May 13, 2007 - Yellow Star Grass
Cool this morning with lows in the mid 40's, but expecting a sunny day and highs in the low 70's. I stopped at a church I used to pastor yesterday and looked for these. They are very difficult to expose correctly. I didn't do a real good job on it, but you can see some of the details in the beautiful little flower. I also realize that I'm behind on my comments to other pbasers, but I'll catch up soon. Happy Mother's Day everyone!
May 12, 2007 - Painted Trillium, Up Close and Personal
Cloudy this morning, but I don't expect much of any rain. Highs supposed to be around 80. We could use some rain. These trilliums grow in more mountainous terrain, so I shot this one on my trip this week. I was pleased to find them more abundant than last year. I thought the centers had an interesting shape.
May 11, 2007 - Showy Orchis
Partly cloudy today with highs expected to be around 80. Maybe a thunderstorm this afternoon. When I went to the mountains this past week, one of the flowers I was aiming to get a shot of was this species. I only know of one place where these grow. They were in abundance, but some had been bitten by recent frost. They are one of the native orchids in West Virginia.
May 10, 2007 - Ill-scented Trillium
Partly cloudy today with highs in the low 80's. Having a very busy day today, so I posted this one that I took yesterday on my trip to the mountains. In the valleys, these were already gone, but on the top ridges of the mountains, they were just coming out. So you could go a matter of a couple of miles and see completely different flora. A fun experience.
09-MAY-2007
May 9, 2007 - A surprise visitor
Warm and sunny today, with highs in the low 80's. A friend of mine and I took a little photo safari into the mountains. When we stopped at Cranberry Glades, we were photographing trilliums and marsh marigolds when this fellow showed up. He looked to be a yearling, and he really wasn't very afraid of us. We were pretty close, but of course I didn't have the right lens on my camera, so this is cropped. But it still turned out pretty well.
May 8, 2007 - Crested Iris
Cool again this morning, but expected to get warm this afternoon, with highs near 80 this afternoon. I finally got a shot of one of these. It seemed like every time I went out to try to shoot these little flowers, the wind was blowing. But I managed to shoot this one between wind gusts.
May 7, 2007 - Clematis Center
Cool this morning, with scattered frost in the area. Highs today are expected to be in the low 70's and sunshine. A lady right up the street from my work has two different types of clematis growing, and I liked the sea creature look of the center of this variety.
May 6, 2007 - Brown Thrasher
Sunny today with highs expected to be around 70. I caught this guy lurking around the edge of the yard. I had at first thought it was a Northern Flicker, but checked my bird book and decided it is a brown thrasher. His name sounds like a WWF wrestler. He is a big bird, around a foot long.
05-MAY-2007
May 5, 2007 - Jack in the Pulpit
Partly sunny this morning, but clouding over this afternoon and probably going to rain. Highs around 70. I got a chance to take a walk up where the lady's slippers grow. Unfortunately, it looks like someone dug them up (there were just a few). I am really disappointed in the situation. I did find this jack in the pulpit along the way.
May 4, 2007 - May Apple
Drizzling rain this morning, and showers expected off and on most of the day. Highs around 70. A wet dreary morning, and lots of work to do, so I decided to post this one that I took a little earlier this week. May Apple are difficult to photograph until their leaves drop off. Then you have to catch them quickly, as the blooms fade shortly afterward. They are beautiful, though.
02-MAY-2007
May 3, 2007 - Rose Breasted Grosbeak (Female)
Showers this morning, with highs supposed to be around 70 today. Late yesterday afternoon this female grosbeak came into the feeder. They are very camera shy, and so I had to stay back a little farther than I wanted. This is a pretty heavy crop, but it is good enough to see that she too is beautiful.
02-MAY-2007
May 2, 2007 - Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Clouds and sun today, with a couple of showers around. Highs in the 70's. I've been trying to get a shot of these birds for a couple of weeks now. We have never had them around here before, so I was pretty excited when they showed up. This isn't a perfect picture of them, but gives you some idea of how beautiful they are.