my front door and in beautiful bloom right now! During my walk-through yesterday, I did find some pollinators busy at work: I’ve also seen a couple […]

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A Cat in the Garden

By Jim | Published July 19, 2017




Today I’m featuring another notable find from my recent butterfly garden tour at a wonderful butterfly garden near Paola, Kansas. A couple of butterfly caterpillars (“cats”) were busy feeding on one of the garden plants as I walked the path through the garden. These caterpillars will soon become beautiful Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) butterflies: In […]

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A Cautious Widow Skimmer

By Jim | Published July 17, 2017




While touring a wonderful butterfly garden near Paola, Kansas last week, I found a somewhat wary Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) dragonfly, “hiding” behind a stem on the plant he was perched in: Moving slowly, I was able to move to my right to get an image from a slightly different angle: A short time later, […]

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Fun Friday: Monarch & Rattlesnake Interaction

By Jim | Published July 14, 2017




The local Missouri Master Gardener group I’m a member of had a great week. On Wednesday morning we met and drove to a wonderful butterfly garden that a nearby Kansas Master Gardener established many years ago. We had a very educational tour from the local butterfly expert, learning much about the butterflies and the plants. […]

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Eastern Kingbird

By Jim | Published July 12, 2017




Today’s post comes from the Loess Bluffs NWR (formerly called Squaw Creek NWR) in northwest Missouri, as I passed through the area on my way home from the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon. The Eastern Kingbird is a common bird in Missouri. This bird is often seen perched on a tree/shrub limb near an open […]

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Moth Mullein

By Jim | Published July 10, 2017




An always wonderful find in the early summer … the Moth Mullein wildflower: Photographic Equipment Used: Canon 5D Mark 3 body Canon 180mm, f/3.5 macro lens Bogen 3221 tripod and ballhead ISO 800 Aperture f/3.5 Shutter 1/350 sec. to 1/3000 sec.    

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Bull Elk in Velvet

By Jim | Published July 7, 2017




While photographing at the Neil Smith NWR (near Des Moines, Iowa) a couple of weeks ago, I discovered there were some elk on the refuge. I was aware of a bison herd, but had never heard about or seen any elk. But as I drove the backside of the refuge, I saw a small group […]

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Little Bird on the Prairie

By Jim | Published July 5, 2017




While recently photographing at the Neil Smith NWR (near Des Moines, Iowa), I photographed one of the many male Dickcissels I saw/heard on a meadow on the refuge. Dickcissels are very common prairie birds and can be seen and heard singing just about anytime I visit a prairie. Here are a couple of my favorite […]

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Wishing You A Colorful Fourth!

By Jim | Published July 3, 2017




Today’s post features a brightly-colored clump of Black-eyed Susan wildflowers (Rudbeckia hirta), which I felt would be a nice start to the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations occurring across our great land. So enjoy this splash of color and have a great Fourth! Photographic Equipment Used: Canon 7D Mark II body Canon 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS […]

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Fun Friday: Beautiful in Black

By Jim | Published June 30, 2017




While in Des Moines last weekend for the annual art show, I made some time to drive to the nearby Neil Smith NWR to photograph wildflowers and wildlife. One of the highlights was finding and photographing Ebony Jewell-winged Damselflies. I had found a ton of these beauties when in town last year; this year there […]

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