Blue Moon

Two full moons in a month and the second one is a blue moon - here's how it looked coming up over the Oquirrh's tonight.

Photo fun!

Lots of opportunities yesterday (and every day) for Moments of Beauty to be photographed. Flowers, cats, horses and hummingbirds were the subjects, some early morning, some late afternoon and others in the midday sun!

A David Austin rose.

Red carrots from our garden.

Fuzzy on alert!

Day lilies are still blooming and beautiful

Our neighbors have two beautiful horses.

Hummingbirds are very active and fun to watch.

It's all about light

Light! Camera! Action!

When you see the light you have been looking for you capture it to the best of your ability!  Here's a couple of captures of light that I love....

More fun around the house

The hummingbirds are very active and the Rufous keep things stirred up. But they are a joy to watch and much fun to try to capture in flight.
House finches are clowns - they do some of the weirdest things and yet are so cute you really just want to pet them.
Murphy enjoys the long, cool grass under his belly.  He's taking things much slower these days.

Small stuff around the house

Spiders and hummingbirds are the small stuff although both have their beauty.  The Rufous Hummingbird showed up yesterday and I got a photo this morning of it. The spider was making its web on the cherry tomato plant and the white swirls were just part of what was there.

Zach and the Caputo All Stars!

Diana and I treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at Fresco's last night, back in our old stomping grounds at 15th and 15th. After dinner we found our godson, Zachary, across the street with his band playing at Caputo's. They are a great group and skilled players and play there every Friday night so go listen to them if you can.
Here's a few shots of the band...

Zach with a big smile!

The All Stars!

Drummer soloing!

Detail is not always necessary

While I love to present wildlife in great detail there are times when the detail is not necessary - suggestiveness works.
In the first photo I was fascinated by the detail on the feet of the hummingbird and the rest is sufficient to identify the bird but not great detail.
The second photo presents the form that is so often seen and identified with the hummers, one that seems a patient waiting and perhaps a prayer :-).

Backyard Birds

The backyard birds are fascinating to observe - their culture and interactions with one another often bring laughter!

Morning has broken

We're fortunate to be able to watch the sunrises over the Oquirrh's as often as we want to - just have to be up by a certain time! Here's views of three different sunrises this past few days.

Sky and Clouds

We've experienced some very beautiful sunsets lately thanks to all of the clouds that swing by in the late afternoon and early evening. The moon and Venus did a dance together two days ago as the sky darkened.

More Birds - and a rat!

By sneaking around the truck I was able to capture the oriole photo - they are very easily spooked! On the road to Granstville we saw these rough-legged hawks in their nest - I've seen them from time to time but not stopped till now to take a photo. Big birds! Then a muskrat at Horseshoe Springs - along with a lot of mosquitos and a few horseflies!!

New Lens images

I purchased a new lens - a Tamron 150 - 600mm - after trying it out for a while via renting. It is amazing!  Sharp handheld photos even at 600 mm.
Here's a few shots I've taken with it:

Brown-headed cowbirds seem to have replaced the blackbirds in the back yard!

Bird feeder shots - Love these beauties!

Another wonderful day lily.

Farmer working his field!  I was about a mile away when I took this and the Deseret Peak/MMP facility in the background is another mile or so away from the dust cloud.

Evening light on the lily

Walking around as the sun was going down I found this beautiful day lily in backlight. A reminder of why we grow these gorgeous flowers that are so beautiful at all times of the day - direct sun, shade and front, back and side lighting!
Enjoy!

Birds, rainbows and morning light

We came home the other afternoon and this dove was sitting on top of the pergola as if it were a statue! Then the American Goldfinch came by to flash us with his colors!
This morning a rain cloud blew threw and in the process created a double rainbow!  A few minutes later the sun was creating another masterpiece of beauty over the Oquirrhs.
Moments of beauty that fill our lives.