As it neared bed time I realized I had not shot a single photo today. I had planned to go to a basketball game and a play but decided a night at home was in order after a long week. As I went into the game room I noticed the blooms on the Christmas Cactus. I’m not sure it if has just bloomed or if I have just not noticed it but it caught my attention. The shot above is an angle I took from below the plant and in macro mode.

IMGP3265, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

The weather is beginning to feel a little more like fall this weekend after a very warm week. I hope to make it up to Caesar’s Head State Park in the next couple of weeks as the leaves begin to change but this weekend we are staying home. I was looking at the flowers that are still blooming in our front yard and the orange on the legs of the bumblebees caught my attention so I took this shot.

IMGP5149, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

We continue to have a number of bumblebees attracted to the flowers around the yard. Most flock to the butterfly bushes but this one was on the lantana in the back yard. I like this closeup shot that I took this morning.

Butterfly 7, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

Sometimes being lucky and having the camera handy can result in getting a photo. I got home this afternoon after going to the school to get a photo and had my camera when I went to check on the clothes on the line. This Tiger Swallowtail was moving from flower to flower in the backyard. I took a few shots with the lens I had on the camera and then went in and got a longer lens to get this shot. The butterfly was not too concerned with me being there and even stayed on the flower when I reached out and moved it around. Other shots are on my Flickr page.

HDR Image 2 cropped, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I love taking photos of insects, birds, and other animals. I caught this bumblebee on a flower this afternoon at the Falls Park. The original image was nice but I played with the picture some by cropping it and running it through software to create a simple HDR (High Definition Range) image. The colors and narrow focus make this image stand out for me.

Day Lily and Butterfly Bush, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

Despite the lack of rain our lilies have bloomed well for a few weeks now. I took this photo this afternoon and used part of it to create the title graphic at the top of this page. There are more shots of flowers on my Flickr site. I’m hoping to work in a trip the the NC Arboretum before the summer is done so that section should have plenty of shots later.