A Backyard Bird Study: A Family of Cardinals Nesting

For the past two weeks our family became extremely lucky as a family of Cardinals, or to be more specific Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), nested in a hibiscus bush just outside of our living room picture window.  We watched in wonder as the the mother (the female is the darker color of the species) nested over, what was originally, three hatchlings.  One morning when we sneaked a peak one of them had disappeared.  I got busy for the next 4 or 5 days with other things when I noticed they had left the nest and saw one of the babies roosting on a branch near the nest.  I decided it was time and I went and grabbed my camera:  a Canon Rebel EOS XS with a Zoom EFS 55-200mm lens with an ISO setting of 800.  With the mode setting on (Program AE) with auto focus I shot the series you are about to see.  I took around 75-150 shots over a period of 45 minutes while the parents of the baby went about the business of getting food an feeding it.  The colors of all three Cardinals are stunningly beautiful as you will see.  I went through my set and picked out 30 of the best ones and put them in a slide show set to music.  I got incredibly lucky during the feeding sequence.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Leave a comment and let me know! 

Jamie's Rapture

As I was going through some old scanned photos I ran across my favorite ambient photo from our family collection.  The funny thing about this particular shot was it was by accident and the setting is unknown.  All I can say for sure is it definitely came form our Canon Rebel Xs EOS.  Since there is no date mark on the photo itself I would have to guess Jamie is about three or four years old.  I like to call this "Jamie's Rapture" because we were at the beach, which she loves, and she had just come out of the water.  She was really enjoying the cool breeze coming off the water and cooling her off as it was a typical Florida hot day and she was standing with her eyes closed taking it all in.  Martha was telling me the camera went off by accident as she was trying to dry Jamie off before applying more sunscreen.  The image it captured for me is unforgettable.  [Be sure to click the image]

Hollow of A Tree and A Fern Root

While out on a walk today my wife and I ran across this hollow in a tree.  I found it interesting because of the beautiful fern growing out of it.  Tree hollows has always been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and saw the movie, "To Kill A Mockingbird."  In the movie a cigar box of child keepsakes are kept and found in the hollow of a tree aligning as a plot device for the movie.  Ever since that move I have been fascinated with tree hollows and how different they can be sometimes with fauna and flora growing out of them.  This was taken with an iphone 7 camera about 2 feet back. I hope you enjoy the color contrast as much as I did. 

Roadside Daises Near O'Leno State Park Near High Springs, Florida

While on our annual UUCJ [Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville] retreat at O'leno State Park just outside of High Springs, FL I managed to catch this sight on the scenic drive to this beautiful nature preserve.  I used our Canon Rebel XS with an automatic setting for this shot.  We had pulled just off the side of the road to catch this beautiful spread of wild daises that lit up the country side as they swayed in the breeze.  I was not able to pass it by for a few shots for posterity.  Martha managed to pick a few for out cabin that lent extraordinary color to the spartan offerings for our stay.   

Nature's Palette Cleansed

This past Sunday during the post services festivities for our church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville, what is known as a 'gully washer' took place that is typical of a Northeast Florida Spring/Summer day.  Services had just ended and I almost waited until the rain stopped before leading the sanctuary.  I had changed my mind thinking of the post rain run-off photos I might get and then I happen to catch that very thing thing I was looking for from an eve adjacent to the sanctuary with a series of photos.   I like the pattern the water made as it flowed to its natural gutter run-off end.  I used our Canon Rebel xsi EOS on automatic setting with a 78mm lens.  In retrospect I should have used a faster ISO setting.

The post rain run-off at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville

Hibiscus After The Rain

I was able to catch our hibiscus plant in our backyard after an afternoon shower.  I love the beauty of the color contrasting with the background and the beaded rain drops on the petals.  This is probably my wife's favorite flowering shrub in out yard. Even the camera lens cannot capture the real beauty one sees after a rain.  This particular variety is the Hibiscus syriacus named for the Greek officials that tended to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, inspiration, and the arts bestowed upon them by Pedanius Dioscorides a Greek physician and botanist circa 60 - 90 C.E.

The Jacksonville Arboretum: Cutting Edge Technology For The Rains

I love this shot of the rain guage at the Arboretum in Jacksonville.  Cutting edge technology that Thomas Jefferson would love!  I just like the color contrast of the guage against the brown theme of winter/fall starting to fade at the park.  It just would not be the same in a green thatch of grass or somewhere in a yard.  The brown hues int he background with the yellow water gauge is what makes the shot for me.  I shot this with the Canon Rebel xsi EOS digital SLR with a 78mm telephoto lens on automatic setting.  To bad there weren't some drops of water to give it better depth.