Flowers – Wandering Dawgs

Lens-Artists #113: Labor of Love

September 10, 2020Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged Butterfly Garden, Gulf Fritillary, Labor of Love, Lens-Artists, Mexican Sunflower, Monarch Butterfly, Photo Challenge, Skipper Butterfly, weekly smile, zinnias17 Comments

This week’s photo challenge comes from guest host Rusha Sams of Oh, The Places we See… We are asked to show images that represent a Labor of Love.

Planting my butterfly garden and maintaining it is a labor of love for me. By planting seeds and plants that attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees I am providing a place for them to feast on the nectar. At the same time I have a space in my backyard to relax and enjoy nature.

Here’s a few of the late summer critters that visited the garden recently. You can click on a picture to enlarge it.

Monarchs, Gulf Fritillaries, and Skipper butterflies have been all over the zinnias and Mexican Sunflower drinking up the nectar. Wasps, bees, and even a tiny grasshopper enjoyed the flowers, too.

It’s been a long, hot, dry summer and hopefully the flowers will continue to attract the butterflies and other critters for a little while longer.

I smile whenever I see these beautiful visitors to the garden. What made you smile this week?

Thanks to guest host Rusha Sams for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #113 – A Labor of Love.

Also shared with Trent’s Weekly Smile.

Lens-Artists #110: Creativity in the time of Covid-19

August 21, 2020Posted in Birds, Flowers, PhotographyTagged creativity in the time of COVID-19, Lens-Artists, Mexican Sunflower, Photo Challenge, ruby throated hummingbird40 Comments

This week, Tina has asked us to show creativity in the time of Covid-19.

I’ve tried my best to stay creative with my photography during this time. I’ve been experimenting with different photo techniques and some different editing effects.

One day in early spring I went out after a rain shower to take some photos. I wasn’t happy with them until I started playing around with different editing effects. This Mexican Sunflower photo was boring until I added a water color effect.

I am usually on the ground looking up when I take pictures of hummingbirds. One day I sat on our deck looking down at the flowers and captured this Ruby Throated Hummingbird going from flower to flower. By shooting from above I was able to get the shots I wanted.

I’d like to thank the amazing Lens-Artists team of Tina, Amy, Anne-Christine, and Patti for giving me inspiration and keeping me motivated during this time.

Tina, thank you for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Creativity in the Time of Covid-19

Lens-Artists #105: Spring

July 16, 2020Posted in Flowers, Photography, WildflowersTagged Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Spring, spring blossoms, springtime33 Comments

This July “Seasons” will be the theme for the entire month with a different season featured each week. This week the challenge is “Spring”. For me, spring is best represented by the vibrant colors of flowers.

Here in coastal Georgia I know it is spring when the azaleas, dogwoods and fruit trees are blooming.

20200319-First-Day-of-Spring-(12) — Spring Azaleas

20200319-First-Day-of-Spring-(22) — Spring Dogwood Bloom

Spring is a beautiful time for a road trip. In Texas, fields are filled with the bluebonnets and other brightly colored wildflowers.

20150331Day-25pm-Willow-City-Loop-(10) — Boots and Bluebonnets in Texas

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush along Park Road 4

The spring blossoms in the Blue Ridge Mountains add bright colors to the landscape.

20100515Blue-Ridge-Parkway-NC-(6) — Flame Azaleas on the Blue Ridge Parkway

20100515Blue-Ridge-Parkway-NC-(68) — Wild Rhododendron along the Blue Ridge Parkway

20190416-Redbut-in-NC-(3) — Eastern Redbud at rest area in Western North Carolina

Tina, thank you for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Spring

Lens-Artists #103: Surprise

July 3, 2020Posted in Flowers, Georgia, PhotographyTagged garden, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Surprise15 Comments

This week our host Ann-Christine has challenged us to show anything that was a surprise.

I’ve had a few surprises in the garden this summer. When I found two unidentified plants growing in one of my small beds I left them alone to see what would happen. I was surprised when they turned out to be Black Eyed Susans that I planted about two years ago.

20200702-North-Beach-flower — Black Eyed Susan

I’ve seen plenty of cicada skins attached to things around the exterior of our house but I was surprised to find one hanging onto a zinnia while it was shedding its skin. A few days later, the skin was still there.

Cicada shedding it’s skin

Empty cicada skin

Another time a mama diamond back terrapin decided that underneath the salvia would be a perfect place to lay her eggs.

20200606-mama-turtle-(2) — Female Diamond Terrapin laying eggs in the garden

Thank you Ann-Christine for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Surprise

Lens-Artists #101: One Single Flower

June 15, 2020Posted in Flowers, PhotographyTagged Lens-Artists, one single flower, Photo Challenge, zinnias28 Comments

This week guest host Cee of Cee’s Photo Challenges has challenged us to show images of one single flower.

This is a fun challenge for me because I spend a lot of time in my butterfly garden and enjoy capturing images of the flowers.

This year the zinnias are growing like crazy. In addition to the seeds I planted there are volunteers coming up all over the place from the seeds spread naturally from last years flowers.

This gardenia is the only bloom from my three gardenia bushes in another flower bed.

Thank you to Cee for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge -One Single Flower