Sorry for being away too long.  In the last few weeks I have been busy with my Mother, and our family is deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved Mother passed away in her sleep on 6/22/13.  She has been suffering from pancreas cancer for some time now. We are relieved that her passing was peaceful and painless.

Well, I'm back, and we will be in Chicago/Kauai in the next 3 weeks.  Hopefully, I will have some good shot for everyone to see.  

Happy Fourth of July!

Latest wild flowers in bloom...

One of these pictures is not the same as the others...

Freckle Faced Lily

Sun Kissed

I see spots!

Who will be next!

The Spotted White Lily makes a nice contribution to the garden. A perennial whose presence is always welcomed for it's beauty! A photo-worthy flower for my view finder!

Salmon Berries

A wild relative of the Raspberry, the Salmon Berry can be found on the West Coast of North America from California to Alaska. Typically these berries become ripe beginning mid May and continue into early July.

For whatever reason there are two distinct types of bushes which grow along side each other and are indistinguishable except some produce red berries and some produce yellow berries. 

Each year my next door neighbor makes a batch of Salmon Berry wine, last years batch was exceptional!

Napping the day away...

Found these three seals on my way through the Quatsino Narrows this morning. They were sound asleep until I came along, then as soon as I had passed by they were back to making Z's.
Took this with the Nikon 18-300 at 300 f/5.6 hand held.

long ways from Baltimore

Baltimore Oriole

Although this is the State bird of Maryland we have many of these colorful birds visit Oklahoma during the spring until late fall. Their name comes from the Baltimore family of England and the family's crest contains the colors found in the feathers.

Looking In

A rather shy bird, I took all the shots through the windows from the sun room.

Where did all the jelly go?

These guys love their grape jelly and seem to be constantly visiting the feeder to get a bite. It takes two to three of the 32oz jars a week to keep them all happy!

My hungry look!

Funny thing about these birds. When the jelly bowl gets empty one of them will come to the window by the door and tap on the glass until one of us gets up and refills the bowl!

Color Splash

We have several pairs that nest and raise their little ones in this area. When the youngsters begin to fly and venture out the parents will always bring them to our backyard feeders to teach them to eat the grape jelly and ripe oranges that are put out for them. I like to think they are showing the young ones off to us. More than enough payback for the enjoyment we have viewing them!

Reflections (and a bug)

 

Did you know that the most common reason for an unidentified object to show up in a photo is because of a bug flying in front of the lens at the time you took the photo?

 

Lots of folks think they have captured a photo of something other worldly when they see it but most of the time it's just a pesky flying bug that is too close to the lens and or moving too fast to be in focus so you get a dark blurry spot such as the one in the right hand side of this photo.

 

Don't ask me why, I just thought you might like to know!

Who needs a water bed?

Who needs a water bed when you have the whole ocean! Found this Sea Otter just watching the world go by as I made my way to Quatsino by boat several days ago.

Late Night Hot Rod

This is a little something I have been up to. Well to tell you the truth, this is actually two photos combined to make one. Both are photos I have taken. The milky way was recently taken and the car was taken last year around August. I used Photoshop to combine both photos. Here are the two photos I used to make the one. I cut the car out of the top photo and overlaid it onto the bottom photo. I also adjusted the shape of the car with free transform to get the right perspective.

Foggy morning

Quite foggy and grey in Hardy Bay this morning when I got to town so I went down to the waterfront and took a few pictures. These are both with the Sigma 120-400 at 400. I didn't use a tripod but I did brace the camera against a pole for the second picture.

AFTER THE RAIN

4" RAIN

The month of June has been generous with it's rainfall this year. Ten inches to date and almost 30" for the year. But......, checking out the 7 day forecast No rain is in sight!

Red Lilly

Walking around the planted domesticated flowers after a rain is a favorite way for me to admire the colors Nature has provided.

Day Lilly

Although Wildflowers are my favorite, it is so nice to have the company of the beauty that the planted ones brings to our yard.

Day Lilly of Another Color

Now if only the rains will visit us from time to time this summer, the grass will stay green and the flowers will continue to bloom. Watering with city water just does not nourish the plants like a Heaven sent rain in the hot summer of Oklahoma!

MV Evviva

I passed this beautiful motor yacht the Evviva on my way to Quatsino with the landing craft a couple of days ago, what a beauty! (note the helicopter on the upper rear deck). 

When I got home I googled it... Built in 2006 by Westport Shipyard Port Angeles, Wa. The Evviva is 163.1 feet long and 30.1 feet wide.

Can we stump Texwisgirl?

 

Better known as; name that flower.

 

Personally, I don't have a clue. I know it's orange and yellow and grows on a tall stalk.

Splishing and a Splashing

PRIVACY PLEASE!

Aaaahh!

Hanging Out To Dry!

I Clean Up Nice!

Waterfalls with the Nikon P7700

 

This was taken along the road to Hana on Maui this past January. I used the Nikon P7700 and the internal ND filter just to see what it would do. I set the camera to aperture priority and f8, which is the smallest aperture you can manually set and took the shot hand held at 28mm zoom.

 

It turned out almost as good as the one I took using the D700 on a tripod with an ND8 filter at f16 and 17mm zoom..

 



More flowers and a weed...

I really need to get out and go for a hike... I think I've pretty much run out of flowers (and weeds) to take pictures of.

Hawaiian Sunsets

 

I took this photo while having dinner one night in Kimo's on Front Street in Lahaina. Their location is great and the food is even better!

These two were taken along Ka'anapali Beach on two separate nights. That is the island of Lana'i in the background.

Flowers up close

A few more wildflowers as they come into season but flower after flower becomes boring, so I decided to show portions of them up close.

Walking The Fence

GRACKLE

Seems this last month or two this Grackle and I have had lots in common. Caretaker duties have kept the wife and I pretty much confined to the perimeters of the cedar fence enclosing the property. The Grackle is free to fly, that is the difference! But I walk the fence daily albeit on the ground.

The Fifth Wheel Jayco Eagle has also been grounded since last November. I talk to her daily so she does not forget her purpose. I even bought her a new battery last week, just to keep her pulse beating!

Not to elaborate, just to explain. Charlotte's dad lives with us and loss of hearing, macular degeneration, dementia, along with the coolest hallucinations you ever could imagine, are part of His day! Day and Night!

Please "No Advice!"  WE do just fine!

Finally got the computer problems fixed and it is so nice to see my fellow posters and the posts from our contributors to this blog. Stand Up Folks one and all!

My next picture posts will be from the Wonderful Gardens from our backyard. Beauty Abounds!!

Just Beachy

 

My mind has been drifting back to Hawaii the last few days. Actually, I'm not sure it ever leaves there but anyway...

 

These were all taken with the Nikon P7700 at Kulanaokalai Beach on Maui just before sunset.

Orangius flowerius

A bit of background Bokeh for Ron... Ha ha!

Once again I wouldn't have a clue what wildflower or weed this is but it's in bloom here on the North end of Vancouver Island.