Saturday, August 11, 2012

Close Encounters

I was going to post some pictures of beautiful rose hips, but I still can't find time to go to the Heritage and shoot some more of them, so for now, here are some pictures of fast moving objects from my garden.



Sometimes in the afternoon, if all the chores are done, I take a book, a cup of tea and the camera to the patio.



I sit quietly, hardly moving at all and not making any noise.



After a while, curious creatures start stirring all around me, coming closer and closer. All I have to do is zoom in on them carefully and click away.



Here is our resident hummingbird, The Boss.



 Sometimes I think wistfully it must be a different bird from last year because it seems more afraid of camera clicks. It is not afraid of us though.



One evening when my husband joined me on the patio with a glass of red wine, which must have looked like nectar to a hummer, the Boss swooped angrily at my husband diving inches away from his face and spilling the wine. Now we only drink beer outside, which has not yet met with any disapproval :)



I have become extremely careful about sticking my nose inside a rose bloom for a sniff.



You never know who might be staring back at you from inside. Some of them are not at all happy about sharing.




And I am not at all happy about sharing my roses with some of them, such as this impudent cucumber beetle (below). I have had a bad infestation this year, and my fingers are tired of squishing these pests. Fortunately, they seem to prefer roses to vegetables, so my cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplant have been doing well. 


As I am watching my visitors, they are watching me. We have many lizards in the garden, and they are shy, but curiosity still gets the better of them :)


Sparrows are frequent visitors too. They remind me of small boys: cheeky, curious, loud and fast. Here now and gone in an instant.



18 comments:

  1. Wow, what fantastic photographs. These are stunning.

    What kind of camera do you use?

    FlowerLady

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  2. Thank you, FlowerLady. I have a Nikon D3000 and a tele-photo. It takes a lot of patience and many many tries to get a few good pictures :)

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  3. Zdjęcia są boskie, niesamowite. Szczególnie mi się podobają z kolibrami, bo u nas tych ślicznych ptaszków nie ma. Pozdrawiam.
    The pictures are divine, amazing. Especially I like the kolibrami, because with us these beautiful birds is not. Yours.

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  4. I particularly like the dragonfly shots!

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  5. Wonderfulll!!!!!al that little animals and insects in jour garden, it are different species than here in Holland...

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  6. I love the hummingbird shots! They're such cheeky little critters. You should get a small feeder and sit and feed them by hand.

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  7. A book, a cup of tea, and a camera on the patio ... sounds like a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. How nice that you have so many hummingbird visitors (or visits by one "Boss"?). We have hummers here, too, but they seem very shy. I usually see only one or two each summer, but the nectar is gone so I know they visit. Very nice, Masha!

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  8. At some point I need to get a better camera so I can capture pix of all the creatures that live in or visit my garden. Love the story about the wine. :o) The pot my Abraham Darby is in is a glazed clay pot about 80" in diameter and about 20' tall. It's from a discount home store called Home Goods.

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  9. Masha, stunning photos! You know, all cameras let the clicks to switch off.

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  10. BEAUTIFULL !!! pictures !!

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  11. A really lovely post, Masha. I felt like I could almost reach out and touch those little creatures. Well, maybe not the wasp!

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  12. Hummingbirds ARE bossy! I can never get a shot of mine - too fast for me! Maybe I should try to drink a glass a wine while I'm out there! I love the white butterfly on the white bloom the best. But the lizard made me laugh!

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  13. So Beautiful! I think the birds and the insects show off your garden really well!
    Elaine

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  14. What a delightful post! (Of course, I'm rather partial to little creatures that live in gardens.) You've taken some great shots... if I were to choose a favorite it would definitely be the cabbage white on the daisy. But that pair of sweet little birds are enchanting. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Woowzer! What fabulous shots Masha. Just gorgeous close ups.

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  16. Wow! such amazing shots; crisp sharpness and exposure. Images of flowers with winged insects truly make them lovelier. Masha, you are a great photographer.

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  17. You are very talented with your camera. The captures of hummingbirds are hard to come by

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  18. I am stunned by your photograpy!!!! amazed.....thrilled.....

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I am so glad you have stopped by!